Searching for good customer service
Mark Pavilons

I'm still confused by what I see as a general lack of customer service, in a world where the customer is no longer "always right."

What has happened to change this long-standing sentiment in the business world? Have we thrown telephone manners, good public relations and customer satisfaction to the wind, in hopes of luring more consumer dollars?

Sounds very mixed up to me.

Don't get me wrong. There are many large and small companies who value our hard-earned dollars and they're very receptive when you call them about a widget that just won't wiggle, or a slice of moldy cheese with an image of Elvis on it. But these fine corporate citizens are few and far between and are seemingly in short supply these days.

In a world where the "game" seems to be attracting and keeping consumer dollars, the giants are not doing themselves any favors in the goodwill department by turning their noses up at the lowly consumer.

I had some recent car troubles and that isn't unusual in itself. But, after speaking with one of the Big Three, they offered some "goodwill dollars" of their own to help reduce my suffering, all in the name of solid customer relations. Well, on the surface that sounded great a massive conglomerate offering to pay of my repair bill.

This goodwill did have strings and limits attached. And when you discover that it's a known problem, with pending lawsuits, it really makes you wonder. So here we have a large corporation, faced with a known dilemma, and instead of issuing a recall or covering the repair for all customers who needed it, they wait for you to call them, asking for assistance. This will weed out many potential nuisance calls to be sure. Only the die-hard, downtrodden will pick up the phone and call, demanding some sort of justice.

In the end, it's a rather strange twist on corporate goodwill. Where's the will?

The dealership that did the work had a couple of problems and made a couple of mistakes that were eventually corrected, but I had to go elsewhere for another diagnostic and second opinion. When I wrote them with my concerns, I was basically told not to bother them anymore, and I was promoted to the rank of "nuisance." I wonder if I will get a Christmas card from them this holiday season.

Most of us have cable TV or some form of satellite or Internet service at home for our contrivances. In Bolton, cable TV for years was adequate at best. There were times when you could set your watch to the cable and hydro interruptions in certain neighborhoods.

But, given any complicated technological system, there are bound to be glitches, power outages, etc. That's understandable. That being said, when the service provider knows there's a problem, they should nip the consumer onslaught in the bud and just extend a credit, or add to their customers' service in some way. But no, they wait for you to call them and complain about the problem. They then read some prepared statement in front of them explaining the nature of the problem, hoping you will buy it and go away. When you push, sometimes you will get a few cents back on your monthly bill.

I simply can't fathom why a large company could put up a fuss about giving its customers a few measly pennies back. It really makes you wonder what the world is coming to.

Many product labels offer several avenues for customer satisfaction mailing addresses, 1-800 numbers or email addresses to log complaints. That's wonderful.

What's not so great is calling them and being told to get lost.

You've just spent $200 on their household appliance, which carries a 10-year warranty, and you're told to go away because they're not responsible for your suction woes.

Most consumers, who are treated poorly, will never return to the company, or buy that company's products ever again.

I suppose the giants, from their office perches, perceive these to be calculated losses inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. But if enough customers follow suit, it's no longer negligible. I can't see how a few thousand here and there for PR would take a big bite out of their corporate profit margin.

Thanks to technology, we now have that wonderful automated customer service centre, that does everything but address our concerns, or connect us with a live human being. How many callers simply give up after a few minutes of waiting? But do we rise from our

office chairs, phone in hand, yelling "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore?" Not likely.

You see, we Canadians are generally a quiet bunch of calm-water sailors. This reseved nature permeates many aspects of our society.

A very obvious illustration is how we take an interest in the political process and exercise our democratic rights to vote. Only 40% to 60% of eligible voters ever turn out to cast a ballot.

We take our rights and freedoms for granted. I can only image how we're perceived by newcomers, those who've left draconian conditions where even speaking out in public would see them jailed. They relish such fundamental rights and freedoms and we born and bread Canucks are apathetic about our own future.

Even in municipal elections (we have one in November), voter turnout hovers around 40%. And yet, 100% of the residents and taxpayers have an opinion about how Caledon should be run, and where our tax dollars should go.

The only outstanding question I have is why some envelopes from the federal government are printed upside down. Please put that in the customer comment box!

We may be small, but in large numbers, we pack a punch!