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It was Friday night and I was at home just about to pour myself a much deserved glass of wine. Dinner was simmering away and I could finally switch off for the weekend. Suddenly I received a text from my energy company asking for me to call them regarding an outstanding bill. It was the third time they had texted me that week. In my view, there are a few business critical customer communication issues here:
1) With all the scam emails and text messages doing the rounds nowadays, how do I know this is genuine (particularly in this case, when they have only days before issued me with a refund for overpayment!)?
2) Why should the onus be on me to call them when it is in their interests to reach me?
3) What happened to an official letter or, heaven forbid, picking up the phone to discuss the issue?
This got me thinking about how brands maintain dialogue with us as consumers and how we respond to different mediums of communication. Clearly, brands have a vested interest in nurturing brand loyalty, and this is never more important than in direct communication with a customer (particularly when social media is often the first port of call for any negative feedback). So, do they need to rethink their approach?
When the energy company finally did pick up the phone to discuss the issue, the following exchange took place:
Agent: Why haven’t you called us – we’ve been texting you?
Me: Because I thought the messages were a scam – there are lots around
Agent: But we kept sending them, you should have called us back
Me: If you need me why don’t you call me – why is it left to me as a customer?
Agent: Because you owe us money
Me: But you’ve just refunded me for overpayment? Why didn’t you just deduct it from that before you issued the refund?
Agent: That’s a different department
Me: Unfortunately that’s not my problem. Why didn’t you write to me? I would have paid more attention to something more formal
Agent: We’re environmentally conscious
Me: And I’m security conscious!
They’re certainly not ‘happy customer conscious’. Perhaps if companies do intend to continue texting with regards to transactional matters, at the very least they should coordinate customer comms within the organisation, avoiding department crossovers and reducing the risk of unhappy or confused customers.
What do you think? Are text messages from brands an intrusion? Or should transactional communications be more formal? Do you trust the messages you get, or are you conscious of potential scams? Please let us know below or tweet us @ADComms