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Social Media & Technology - Customer Service Expectations Change

By Brad Andersohn

Education & Training with Retired Executive Director of Education at eXp Non-Licensed

April 27, 2010 03:44 PM

Today as I was going through my bank account online, I noticed an electronic debit charge from Norton Internet Security and Anti-virus. Since switching to a MAC computer quite some time ago, I had forgotten all about using Symantec Norton on my old PC computer. Within a couple seconds, I was at their site looking for a way to get this resolved and I found an option to "Chat!" Oh Boy....here we go.

Normally, my expectations for this sort of support are minimal. Seems like there's never an easy to find phone number to call to get a real person and support. I become negative (with an attitude) because I know how these things usually go down. You sit there and wait for an hour, get someone who doesn't really understand the problem, get drilled to purchase their products, or get every excuse under the sun why they can't refund the auto-charge.

Today's support from Symantec and Norton was different. Here's how it went....

Brad has entered chat room.
Arindam has entered chat room.

Arindam> You are being transferred to Arindam.
Arindam> Welcome to Norton Support, my name is Arindam, can I please have a minute to go through the information you have provided?
Brad> i was charged for an upgrade, didn't want an upgrade, I don't even have that computer anymore.
Brad> can I speak to a supervisor please? Thanks. :-)
Arindam> So just to check that I'm looking into the correct thing, the problem that you've got is that you have been charged for the upgrade and want the refund for that. Is this right?
Brad> yes
Brad> it was an automatic electronic debit from my account.
Arindam> Thanks, your case number is 499251969 , please write this down.
Brad> got it, now what?
Arindam> Please let me know the description of charge that reflected on your bank statement.
Brad(Mon Apr 26 2010 12:35:49 GMT-0700> 04/26/10 CHKCARDNORTON *ANNUAL 877-29465 CAUS $54.99
Arindam> Please let me know the last 4 digit of your credit card.
Brad> 40?7
Arindam> Thank you.
Arindam> Can I put you on hold for 2 or 3 minutes while I look into this for you?
Brad(Mon Apr 26 2010 12:37:43 GMT-0700> Sure, No problem, thank you. :-)
Arindam> Thanks for staying online
Brad> sure
Arindam> Please note that you have been charged for the Auto renewal of Norton Internet Security that is registered with your other email address.
Arindam> Please confirm me if you want the refund for that.
Brad(Mon Apr 26 2010 12:46:03 GMT-0700 (> Yes, that's my other email address and I do want the charge reversed, I don't have that computer anymore. I also never received an auto renewal notice reminder or I would have canceled then.
Arindam> I'm sorry if there's been a misunderstanding. Auto-renewal is supposed to be a convenient feature, but I'm sure it must be frustrating if you weren't expecting to be charged
Arindam> I’ll be happy to refund the charge, and I’ll also make sure your account is updated so that you aren’t charged for auto renewal again in the future.
Brad(Mon Apr 26 2010 12:46:56 GMT-0700 (P> How long does that process take?
Arindam> I place the refund for the Order number, and the refund will be processed within 2 to 3 working days and it will show up in your next billing cycle (within 10 working days depending on your bank).
Brad> Thanks sounds like a plan, thanks for your help.
Arindam> You are welcome Brad.
Arindam> Is there anything else that I can help you with?
Brad> That was great, the Best Customer Service Online I've ever received!! Thank you!! :-)
Arindam> Before we go can I check with you that the problem you contacted us about has been fixed and that its ok for me to close this case?
Brad> Case Closed, Thanks again Arindam.
Arindam> Good bye Brad.

This entire process only took all of about 7 minutes... WOW! Not what I was expecting at all.

Is Great Customer Service back on the rise with all the Social Media tools and Blogging "voices" out there to hold companies accountable? The Customer Service by Norton, Symantec, and especially Arindam made me a believer that having bad experiences with previous or similar situations doesn't mean you'll always have a bad experience in the future. Their Customer Service was stellar!

Moments later....I received an email confirmation!

Little did these guys know that I'd be writing this blog post regardless of the experience, and be sharing it with all my friends and readers here on AR. The point of this post is that no matter who, when, where, or why you are providing customer service to a client, potential client, or even a past client, BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE. You just never know who they are, their reach, or who's ears they might bend.

My customer service expectations after this online experience have definitely gone up a notch! :-)

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C Tann-Starr

Tann Starr & Associates, Inc. - Palm Bay, FL

Featured in Club Chaos

Apr 27, 2010 09:48 PM

FN LN

Toronto, ON

Brad - It's good to hear that you had a positive customer experience with Symantec. Just be sure that the reversal is actually processed.

