Last week I was locked out of my Paypal account. With no explanation offered on why this was happening, I called them to get it fixed. This is the conversation I had with the Customer Service rep:
SD: Hi there. I’m attempting to have money sent to a vendor but am getting an error message saying that my business isn’t verified. What does that mean? And what must I do to correct it?
Rep: You need to verify your business.
SD: OK. What does that mean? I’ve had my account with you for 10 years without doing anything like this!
Rep: You know, verify.
SD: What?
Rep: You know, verify. Like send us documentation that you’re a business.
SD: But I’ve been set up as a business from the beginning. What type of documentation do you need?
Rep: You know, verification.
SD: What type of verification? All I have is my EIN. Here it is…that’s legal verification.
Rep: Please hold while I check out if we can use this….. I’m sorry. We don’t consider that verification.
SD: But it’s a government verification number. What else would you need?
Rep: You know, like a court order. Just make a copy and put it in the mail.
SD: [now talking loudly] A COURT ORDER? What are you talking about?
Rep: That’s the only verification we can accept.
SD: WHAT??? Let me speak to your supervisor.
Rep: You don’t need him. I’m giving you accurate data. If you can’t send it we’ll have to close your account.
SD: [now screaming] CLOSE MY ACCOUNT??? I WANT YOUR SUPERVISOR!
Rep: You’ll have to wait for an hour. Just do what I said. He’ll tell you the same thing I told you.
SD: [still screaming] I WANT YOUR SUPERVISOR!
The rep put me on hold; the Supervisor got on the phone in 2 minutes. He said, “The rep said WHAT?? He said he’d close your account? Did he explain what he needed verification for? I’m so sorry! I can understand you’d be upset! Not only is what he said inaccurate, but I don’t even know what he was talking about! We had a systems failure here a few days ago and just need to verify your Soc Sec# to make sure we have you listed accurately!
“Thanks for giving me the number. Ok. You’re good. We appreciate your business. Again, I’m so very sorry you had to go through that. And yes, we’ll supervise that employee.”
The rep not only didn’t know what he was talking about or tell me the issue they were handling, but rather than excuse himself to get the right information, he assumed he was ‘right’ and was willing to close my account! And he didn’t want to pass me on to the supervisor for fear of getting in trouble.
This man put his ego above caring for a screaming customer. Not to mention he didn’t even have a desire to learn the real data.
Do you know what your reps are saying to your clients? When was the last time you listened in to any of their conversations? Or call an unhappy customer to make sure the problem wasn’t caused by one of your own reps.
Remember: without customers, you’re not in business. Make sure your reps are properly trained, and understand they’re there to serve, not admonish. Good customer service is good for business.
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Sharon-Drew Morgen is a breakthrough innovator and original thinker, having developed new paradigms in sales (inventor Buying Facilitation®, listening/communication (What? Did you really say what I think I heard?), change management (The How of Change™), coaching, and leadership. She is the author of several books, including her new book HOW? Generating new neural circuits for learning, behavior change and decision making, the NYTimes Business Bestseller Selling with Integrity and Dirty Little Secrets: why buyers can’t buy and sellers can’t sell). Sharon-Drew coaches and consults with companies seeking out of the box remedies for congruent, servant-leader-based change in leadership, healthcare, and sales. Her award-winning blog carries original articles with new thinking, weekly. www.sharon-drew.com She can be reached at sharondrew@sharondrewmorgen.com.