Writig With ABbrockennn Keybboard
The keyboard of my Dell laptop bit the dust last week. After 3 years of pounding the keys hard, I wasn’t surprised.
Fortunately, I listened to my bride when I bought it and got the extended service contract. Dell’s automated system confirmed the keyboard needed to be replaced, and said they’d send me a new one.
A week later, having heard nothing, I checked in, only to learn nobody had been assigned my case. Now irritated, I went onto CHAT, only to be disconnected…SIX TIMES.
I don’t like being ignored or taken advantage of, so I jumped into action. First I posted a scathing review on social media. Then I screamed.
I’m not talking about one of those therapeutic “Hand me that pillow” screams, but a blood-curdling “Don’t mess with me” scream. I tracked down a real person (albeit in India) and I let him know how angry I was.
Despite the language challenges, he sensed the steam coming out of my ears. His insistence on calling me “MA’AM” did little to help my mood.
The repair person finally arrived yesterday to fix my issue. After 3 1/2 hours my problems have multiplied, and she had to order more parts and must return on Friday. Assuming she shows and solves everything, I’ll move on with my life. If she doesn’t, or there’s any lame excuse why the work can’t be done, you’ll probably hear my head explode.
Regardless of the business, problems inevitably happen. How someone deals with those problems is what tells you what they‘re made of.
So the question isn’t why the keyboard initially failed. I’m pretty hard on computers, and have worn through several over the years. The question is why did I have to go through so much trouble to get service that I had paid for.
And regardless of what happens Friday, Dell has left a permanent bad taste in my mouth.
Whatever you sell, you too will have customer problems now and again. At that point you have two options;
Acknowledge the situation, fix it fast, maintain customer loyalty, and probably make the next sale; or
Ignore the problem and blame supply chain issues, labor shortages, or something else your customers really don’t care about.
Did you catch that? Customers care about their problems, not yours. Meaning if you don’t address their concerns quickly, they’re certain to tell everyone what rotten service they’ve gotten from you.
Kind of like I’m doing now.
With that said, I wish you a week of profitable marketing.
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