Customer MisManagement - Another Management MIA story

Sigh..... the lowlights of this cautionary tale.

Bottom Line

Key Performance Indicators look great while in reality customer trust plummets

10,000 customers were polled about service in the UK, the Nominees of this Hall of Shame are......

HANGING ON THE TELEPHONE: THE BIGGEST OFFENDERS

1. British Gas

2. Sky

3. BT

4. NTL

5. Royal Mail

6. Orange

7. HM Revenue and Customs

8. nPower

9. Lloyds TSB

10. O2

11. Currys

12. AOL

13.NatWest

14. Vodafone

15. ScottishPower

16. Halifax

17. Barclays Bank

18. Virgin Holidays

19. Argos

20. HSBC

So what helped the winning nominee British Gas standout?

"British Gas manages to beat them all with customers regularly left hanging on the telephone for more than 45 minutes at a time before getting to talk to an operator.

Two thirds say they have been further irritated after staying on hold for hours, only to find they are put through to someone who cannot understand English, while 54 percent of callers hang on the line for ages only to be cut off by the operator.

"The knock-on effect is further trouble for the customer as almost a third of us end up receiving a final notice on a bill or a final warning after failing to get through on the phone and hanging up.

What British Gas management thinks is going on (sadly I think they CAN'T see the problem, rather than WON'T see the problem)

“The average call waiting time to our general enquiries line in February was just over two minutes,”insists Rhys Jones, corporate affairs manager for British Gas. "British Gas has appointed 800 new agents in its call centres and we are seeing significant improvements in average speed of answer times to our general enquiries line. We have also reduced the number of internal transfer of calls through investment in agent training and in customer relationship systems.

"British Gas CEO Phil Bentley is the man who has to sort out the unholy mess that is the firm’s customer management strategy. He has gone on the record to reporters with the stock ‘blame the computer’ response of so many utility firms."

Customers have reached their limits of accepting technology as an excuse for poor service

Management is right on the firing line.

"....Bentley must be aware that competition is only getting stiffer.... Powergen has spotted a chink in British Gas' armour and is attempting to thrust home its advantage. The message for consumers is coming in loud and clear - the market is being shaken up, but the best deals to be had are still online.”


Are you MIA on what Peter Drucker reminds us is the Business of Business?

Making and Keeping Customers?