I’ve been fortunate when it comes to most of my customer service experiences, and I was fortunate again today.
I had a question about my mobile data plan — the type of question that’s really best dealt with in person. Essentially I was looking for connectivity options for my cousin’s upcoming trip from Europe. She’ll be here for five weeks, but plans to travel in Canada as well as the US. Connectivity — while not essential — is definitely an exceptional convenience when available.
So I went to the Verizon Wireless store.
The representative understood what I was looking for immediately. No long term contracts, no high up-front fees, and cross-border coverage. He laid out a couple of options, both of which were a little more costly up-front than I was really ready to spring for. I told him thanks for the information and prepared to leave.
“Hang on,” he said, “let me check on something.”
He came back with what at this point looks like the perfect solution. I left happy.
But I wasn’t quite done with Verizon just yet.
I realized when I got home, and tested the device I’d picked up, that it wasn’t as clear as my other devices that it would handle Canadian coverage properly. It worked great here, but I didn’t want my cousin to find herself in Canada with a useless brick.
So I went to the Verizon Wireless website, and fired up chat. A few minutes later I was chatting with an online rep who also quickly understood exactly what I was asking about. She cleared a couple of things relating to the device on the account, and confirmed that it should meet my needs … or rather those of my cousin.
Now if all that sounds boring and uneventful, you’ll understand why good experiences with companies rarely get as much press, clicks, or eyeballs, as compared to the negative ones. I’m sure that there are negative experiences with Verizon all the time, for a variety of reasons. But I’m just as convinced that the good experiences — the experiences people don’t take the time to write up and share with their friends — are more plentiful, and more common, than most people would guess.
I’m grateful for good customer service experiences, and appreciate the people at the other end. With occasional exceptions, of course, I generally have good experiences with the companies I deal with.