Apr 27, 2010 10:07 PM

Cheryl Johnson

Highland Park, CA

I had one of the charges for a Norton renewal a few months ago and I didn't even bother to call in since I figured it was less painful to lose the money than to have to speak with one of the customer service reps.

(Hey, that's probably why big companies love their outsourced customer serive departments!) :-)

But I think you hit on the right solution! Chat! Instead of telephoning! I see all kinds of advantages in using Chat instead: It may very well be easier for the offshore people to communicate in written english rather than spoken english, you will have a written record of the conversation, and you can do other things while you are waiting....

Apr 27, 2010 11:07 PM

Kay Van Kampen

RE/MAX Broker, RE/MAX - Springfield, MO

Realtor®, Springfield Mo Real Estate

Wow! This company has figured out that great customer service is number 1. Glad your experience was positive.

Apr 27, 2010 11:41 PM

Andrea Swiedler

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties - New Milford, CT

Realtor, Southern Litchfield County CT

Brad, customer service goes a long way. When I get bad customer service I remember it, and usually try to find a different provider to work with if I can. Sometimes you are stuck though.

I have posted a few times of the exceptional customer service I have gotten through Realbird and through my website company, Agentwebsite. Awesome! And because of the outstanding customer service I won't move my website, I tell everyone about them, I can't say enough good things.

Unhappy people have big mouths. Happy people do to!!!!!

And you are pretty darn good at the customer service type thing too by the way. I remember when I first came here and was frustrated about trying to upgrade to a Rainmaker account, you called me almost instantly to resolve the issue.

Customer service involves resolving issues promptly, thinking outside the box if you have to, making the customer feel special, and making sure you have made the customer want to come back!

Apr 28, 2010 12:03 AM

Dr. Paula McDonald

Beam & Branch Realty - Granbury, TX

Granbury, TX 936-203-0279

So great to hear when we do receive great customer service as it seems to be out of the ordinary these days. I appreciate when I receive good service and like to take time to tell the management as those who are doing a good job deserve the recognition. You did that with this post. Great job Brad!

Apr 28, 2010 01:03 AM

Chris Smith

Re/Max Chay Realty Inc., Brokerage - New Tecumseth, ON

South Simcoe, Caledon, King, Orangeville Real Esta

Brad, I am experiencing exactly the opposite with Panasonic. We bought a Panasonic Genius Inverter Microwave Oven about a year and a half ago. Just over one month ago, it stopped working, you could enter any power and any time, it would seem to work for about 10 seconds and then power off with an error message.

Realizing that it is cheaper to buy a new microwave than to try and fix an older one, my wife bought a new smaller model from Future Shop.

When she asked me to move the old one, we found the instruction underneath, with the bill attached. Reading the instructions, we noted the model we bought came with a two year warranty, and we had bought the unit about 18 months ago. Good news? You would think!!!

My wife called numerous times while the retailer and Panasonic each told us to contact each other, finally after a week my wife called and complained to customer service at head office in Mississauga. They apologized and told us if we dropped off the defective unit to their office (about an hour away) we could pick up a new one.

I dropped off the unit the next day and was told that they didn't have this model (or its current replacement) in stock but asked if I could pick one up later. I told them that this was very inconvenient for me and asked if they could ship the unit to the retailer I bought it from located much closer to me. They said no problem, that we would have a new microwave by the end of the week.

Suffice to say that almost 3 weeks later, and numerous calls, and they haven't yet shipped the unit. This has made me re-think about purchasing Panasonic in the future.

Rule number one for customer service should be under promise, over deliver...

Apr 28, 2010 01:16 AM

Not In Real Estate Any Longer

Autaugaville, AL

Hi Brad,

That was a great experience and it probably made you whistle a happy tune all day long! Good for them and great for you :)

Apr 28, 2010 02:14 AM

Brad Andersohn

Retired Executive Director of Education at eXp - Boulder Creek, CA

ActiveBrad - 707.646.1876

Very Cool! The transaction and refund was completed yesterday, even before the promised time and date.

Here it is:

Apr 28, 2010 03:01 AM

Brad Andersohn

Retired Executive Director of Education at eXp - Boulder Creek, CA

ActiveBrad - 707.646.1876

I just spent the last 30 minutes reading all these great comments, thanks everyone for reading and taking the time to comment.

I would love nothing more than to have the time to respond back to each of you and share my thoughts and sentiments, but I have some customer service to tend to myself right now. The upgrade to our new servers is taking a bit more time and effort than we initially expected and so I need to assist the team and our members in getting the network in 100% error free order today.

