The UnHelp Desk
I wrote this about a year ago, and was hesitant to post it here. Why? In the early stages of my blog writing, I wasn’t sure how much personality I really wanted to come through on my business site. I am more comfortable with that idea now. And because there is an important less here for all small business owners.
Your customers have choices. And when your rules and systems make it harder to do busienss with you, they will do business elsewhere.
A CASE IN POINT – MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE UNHELP DESK OF HP
Do you remember when the purpose of a Help Desk was to help you? A telephone call away, one quick question to a knowledgeable individual and your problem was fixed.Today, I am pretty convinced the purpose of a Help Desk is to drive customers away.
Why? Well my story begins when I noticed a little light was blinking on my 1 year old HP 1600 printer.
Since I couldn’t find the manual I looked on line to find information which would tell me what the little light meant.No such luck. It wasn’t there. Obviously owner’s manuals contain such proprietary information (such as how to install, operate and troubleshoot) that Hewlett Packard is unwilling to share the information publicly.
So I called customer service. Pushed 1, 4, 2, 2, 2 2 in response to screening questions, most of which were irrelevant. I just wanted to know what the little light meant. I waited patiently (10 minutes on hold) for a customer service rep, whose native language was clearly not English to ask a series of stupid questions before she would answer mine.I told her my name, phone, email but couldn’t give her my serial number. And that was the sticking point. You see without it, she couldn’t tell me what the little light meant.
Obliviously this information is so proprietary, it can only be shared with someone who could prove they owned an HP 1600. Why would I care if I didn’t have one? But without the serial number, we were going nowhere.In case you are curious, the serial number is conveniently located on the bottom of a printer which probably weighs 40 pound, and quite honestly, I was in no mood to lift. I just wanted to know what the little light meant. I finally gave up, hung up and called a friend, who owned one. She had a better filing system then I did, and found the information in less then a minute.
So this is the new reality. As companies get bigger and their customer service and support more cumbersome, consumers are going elsewhere to find information. And perhaps next time, they will go elsewhere for their products as well. I am pretty sure I will. The next time I need a printer or any product which may need support down the road, I am going to call the help desk, before I buy! How about you?
Final Lesson – Your product is more then features and benefits. It is a complete customer experience which often includes service, warrannty and support. In the long run, it is how well you deliver these elements which grow your brand, reputaion and repeat busienss.
I loved your story! 30 minutes of your life that you’ll never get back and they still never told you what the blinking light means. Kudos to your friend and his/her filing system
Incidentally, I just helped someone setup a Canon printer and the serial number is located INSIDE the printer UNDER the print head. Yeah, that’s easy to find!
I agree with you. I have also had similar experiences with HP help desk which is located in Pakistan. I spent hours trying to get a problem fixed. They ended up sending me a new printer. It was wrapped up in cloth-a little leery about opening it.
I have a problem with Magic Jack. It is supposed to be a simple “plug in” and it works. Not!! I spent hours with them and they are even refusing to take the non working unit back.
One bad experience goes out to 250 plus people according to stats and I’ll help spread the word.
It always amazes me when systems, which should be designed to make things easier for clients actually make them harder!