Hell in the USA Today

You want a reason for CRM? Check out this piece entered onto the USA Today website on Sunday, detailing experiences in “customer support hell” based on a survey undertaken by Harris Interactive and RightNow Technologies.

Key findings included:

• 90 percent of those surveyed said they’d had a bad experience in dealing with IT problems and seeking assistance.

• 85 percent stated they’d sworn, shouted, cried or hit something in frustration. (Some even reported chest pains, which probably implies just as much about American sedentary lifestyle and diet as about service providing in the sector.)

• 71 percent stated that they believe customer-service representatives aren’t sufficiently trained.

• 53 percent stated that they believe the inability to reach a service representative is the top complaint among consumers.

• 42 percent stated that their e-mail or phone calls had been answered promptly.

In traditional USA Today fashion, the article begins with a personal story of tragedy. This one focuses on one Jesse Berrett, a customer who experienced high-speed internet and phone service problems. Upon seeking help from his internet service provider, the piece hilariously reports that Berrett “has pleaded with support workers, yelled, threatened, lost sleep, vowed to quit the service and banged his phone for emphasis.” Berrett even kicks in a witticism that surely the high school teacher had planned for those who wanted to hear his story: “The more I wanted to reach them, the harder it was to get them on the phone. It was like a bad relationship.”

Says RightNow CEO Greg Gianforte in the piece: “As the Internet has sped up the consumer experience, customer expectations are higher … Customer service is not always worse, but that’s the perception.” Gianforte goes on to claim that firms who simply post FAQs with answers typically see a drop of 50 to 70 percent in customer service calls.

The USA Today piece details an interesting little niche market, the likes of which should bleed into the CRM area. This entails independently contracted IT house-calling doctors. The piece mentions promotions such as the following.

• CompUSA’s soon-to-be announced enhanced tech support for consumers and small businesses with PCs, printers, digital cameras, iPods, MP3s, external hard drives and software. CompUSA will also beef up computer-security options for consumers.

• Circuit City’s Firedog, in which technicians help consumers hook up their PC, TV, DVD or music system on the same wireless network.

• Best Buy’s 24-hour Geek Squad, who “help do everything from installing home-theater systems to programming remote controls.”

The entire article, entitled "Technology troubles set off tantrums, tears and tirades" can be read at the USA Today website.

Founded in 1997, RightNow Technologies itself is billed as the firm “leading the industry beyond CRM to high-impact customer experience management solutions.” RightNow boasts a clientele of more than 1,500 companies around the world, including Alaska Air, Andrews Federal Credit Union, Banknorth Group, Bell Microproducts, Briggs Corporation, Cendant, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, Dow Chemical, Dun & Bradstreet, Friend Communications, Germany Pioneer, International Rectifier, Kodak, Merry Maids, Paddy Power, Sketchers, The Right Start, Thomas Cook, Victoria International, and Victoria University of New Zealand.