We're hoping to have most of the issues resolved this week.

The AR servers and network will have to come down each night this week from 11:00pm until 3:00am PDT in order to get everything working properly. Thanks for your patience and understanding during this time, we know how difficult and frustrating it is and we're doing our best to resolve it quickly.

Andrea - you nailed it, and thanks for those kudos, I remember that day very clearly. :-)

"Customer service involves resolving issues promptly, thinking outside the box if you have to, making the customer feel special, and making sure you have made the customer want to come back!"

Apr 28, 2010 03:13 AM

Cari Anderson

Danville, CA

Brad: my husband ordered a laptop from Dell on the 16th - it's the 28th and we still don't have it. CS in India transferred him 3 or 4 times before an agent told him it wasn't his fault that the order got placed on hold mistakenly. They promised to send the laptop overnight. Then he gets a receipt showing they CHARGED him for overnight delivery. Ummm let me see - he ordered it on the 16th. Getting it on the 29th IS NOT overnight delivery that warrants a charge - ARRRGGHHH. I'm so glad at least someone got superior customer service in the tech world! It really does pay to double check your debit/credit card statements. Have a great day!

Apr 28, 2010 05:31 AM

DeeDee Riley

Lyon Real Estate - El Dorado Hills CA - El Dorado Hills, CA

Realtor - El Dorado Hills & the Surrounding Areas

Good for you Brad! Have you ever dealt with XM Satelite? Their customer service definitely needs work. People are friendly, they keep you on the line forever looking into everything, but then can't solve the problem and will have to have a supervisor call back which doesn't happen so the process starts over. Customer service is so important to me and I try to provide great service to my clients because of it! As always, thanks for your post!

DeeDee

Apr 28, 2010 05:55 AM

Mark Gridley

eXp Realty, Reinventing the National Real Estate Office! - Fountain Hills, AZ

TecKnow Real Estate Agent, Fountain Hills, AZ

That beats the phone call I placed to Dell Tech Support. The gentleman answered the phone with the usual salutation in a Heavy Accent and then added "my name is Andrew. How may I be of service"?

I replied, "Andrew how do you spell that"?

After about 20 seconds of silence HE HUNG UP! bang

Apr 28, 2010 07:39 AM

Barbara-Jo Roberts Berberi, MA, PSA, TRC - Greater Clearwater Florida Residential Real Estate Professional

Charles Rutenberg Realty - Clearwater, FL

Palm Harbor, Dunedin, Clearwater, Safety Harbor

That is the kind of service that we would all love to receive and normally don't! Thanks for posting this! (By the way, this is also the kind of service we have come to know we will get here on ActiveRain... you guys have totally spoiled us!!)

Apr 28, 2010 10:22 AM

Alan May

Jameson Sotheby's International Realty - Evanston, IL

Home is where the hearth is.

Now that's really customer service.... geeze... 7 minutes that's longer than i can last with... er, I mean... that's really fast!

When are you planning on implementing the same system for Active Brain!?

May 05, 2010 09:32 AM

Nyssa Smith

Keller Williams Advantage Realty - State College, PA

REALTOR, State College Area Real Estate

So awesome Brad! Great experience! Thank you for sharing it with us!

May 05, 2010 02:26 PM

Dora & Vincent Kwok

HomeSmart Real Estate - Chandler, AZ

CNE - Chandler, Arizona Real Estate

Hi Brad - thanks for sharing your positive customer service experience....we strive to do the same in our business....we follow up with surveys to our clients to confirm we've done a great job and also to see where we can improve in the future.

May 05, 2010 05:12 PM

Brad Andersohn

Retired Executive Director of Education at eXp - Boulder Creek, CA

ActiveBrad - 707.646.1876

Alan - 7 minutes... you were saying?? lol~

Have you been to the ARU Chat? We're already implementing it. :-))

May 06, 2010 08:47 AM

Kate Bourland

Marketing with Kate - Redding, CA

Onlilne Marketing Mobile Marketing

wow that is awesome, I have noticed that customer service throug chat has gotten much better. Host Gator is another one that offers excellent online customer service. thanks for shring.

Jan 03, 2011 06:14 PM

Brad Andersohn

Retired Executive Director of Education at eXp - Boulder Creek, CA

ActiveBrad - 707.646.1876

Hi Kate - I think you'll see an increase in Customer Service awareness online over the next few years! Mark my words! :-)

Jan 04, 2011 08:59 AM