That may seem like an obvious question, but when’s the last time you reviewed your company’s policies? Are they still relevant today or stuck in the past? Do they encourage customers to do business with you or push them to your competitors?
Recently, I ran into a situation of what I consider to be outdated policies. As previously noted, I came to the difficult decision to cut cable and also got rid of my landline. The latter may seem obvious today, but I had kept it to this point for my business. I still have Internet through this company, along with a greatly reduced monthly bill.
I made sure to cancel my cable and landline two weeks before my next scheduled payment was due, so I wouldn’t have to deal with credits. As this company charges in advance for its services (which I find a little outdated itself), I expected only my Internet fee to be withdrawn for the next month.
Talk about a (bad) surprise! I noticed that my account had not been updated online a week later, so I called. Despite my protests, two different people informed me that it was company policy not to make changes during a billing period. Huh?! Their reasoning? They don’t send out updated bills. I receive paperless statements, as I would think most people do today, so I’m not sure what the company’s “sending out.” Also, in this age of real-time information, I was shocked at how slow this company processes changes.
I’m paying a company in advance for services I no longer have with them, so they can credit my account later.
Does this make any sense to anyone? I’m serious; I would love your feedback. Am I expecting too much?
My changes won’t be processed until my next billing cycle even though the company was able to cut off my services in 10 minutes. Is this acceptable?
You’re probably asking why I don’t move my business. There are limited choices in my market, and the only other company is actually worse to deal with. I know, because I used to deal with them.
Note that I’m not a complainer nor do I expect companies to cater to me. A little customer service would be nice though.
So back to you and your company… do your policies make sense? Are there reasons behind them? Do they help you do business? If not, it may be time for a review.
Please chime in… what do you think of my situation? Is it acceptable or an example of an outdated policy at work?
Have a great week,
Jaime
clearly conveyed communications 