I just noticed that I hadn’t blogged for 47 days – OMG. Still those of you who follow me on Twitter will not have gone hungry at least.
Great service, useless service – the difference grows bigger all the time. Having travelled in the US and Europe over the summer, it focuses the mind on the state of UK plc and its relationship to customer and people experience. So let’s take a quick romp through high and low lights…. The message: the best are getting better and the rest just don’t notice.
Food – the high points: Service at the Hinds Head at Bray, one of Heston Blumenthal’s haunts. Whatever you think of him, his food is to die for. Triple cooked roast potatoes…. The best thing is you can just go in for a pint – but if you do have a scotch egg with it – you will not regret it! Service on the brilliant side, not surprising as it is Michelin’s pub of the year 2011. And, what a plus, my daughters paid what was a very reasonable bill considering the quality.
This was only outdone by an experience at Pebble Beach golf club near Carmel where they play the US Open. Imagine doing this at Wentworth or the like…. We were cycling past, shorts, helmet, red faces – you get the picture. We decide to nip in the back gate on our bikes and take a look. Feeling very naughty as we bike through the main courtyard in front of the club house, the door man in plus 4s shouts at us! “Come in and have lunch, I’ll get rid of the bikes for you!” Five minutes later we’re on the terrace in front of the 18th green eating slap up nosh.
Low points – Utilities: I’ve tweeted recently about the utilties’ lowly position in the different industries and experience league tables. What a shame because there are so many good people doing good work on service there now. But this is a typical sequence:
I’m switched to online billing without noticing
I receive email alert for my bill and attempt to go in and look at it. Cant pass the security so give up – its not one of my regualar passwords, and being an infrequent user I have no memory of what it might be. Must be a non standard ( to me) structure. I give up and get on with my life
A month later I see a 90% increase in my direct debit on my bank account
I go back to last email alert and try to log on. I cant. I try the password reset. It asks me to answer a key question before it will reset. I fail the question – pardon me. but I do know my mothers maiden name.
I go to the contact page, which pushes me through useless FAQs – FAQs dont help when ” I can’t access my online bill/failed security” is the need. I email them and its says 10 days to respond. So obviously I phone them.
No IVR routing just an everyone’s busy message interrupting silence. After 10 minutes, music on hold steps in. My cue to give up the queue.
I expect all their operators are busy answering questions about how to access their accounts.
Root causes:
1) Non standard password formats
2) Over zealous security on resets
3) A policy of raiding bank accounts to improve cashflow
Is it any wonder that utilities get a bad press.
Video – a highlight: On a brighter note here’s something to sharpen your wits and make you realise what you could be doing with your data at work. It’s awesome but skip the middle of the Johnny Cash art if thats not your bag: Aaron Koblin on data visualisation
