The Hazards of Hierarchy an Electro-lax Example

I am sure the customer service representative assigned to me cringes every time she opens one of my email responses.  I feel sorry for the employees but only contempt for the company.    I have no doubt that there is not a single service representative who has suggestions about how to improve the process but based on results it appears that no one is really listening to the people who matter most.  Vineet Nayar calls these front line heroes “Value Adding Employees”, but there is no value in having great people if nobody listens to them.  I am hopeful the lessons included here might catalyze relevant reflection in analyzing your service systems.  For more tips on tops shelf service review the article WITHOUT TROUBLE THERE IS NO TRIUMPH.

Today I have added what will most likely be my final correspondence in response to their query as to next steps.

Dear Customer service agent,

Apparently it will take about a month from here.  Considering this conversation began on May 20^th does three months seem like the kind of resolution I should be thrilled with?  

Don’t take this personally.  My discontent is with process not people.  I used Electrolux as an example of the hazards of hierarchy in a presentation to 100 HR professionals on Wednesday.  There is some benefit in setting a bad example. 

While I am on the topic of bad examples.  The extended warranty I purchased through Lowes cost me 1/3^rd of what it did through you.  You can probably imagine how good that made me feel about my extended warranty purchase through you.   Especially since it came with such a nice lecture. 

Randy

The picture above is of my super duper, glides easy ball bearing Electrolux Wave Touch Racks.  They have spent nearly a month here on the floor of my garage because the oven locks itself up each time the cleaning cycle fails which has been 100% of the time.  I have tried to talk reasonably to customer service or maybe it is just the extended warranty department.  I only end up more irritated than when I began so I will take more of my time.  (Not that I haven’t wasted weeks with this worthless appliance) and use social media to share my discontent.  I think if I had to describe my experience in one word it is “Bullied”.  Their extended service team loves to tell me their policies.  I particularly enjoy the condescending tone.  I am treated as if I should have expected to spend weeks without an oven that cost three times what I have ever spent.  Back to the title.

The Hazards of Hierarchy an Electro-lax Example

Now that title might be a good thing is I were referring to a vacuum but this was supposed to be an oven and not just any oven.  It was to have “ingenious features to make cooking luxurious”.  The only thing luxury was the price and the unexpected opportunities to dine out while the appliance was being repaired 5 separate times.   THE FAILURE RATE OF THIS OVEN’S SELF-CLEANING PROCESS IS 100%.

Today, as in my last service call, I received a nice lecture from the service agent.  The last time it was a supervisor.

After being told that the approval process for replacement would be 3-5 days I asked.  Is it your belief that being without an oven for three weeks is an acceptable level of service?  Her astoundingly stupid comment was; If has been out three weeks why are you just calling now?  I had just explained how long it had just been out of service for the entire previous seven days.  It was repaired and then broken the same day, as I attempted to finish just one complete cleaning cycle and she had just told me that it would be 3-5 days for approval and then time for shipping etc.  Doesn’t that come pretty close to three weeks?  It might be helpful to actually listen to the customer instead of rehearsing your retort.  The smart remark did nothing to improve my attitude so my intensity increased.  Some call centers have what they call a heat index. That is to describe how angry is the customer, really.  I don’t like to get angry it ruins my creativity, but pretending to be angry can be a blast, so I turned up the temperature.  Something my $2,200 oven is often incapable of doing.

When I asked for repair during that time I was told that was not an option.  The choice was repair or replace.  She later recanted simply allowing me to apply my previous service order, barely dry, to an additional repair.

I was previously told by supervisor Kendra that they had a lemon policy that stated if an appliance requires three repairs it would be replaced. When I addressed that understanding after my last breakdown she said I misunderstood and that what she said was that if an appliance breaks three times and then requires a fourth repair it would be replaced.  I inquired as to why there was any reference to three at all.  if it requires four repairs why not just say that and avoid the confusion.  Her response, which she had been rehearsing instead of listening to me was, I say it that way every time.  I am guessing she must have to say that often to be so confident about her script.  That in itself is a quality red flag.

Ideas in action:  If you are responsible for a customer service team give them this story and then:

Ask them to individually calculate the customer cost of this design debacle.

Don’t include the impact on the 9-16 people that the average dissatisfied customer will tell

or the cost of turnover of employees required to endure the unpleasantness of perpetually displeased customers.

You might even ignore the fact that the disrespect to customers is most likely a reflection of the disrespect of management to employees.

Those are all things should be covered in the meeting but the disparity of actual cost between members of your customer service team  should be enlightening.

Then ask them to:

1. Imagine how they would feel if they were the customer and had to make those calls, repeating the same information ten separate times.

2. Wait for parts, schedule repair take time off to be at their residence for the three hour windows available each time for the repair.

3. Have the appliance lock up immediately as it has every single time.  This stove fails without failure.  (I din’t see that in the brochure)

4. How angry would you be if you had to listen to lectures from insolent employees and hear that same recording about how much they care.

5. Then for the grand finale be told the replacement review committee will take three to five days to approve the replacement and that delivery would not be covered.

WHAT REASONABLE PERSON WOULD NOT BE ANGRY?  I am not suggesting that I am a reasonable person anyone who has ever seen me perform that conformity is not part of my circuitry.

P.s.  I thought it was also educational to hear our service technician, Dennis, we are on a first name basis we are thinking about getting him his own key.  When he described the help he received as a professional he ended up just shaking his head.  The excuses for continued failure were irrational and the onsite assistance worthy of an eight year old.  I would be happy to share his number and the number for Parts Today.  They are, by the way the ONLY people who have apologized for the appalling product.