How a mis-informed service agent can kill your company – or another way for diminishing value, fast!

I purchased a Dell desk-top computer a few months ago. Good little machine. Affordable. Delivered on time. And to this day, quite reliable.

Now, in Canada, Dell has a deal with Sympatico, one of the country’s largest Internet providers, and owned by Bell Canada. This deal offers three months of free high-speed Internet access upon purchase of a Dell computer. I took the deal.

One night, I ran into a problem and called Sympatico’s customer service. Upon hearing the description of my situation, the agent asked which brand of computer I was using. When he heard that I was using a Dell PC, he simply told me to put the “thing” back in the box and return it to the manufacturer immediately! I was stunned.

Obviously, I kept the computer, but couldn't help wonder what had gone through this fellow's mind. He was either having a bad day and was retaliating to his boss or the company, or he had simply been poorly briefed by the marketing people who put the Dell deal together.

Maybe I'm exagerating by saying that this fellow was "killing the company", but he sure was causing damage to his employer.

This is going to sound like a question which will trigger millions of comments (hopefully!), but I'm taking the chance: Have you ever had a bad customer service experience?

What the question is leading to is that great customer service of good communication between departments can create value in a significant way, making customer experience richer, more positive.