ValuTel can provide telephone service for any business in the CenturyLink Service Area. This, however doesn’t mean that ValuTel strictly resells CenturyLink service. We are a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) that competes with CenturyLink (and others). However, there are times when we do resell CenturyLink products and I’d like to use an analogy for how ValuTel can still provide the best customer service and technical support for even the products we simply resell. Here’s the analogy:
It’s like calling a taxi service to take you to the airport.
The car is analogous to the actual copper wires that serves phone and internet service. The driver is analogous to the service provider. Even though the car may be exactly the same, the level of service you get from one driver compared to another driver may greatly vary, thus affecting your overall satisfaction level with your ride to the airport.
For example, let’s say you call a taxi to take you to the airport. If the driver is prompt at picking you up, you will not even think twice about the service, because, it’s expected that the driver be on time when scheduling a ride. However, if the driver is late in picking you up, your entire experience is based upon that initial failure, thus, diminishing your perceived service level. Customer service and ensuring customer satisfaction first starts in the simplest of form – being prompt, responsive, and true to your word.
When riding in the car, if you have an alternative way to get to the airport and suggest it to the driver, but the driver shuts you down saying he cannot alter the route that the computer has given him, again your service level is affected. The human touch and consideration for an alternative method is not reciprocated… you can’t go a certain way you know is faster because the computer will not let the driver. Customer service that is provided at the mercy of a computer does not exhibit the human element necessary to provide the best customer service. It’s not personable customer service and is often used as an excuse for poor customer service.
Once at the airport and the taxi is pulled over to the curb, the driver usually takes the luggage out of the trunk. But, the driver can decide where to put them. Taking them to the sidewalk is the best form of customer service follow-thru. However, the driver can just as easily put them down on the asphalt behind the car because the transaction has come to an end, he has already been paid for the fare and tipped, so what is the motivation to go the extra step to provide the best customer service? Customer service doesn’t end when the contract or transaction is complete, actually, it should be the beginning of great customer service.