Last month I received a call from what I thought was Citibank at 5:30 PM. The caller asked for my wife and said they were conducting a “customer service survey.”
Unbeknownst to the caller, my wife:
- Uses a separate phone line (long story);
- Will never take a random call from a survey taker; and
- Does not ever bank with Citi – just because she’s named on an account does not mean she ‘banks’ there.
To simply get the caller off the phone, I gave her the expedited version of these points.
Me: She’s not interested in taking a survey.
Caller: Can’t she tell me that herself?
Me: No, she’s not interested and take me off your call list.
Caller: We don’t have a call list. Why can’t I talk to her?
Me (more ticked off): She’s not interested, no – you can’t speak to her, and I’m hanging up – goodbye.
Naively I assumed that this would be sufficient to discourage the caller, and that after my blood pressure returned to normal it would be the end of the intrusion.
Until the next day
At 5:15 PM the phone rang. The caller asked for my wife and said that she was calling on behalf of Citibank for a customer satisfaction survey.
Me: You called yesterday.
Caller: Is she there?
Me: Doesn’t matter, she is not interested.
Caller: Do I have the right number? Who are you?
Me: I am her husband, and unless you are calling from Citibank security you need to stop calling and take me off of your call list.
Then she hung up on me.
Yes, she hung up.
And that’s not all!
Almost unbelievably, 2 hours later the phone rang again.
Caller: Is Mrs. Shore in?
Me: Who’s calling?
Caller: This is George calling from Empathica on behalf of Citibank.
Me: That was Empathica? E-M-P-A-T-H-I-C-A, right?
Caller: Yes.
Me: And, George, what’s your last name?
And what do you suppose George did?
Yes, he hung up on me.
The Recovery
The beautiful thing about today’s business world is that information is a click away. A quick search revealed this from the Empathica site:
Our integrated approach to customer experience management is designed exclusively for multi-unit retailers. We understand the importance of multi-location dynamics, brand continuity and the need for efficient and effective communications.
It was stunning to think that a company doing survey work on behalf of Citi was making their customers angry enough to close their accounts.
A few more clicks gave me the name of the President of Empathica, Mike Amos.
The email I sent to Mike at 8 PM said, in part:
Last night and tonight I have had the displeasure of getting calls from your employees at Empathica ‘on behalf of Citibank.’ In two of the three cases, these calls were received after telling your employees that I did not wish to be contacted again.
In two of these cases, your employees hung up on me.
Tonight they called twice in a 2 hour period.
If you wish to call me to learn firsthand of these incidents, please reach me at the number below. In the meantime I’ll use the aforementioned power of social media to get the word out about the aggressive and rude approach your people take.
The following morning I found a reply to my email waiting in my inbox.
Mike and I scheduled a call, at his request, in order for him to learn more about the incidents.
When we connected later that morning, Mike offered the standard apologies one would anticipate.
Then, as I was about to launch into the story that recounted the experience,
Mike demonstrated the true art of the recovery.
He explained that he had already:
- Pulled the calls in question;
- Listened to them; and
- Begun a full investigation and enlisted the appropriate department leaders on his team.
Over the next 3 business days he stayed in email contact and ultimately sent this:
Good Morning Rob,
I hope you had a great weekend.
Thanks again for your feedback and input. We have worked with our call center and Citi and are pleased to inform you that we have:
– Reviewed, and confirmed that the Do Not Call List (and the associated procedures) will be used immediately upon request
– Completed a full review of the assigned employees and customer service procedures to ensure that all future contacts receive the utmost respect and professionalism
We appreciate your input and thank you for your continued loyalty to Citi.
Recovery Lessons
1. Act with speed to acknowledge the issue presented: Mike emailed me back almost immediately.
2. Get in front of the problem by being as informed and prepared as possible: He had listened to the calls and was aware of the issue.
3. Don’t delegate the reply: He could have easily had one of his lieutenants handle the complaint, but he chose to do it himself.
4. Spell out what the action steps will be to attempt to remedy the situation.
5. Follow-up to communicate the final resolution.
Every company, and everyone, screws up – that is just a part of business…and life.
The real question is: do you have a memorable recovery?
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