The 10 am - 4pm Service Guy

I was listening to Matt & Eric today on JACK FM 96.9 talking about the absurdity of the 10-4 service guy.  Matt & Eric asked for some service guys to call in to help explain why companies can't give their customer a narrower window of time when making service calls.   Surprisingly, a couple of service guys did call and the general consensus was that they don't know how long the prior appointments will take so they can't accurately provide a narrower time. 

garbage. 

There are far too many companies that claim to have "the best customer service" for that to be real reason anymore.  In reality, it doesn't mean anything if they say it.   What matters most is whay I say about their customer service.  The real reason that companies fail at living up to their brand promise is that they just haven't integrated their brand promise across all consumer touch points. 

Let me explain. 

A marketing person decides that ABC Cable should be know for customer service. They buy commercials that say ABC Cable is number 1 in customer service.    I call to set an appointment.  They ask if someone will be home between 10am-4pm to set up my cable box.  Then by definition they can't be #1 in customer satisfaction because I'm not satisfied with waiting at home all day for some guy to show up.  And what if they don't show?  It's happend to me.  In fact it happend to me 3 times with one company.  The result?  Their radio commercial lies and I tell everyone I know about it.

With an integrated brand promise across all consumer touchpoints, this is how it should work...

The ABC Cable radio commercial says they're number 1 in customer service.  I call to set an appointment.  They agree to a 1 hour time window that's agreeable to both of us.  Like normal people do, the ABC service tech calls my cell to confirm our appointment ahead of time.  If they're running late, they let me know.  They meet me at home, do the work and ask me to fill in an online review on YELP or someother public review site.  The average review rating from all posts confirms or confronts their brand promise.  Most reviewers say that ABC Cable provided great service.  In fact, when I compare to other cable companies in my area, they are number 1.   I believe it because other people confirm it.  ABC cable has a lot to be proud of and should encourage all of their staff to keep striving for excellent customer service in every interaction with a customer.   In this scenario, the entire company becomes part of the marketing plan.