Consumer Forum

There are lots of very obvious customer service crimes such as not delivering on time or selling products which don’t work.  These can be very damaging but because they are obvious, they can also normally be fixed, and once fixed, you can potentially advertise this and repair some of the damage.

There are also some much more subtle customer service crimes which can still be very damaging and one of these, which I’ve noticed is on the increase is disingenuous communication.  I think this has happened on the back of something very positive – an increase in communication to consumers.  Ten years ago I often felt businesses should do more to explain problems.  People are generally quite sympathetic if there’s a justifiable explanation e.g. “Shop closed” = frustrating, but “Shop closed due to burst water pipe” = sympathy.  This improvement along with a widespread move to more personal, non-passive language (thanks Innocent) has definitely led to better and clearer product and service information.

So where’s the problem?  The problem arises when companies or public service bodies are disingenuous (or sometimes downright untruthful) in their communication. I’ve seen three examples in the past month:

1)     A poster in the window of an estate agent states: “To better serve our customers, we’re merging our Battersea and Lavender Hill offices.” Now, as far as I can tell what is really happening is that the Battersea office is closing.  This leaves a partly subconscious feeling that the company is being deceitful or thinks I’m stupid. This is very brand damaging and, if that view spreads, it is very difficult to correct.  It’s also very difficult to detect in customer feedback because it’s more of a feeling than a tangible problem that can be easily explained.

2)      “Due to excessive numbers of calls at weekends, your call may take longer to answer than normal….your call is important to us.” This message is frustrating on three fronts. Firstly, I feel I’m being blamed for calling, even though I’m only calling because the company has failed to send me something. Secondly, if the company knows it is busy at weekends it should hire more staff.  And thirdly any benefit the company thinks it is deriving from a few people believing their “call is important”, is surely outweighed by the feeling among most that their message is disingenuous.  Actions speak louder than words!

3)     I receive an e-mail from the company that hosts my wife’s website “Your hosting has been upgraded”. The e-mail goes on “We like to reward loyalty so we’ve upgraded your hosting to our up to date package.” I’m cautiously optimistic but suspicious as this company has sent disingenuous communication before. I click on her website and discover that it is not working. Two lengthy calls to a premium rate number later and I’ve vowed never to use the company again. And I’ve yet to work out what advantage there ever was to the consumer in this “upgrade”

These are just a few examples but I think they represent a trend of companies misusing the move towards providing more information to consumers. Consumers are not stupid and the feeling of being deceived brings up very strong human emotions.  So, businesses – tell it straight, be honest and own up if it’s your fault.

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