Verizon Wireless recently found itself in an uncomfortable position. It seems that a “software glitch” was accidentally charging data use charges when the customers weren’t using any data services.
The story made its way into the local and national media. Verizon is now issuing credits to its customers.
However, the back story of this situation is a bit more interesting. Theresa Dixon Murray noticed the erroneous charges on her son’s account. She contacted Verizon on and off for six months. Each time she called, she got a different excuse and/or reason for the charge (none of which were correct). Finally, due to some other reasons, her son lost phone privileges for a month. The phone was locked up. Yet when the bill came, the data charges were still there.
At this point, she contacted Verizon again. This time, she didn’t identify herself as a customer. Instead she approached them through her job as a business columnist for the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper. Verizon’s response was quite different. According to Dixon Murray, “As a customer it (the response) was one way, as a reporter it was a very different way.” Within a week, Verizon flew in people from their corporate offices. http://videos.cleveland.com/plain-dealer/2010/10/plain_dealer_business_columnis.html
This story reminded me of another incident about two years ago involving United Airlines. Dave Carroll, a musician from Canada, was on a United flight. As he sat waiting for take-off, he saw the baggage handlers throwing his $3,500 guitar. When he arrived in Chicago, the guitar was broken. Despite many months of trying, he could not get United to compensate him for the damages (or admit fault). Finally, Carroll went around United creating a music video called “United Breaks Guitars.” The video went viral on YouTube™ registering four million hits in just ten days. United ultimately compensated Mr. Carroll and even asked if they could use his video for an internal training program. http://news.softpedia.com/news/United-Airlines-Breaks-Guitars-Loses-180-Million-117494.shtml
In the end, each company did the right thing. The problem is that they missed the opportunity to do it just because it was the right thing to do. In both cases, the companies didn’t take action until some other pressure forced them to do so. In other words, they didn’t take action to help their customer, they took the action to help themselves.
Why does it take such extreme actions to get a company to do the right thing? Few customers have the access to the media or the time and ability to create a music video that prompted action in these cases. Does that mean that most customers just have to accept such problems and move on?
I understand that businesses are facing increased pressure to manage expenses. However, honoring their end of a business transaction shouldn’t be considered an expense. Ms. Dixon Murray wasn’t asking for a year of free service, a discount on service, or a free cell phone. She just didn’t want to pay for services that she didn’t use. I’m sure that if Verizon had a software glitch causing them miss a bill one month, they would think it was reasonable to make a correction on the next month’s bill. So why was it so hard for them to properly address a situation where a customer was charged for something that she didn’t use?
Similarly, David Carroll wasn’t looking for free flights or upgrades. He just wanted to be compensated for the property that the airline damaged.
What type of leadership are we providing if front line customer service representatives are unable or afraid to do the right thing? How well are we training our people if they don’t understand the difference between discretionary expenses and the business’ obligation to its customers.
Leader’s need to step back and remember that customers are not their adversaries. It’s also time for leaders to step up and show the courage and confidence needed to do what’s right – whether with customers, their own people, or the communities in which they operate.
If you or your leaders cannot do the right thing simply because it’s right, it might be time to find some new leaders.
Brad Kolar is the President of Kolar Associates, a leadership consulting and workforce productivity consulting firm. He can be reached at brad.kolar@kolarassociates.com.
