As customers we just want to be looked afterA few weeks ago I wrote a piece about NTL and said that I thought most people were pretty forgiving when things went wrong as long as they could speak to someone and feel that some action was being taken to put the situation right. Well today I've been reminded just how important it is to follow up customer complaints well. Way back last May I agreed to place an advertisement in a business publication. It seemed the ideal choice for GMJ Associates as the publication was directed at Irish business people and would contain a supplement devoted to CSR. When I saw the actual magazine there were a number of problems and I e-mailed the sales person to complain. I sold advertising myself for a long time and I know that things go wrong. I understand the editorial process and that changes happen. I just wanted to get my situation sorted. I got a response from the sales person the same day apologising and saying that he would initiate action to rectify it. I was really impressed. Unfortunately this feeling wasn't to last. Up until today I've been trying to sort it out and I say that I've been trying because I am the only one who has been trying. Various promises have been made to me along the way, each time after I've made contact with the company but they've never been followed through. I caught sight of the envelope containing the cheque for this company in my desk drawer on the 3rd February and sent an e-mail to the three people in the publishing company for whom I had addresses. Today nearly five weeks later I finally got a call back. They're now offering me all kinds of special deals in the magazine, pretty tempting ones actually but am I going to take them up? No, because my trust in this company has been completely broken and I suspect that these offers will only cause me more hassle and annoyance. The lack of action and the lack of proper follow up processes have moved me from being really impressed at the way a problem was being dealt with to complete distrust. I'll never deal with this company again. Oh and I've just torn up the cheque!
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