Bad customer service is a surefire way to lose customers. The cactus award is designed to thank CEOs for their prickly service and to remind them that dealing with their customer service is just if not more painful than sitting on a cactus all day. We hope that with this particular case of bad customer service, companies can avoid this trap and build long-term customer loyalty.
My letter to Mr. John Porter, CEO, Telenet
I cannot overstate my level of frustration, disappointment, and anger at the way my customer journey has unfolded over the past 10 days. It has been nothing short of a nightmare, and the fact that the issues remain unresolved is unacceptable. As a way to express my dissatisfaction, I have decided to present you with the "Cactus Award", which will be delivered to your desk next week. I hope this award will serve as a wake-up call, prompting you to re-examine the customer journey and take corrective measures where necessary.
Moreover, I will be submitting a detailed request for billable hours and punitive damages. The impact of the issues I've faced cannot be understated, and I expect to be compensated accordingly.
Challenge 1
I've been grappling with internet connectivity problems at home for some time now. Specifically, I've noticed that my phone loses its signal when I'm in my bedroom, and my second digicorder experiences difficulties streaming TV shows. To cope with these issues, I've had to make some adjustments, such as only watching TV downstairs and forgoing internet access in my bedroom - not the most convenient solution, but one that I deemed manageable given my busy schedule. Unfortunately, I never quite found the time to address the root cause of the issue, and so I would often resort to unplugging and rebooting the system whenever the problems resurfaced, even if it meant interrupting my routine to go downstairs.
Solution - Not working
Then I came across your marketing campaign for the new Telenet boosters - promising to replace my existing ones and charging only every month - and it seemed like the perfect solution to my problem (cross-sell opportunity). They arrived as promised, we installed them but were afraid this solution did not live up to meet the problem. No changes... Now what? Back to no time to deal with the problem now. Telenet must have heard my prayers as I received an email, we have noticed that you have problems with your internet and we suggest sending round a technician on April 12th. Hallelujah, only one small hitch, I am not home on 12 April, calling customer service to reschedule the appointment for the 14th of April (of course it is not possible to reschedule online).
So on Friday the 14th of April, I am patiently waiting for your technician to arrive between 8 am and 1 pm as promised, but he decided to send his cat. Back to no time... I will deal with the problem on Monday. Monday the week does not start well at all, my internet is now completely down, at least the answering machine lets me know there is a disturbance in the area. So patiently waiting for Monday afternoon to call again.
Upsell|Cross|Sell - Issues
Monday 17 April, my 3rd call. Can they please solve my internet problems and why has a technician not come round as promised. To my big surprise, the technician did come... hmm no he did not... Oh well it was a remote intervention, and they called you at 8.10 am.... hmm no he did not... Oh, he called the wrong number, not your contact number on the customer account. So can I please have a physical intervention planned, yes: a technician will come on Tuesday 18 April. Great!!
I politely call out that even though my recent problems, I am a bit apprehensive to order new services, but if you can fix my problems, I would like to upgrade from a One for two to a One for three subscription model. Unfortunately, I have lost my job due to cost-cutting, following the ongoing geopolitical situation, so my now business phone number has to be moved to my private Telenet account. All good, not a problem. Hallelujah, this was not so difficult. My new SIM card will be sent by mail and I just have to call to activate it.
Challenge 2 - No solution
On Tuesday, the 18th of April, a technician arrived at my place as promised, but to my surprise, he could only communicate in French. Although it was a minor issue, it was still a bit of an inconvenience. The technician speculated that the problem could be due to my solar panels, but I highly doubted that was the case. Eventually, he installed a new modem in the garage and assured me that all our internet issues were now resolved. However, not even five minutes after leaving, the internet stopped working altogether. Frustrated, I decided to move my PC closer to the router in the garage and thus began a series of phone calls to technical services, which tested my patience.
After several calls, the problem was finally identified - the new router was not compatible with the boosters I had recently purchased. I needed special mesh pots, but unfortunately, it was already too late in the day for a technician to come over. The solution? I had to go to a Telenet shop to sort things out. The day was over, I was left feeling frustrated and in need of working internet.
Challenges 1, 2, and 3 - No solution
Wednesday 19th of April, my son sends me a WhatsApp, did you cut off my internet, I have no mobile data... A youngster without a functioning phone is not a good idea, let's listen to his frustration. Of course, he has me on speed dial and reminds me several times his life is in immediate danger without having a phone. OK onto call 6, 7, customer service... I now almost have a panic attack, my son has been put on hold as his usage was now 695 euros... What has he done... Oh dear, he was in the US the first week of April, he never... No thank God, all the data and extra billing had occurred since Monday 17 April. That is strange. Could it have something to do with moving from One for Two to One for Three? Most probably...
Having spoken to multiple people now, I can't remember which ones were helpful and which ones desperately need to be sent on a course for customer service. Yes, move to the competition if you want, rude comments, no understanding, no empathy... Further resentment in the house, still no internet, driving to the Telenet shop to get these new promising mesh pots. Installing them with a simple plug did not work. Nobody told us you need to reset your PC... but we finally managed... Thank you, Telenet!
Thursday 20th of April, we have internet!! But my son is still blocked... Back on the phone... I lost the amount of calls, and I hope you still have the patience to keep reading. Mediation has now taken over my case, and there is nothing more they can do. They can not speak to mediation and I have to be patient.
Friday 21st of April. Receive a call from mediation. Excellent service. Lady has great empathy and understanding for the problem and will do her utmost best to credit and rectify the situation before the next billing date on the 26th. Meanwhile, they can not unblock my son, so on the Base shop to buy him a pay-as-you-go card. Slightly concerned, my new SIM card still has not arrived.
Tuesday 25th of April. Call xxx SIM card still not arrived, I am put on hold... 30 minutes later I give up... will try again tomorrow.
Wednesday 26th of April. No SIM card, my son is still blocked and I have received a present from Telenet. An invoice for 840 euros. Too late to call customer service, try WhatsApp... another underperforming service... sorry we can't help, your file is under mediation... call again tomorrow.
Thursday 27th of April. Back onto a call, friendly guy, 30 minutes waiting time, 40 mins on the phone. Your credit note for the 840 Euro should come today... as I write at the end of the day, what do you think? Your SIM card, no this was never sent. You best go to a Telenet shop and request a new SIM card they activate it there and then. Back in traffic to the Telenet shop, another two hours were wasted. A helpful guy in the shop told me they can not activate my number. WHAATTT?? No this is a business account phone, needs to go on a prepaid card from Proximus and then we can activate it. Did they know this when I explained this during my request to upgrade to 3, yes they should know...
CONCLUSION
I hear you and I completely understand why you think you have deserved the customer CACTUS Award... Since you are Australian, I wanted to present you with this personal prickly touch from the Great Victoria Desert. Should you have 5 minutes, I will be happy to join you for a cup of coffee, not to have a go at you. But having worked at Microsoft for a long time, we had to present and celebrate our failures. Trust me this does not come naturally. Maybe you can invite your teams to celebrate their failures and see how they can learn from them.
For sure, I can write another couple of paragraphs about customer retention, but I trust you got the point I wanted to make. Finally, if I look back at the time lost dealing with Telenet during the past 10 days, with no final solution, I would happily present you with 25 billable hours, let's say at a very reasonable rate of 40 euros. As for punitive damages, I would be happy to recuperate at least 2 packs of biscuits, 5 bars of chocolate, and 2 maybe 3 bottles of wine to deal with all my frustration.
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