Deaf Dumb and Blinders

AUTHOR'S ADDENDUM: When I wrote this article, I was very tired and unhappy about the dismissive treatment I had received from a single representative who (I realize now) was under a lot of pressure as a result of changes made OUTSIDE THE COMPANY'S CONTROL. Today, I was able to resolve the problem thanks to a very knowledgeable and patient phone-technician at the same company who saw that the circumstances were NOT typical. There is no apparent reason (to me) why my email should have stopped working, and by the sequence of questions he asked, I realized that he had dealt with a lot of similar circumstances recently, so my apologies to the company for my having unfairly criticized them because of the treatment I had received from one person. After speaking with the tech-support representative today, I was reassured about the reasons I had chosen the company in the first place: namely that it is a professional company that is well-represented by the majority of its staff, and is genuinely concerned when odd systems-behavior causes grief for its clients.

Any company pursuing a business so fraught with external complexities is likely to endure problems beyond its control, but I think the quality of individual staff members (like today's tech support guy) really make a business work. So for the sake of goodwill, I retract my derisive statements for this particular company.

But, I think my original article is still a valuable lesson for other companies that provide network services.

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My network service provider (curiously the SAME network provider that first made domain-names widely available to the public) has me listed as a Gold VIP client.

Yet, when I reported to them (through the service/Support section of their own website) that SEVERAL Very Important People (and I mean people who can literally pull the rug out from under errant network service providers with a couple keystrokes) were no longer getting email from me, I received the following response:

-BEGIN RESPONSE-

Dear [name],

Thank you for contacting [company]. We are committed to creating the best customer experience possible. One of the first ways we can demonstrate our commitment to this goal is to quickly and efficiently handle your recent request.

However, we will not be able to resolve this issue by e-mail. So we ask that you please call [internal Subgroup] to help you address and resolve your concern.

We hope this information has been helpful. However, if you have any additional questions, please don't hesitate to contact our [internal Subgroup #2].

Please do not respond to this E-mail. We hope this information has been helpful. If you have any additional questions, you can reach us via e-mail by completing our online form at http://[web address] at [phone #] and provide Service Request Number [10-digit number].

Thank you for choosing [company].

Sincerely,

[nick]

[company] Customer Support

(c) Copyright 2006 [company], LLC. All rights reserved
-END RESPONSE-

Now MY ire was not with the response (in fact, IF the methods described in this response actually resulted in action, this email would be an outstanding example of the CORRECT way to provide customer service for a network provider).

The problem is that the reality in not commensurate with the statements made in this email. The truth would be better conveyed if the following disclaimer were added:

All statements in this transmission subject to the momentary moods, whims, or prejudices of our support staff.

Now, I myself have been in the ISP business since the days of DARPAnet, so I usually cut service providers a little slack...but when a business becomes so arrogant that it thinks it can afford to alienate the very people who nurtured it in its infancy, I get a little angry.

Now, admittedly, having a form or brain damage that makes simple tasks practically impossible (all these articles are typed with one hand, remember) is a minor contributor to my less-than-relaxed attitude about my email not getting to its intended recipients.

But to be honest, the whole experience is happening at a time when I would much rather be COMMUNICATING WITH PEOPLE WHO CARE than resolving the internal problems of multi-zillion-dollar businesses.

It makes me wonder just HOW MUCH sheer apathy contributes to the unraveling fabric of civilization that our predecessors worked so hard to knit together.