The Power of Social Media

With the proliferation of various social medias available SERVICE ORIENTED businesses should be more aggressive in making sure that their customers always have WOW moments everytime they visit.  Like a double edged sword whatever experience a customer has will either make or break a company.  

Unlike before when customer feedback are spread by word of mouth, with social networks as Facebook and Twitter, it will only take one click of a button and all listed friends will be able to know whether an establishment is recommendable or not.  Regardless of a customer care facility in place---the social networking sites are the preferred medium for feedback.  It is FAST and will not take a whole lot of red tape to be over and done with.  

As if in an urban combat situation you won't know who the enemies are until you're already being shot at.  For a complaining customer, there are no rules.  The important thing is for them to express their side of the story.  Remember the movie Black Hawk Down when the helicopter got hit by an RPG (rocket propelled grenade)? That's the same hit that a service company is going to get when a bad experience gets posted in a social networking site.  Depending on the gravity of the complaint it can go viral in the blink of an eye!

The challenge to service oriented companies is to be consistent in terms of providing excellent customer service in all potential moments of truth by the customer---prevention is still the best cure---and vigilant in expeditiously  managing complains as they happen.  Remember, managing complaints are also moments of truth.

BPI Credit Card Customer Service: HELPLESS Helpdesk

Is it just me or the 89100 Customer Service number of BPI credit card really SUCK?! 

I was one of the "lucky" people to be given an automatically approved credit card from BPI.  There was no paper work required.  Just a telephone interview from their call center and the card was delivered to me in no time.  However, I already have a couple of credit cards already so I just shelved it and eventually forgot about it.  Early this year, I used it for a couple of transactions only to find out that it had been more than a year already and I was billed the annual fee.  Not wanting to pay that amount, I tried callling their 89100 Customer Assistance number but I never got a chance to talk to an agent.  That was two months ago and I'm still trying to call this number.  I browsed through their internet site and tried to communicate via electronic mail but I was unable to find any e-mail address I can send my letter to.

Eventually, I got tired trying and just approached a manager to ask for assistance.  According to the manager they have no customer service email address and my request should pass through their customer assistance number.  Apparently, BPI had a system migration which affected both their bank transaction and their telephony.  Unfortunately, even with the assurance from the manager that everything is alright now, I'm still unable to contact this number. 

I say, "BPI SUCKS!"

Negating Good Food with Bad Service: A Yellow Cab Experience

I've been a patron of Yellow Cab since I first got a taste of their Hot Wings and Charlie Chan Chicken Pasta way back in 2003.  Naturally, being a staple entity at SM Fairview, this is where I take my family for a Yellow Cab treat. 

Needless to say, the food is good to come back for more.  Service, unfortunately, is another matter.

One thing that a service person should master is the art of LISTENING.  I have been in the service oriented business myself and being attentive to your customer's needs is a key factor in making them feel at home.  Sad to say, I did not feel this way at the hands of the Yellow Cab branch at SM Fairview. 

Paper napkin is an operating cost that would be hard to put a number to so it is just but natural to have an initial number to give away upon order and then give more upon request.  Based on my dining experience at Yellow Cab they give around 4 paper napkins for an order of 4pc Hot Wings, 10" pizza, and pasta.  My wife brings along Wet Ones in her person every time she goes out and that's what we use when the 4 pieces of paper nakpins cannot compensate for all the wiping done during meal time.  However, four visits ago, she ran out of Wet Ones and I needed to ask the rounding service crew for more.  He acknowledged my request politely.  The problem was---he never came back.  At first I thought it was just a matter of forgetfullness but for the same scenario to happen three times is somewhat unsettling.  The kicker came this evening when my wife and I went to dinner at the same branch.  This time I asked for two glasses with ice.  Actually, the attending service crew offered to give us glasses since she saw that we have something to drink but no glasses to drink it with.  Initially I thought that this would be different since it was the service crew who offered---I was wrong.  She did not come back with the glasses so my wife and I just chugged our drink off the bottle. 

It's really unfortunate to have such good food complemented with bad service.  Tsk, tsk, tsk.