Internet broken: Customer forwarding

JJ

JJ and I had a great conversation yesterday about the company and how it appears that a lot of people tend to have two, perhaps three, significant recurring issues.  The first, and most common, is that their computer is running slowly.  This tends to affect older computers that have, over time, accumulated all manner of software (and when that is unnecessary software it's called bloatware) which seems to feel the need to run all the time that the computer is on draining precious resources from other activities.  The other is the inability to connect to the internet.  Now this issue seems to be the result of one of three things - faulty hardware, i.e. the modem, router, network card or cable has failed; spyware or viruses that prevent connection to the internet; and/ or issues with the internet service provider (ISP).  The problems are generally easiest to fix in that order.  Diagnosing and fixing a hardware issues is usually not a big deal except for the cost, obviously, of parts if required.  Identifying and removing spyware and viruses can be slightly more troublesome since often getting the software updates for the anti-virus/ anti-spyware programs can be limited by the inability to connect to the web-google machine (the internet!).  This means that those little flash drives (that come in all sorts of wonderful colors and styles) are ideal for porting around the latest and greatest anti-badness programs.  My current favorites are MalwareBytes, Anti-Malware and Safer Networking's Spybot Search and Destroy.  Great programs that really do an excellent job of finding and removing tough to remove stains on the insides of your computer.  Thirdly and most challenging are the problems associated with the ISP.  By the nature of the layers of software, internet re-directions, passwords, usernames, IP addresses and the like, it can be extremely frustrating to be faced with a call to customer support.  Every instance of contacting such results in being forwarded to someone else to whom one has to re-introduce oneself and the problem, and ultimately it's several hours before, hopefully, getting resolution but more likely having to call back the next day.  The only shining light is that buried deep in the underground vaults of these companies are some really amazingly clever and responsive people that understand the WHOLE picture and how internet connections work.  These people are the Tier 3 Gods, I met one called Keith just a couple of weeks ago and aside from being helpful, he was the first person that I spoke with that actually validated the sense that I had that this wasn't MY fault.  It would be great if the first person that picks up the phone wasn't an automated voice recognition menu system, that the second person was in the US, that the third person actually cared that I had an issue and so on.  The real power of customer service is in the ability to validate the customer's concerns, and stay with the issue until it's resolved.  I have a direct line to the Tier 3 group for my ISP now and I hope that I'll never have to call the number listed on the contact us page of the website.  Anyway... ranting over.

The final word is that customer service makes all the difference, it's a topic that JJ and I realised was extremely valuable for the business and one that we need to focus on especially in these tough economic times.