scte long read
The emergence of the online ‘Karen’ phenomenon, the personification of the angry, entitled consumer with her asymmetrical bob is a direct consequence of this. A thankless task One of the paradoxes of excellent customer service in the ISP industry unfortunately is that its success often goes unnoticed. When everything works seamlessly, there is no apparent reason for customers to interact with their provider, just as it doesn’t occur to any of us to thank the water company for a really great glass of water. It just needs to be there. If it isn’t, that’s not good enough. Let’s put a positive spin on this. Such “silent success” is a testament to the efficacy of the ISP’s infrastructure and support systems. What an achievement for the sector! Out of the chaos of COVID, the fibre roll out has flourished, that superfast broadband connectivity in all its myriad complexities is now as efficiently mundane as our gas supply and it’s been done so seamlessly, so below the radar, that the very people it is there to serve never think to appreciate the work that went into providing it. Service providers in all industries are waking up to this now; machines inviting you to tap a happy face are becoming a common feature in airports, retail outlets, hospitals and even public toilets, where this image (top right) was taken. Surveys and invitations to acknowledge your server, your waiter, your retailer in exchange for a discount or entry into a prize draw are common to the point of
The Law of Unintended Consequences
are a hotbed of trivial issues from angry customers, followed by fawning apologies from horrified companies, appalled their reputations have been trashed so indelibly. The balance of power thanks to these sites has tipped from the companies to the consumer as a result. Whereas the BBC and ITV once had to step in with memorable consumer programmes in the 80s and 90s such as That’s Life and The Cook Report, now all that’s required for a company to take action is a one-star review. It is a massive shift. For context, it is only in recent times that customer service has become a priority outside North America; in Europe historically, good service was viewed as extraneous, an unexpected extra. Even now, tipping isn’t expected in many countries in Europe. Until the Internet came along that is; once the online review concept emerged, consumers soon understood their own value in the marketplace, and the gloves came off. The landscape is completely different now. Poor reviews can break a company in a brutally short time. Troubleshooting problems, providing technical support, offering solutions to ensure a satisfactory user experience are all in a day’s work for a customer service representative. Broadband is now a ubiquitous utility, accelerated by the global pandemic; our reliance on it is no less than water or electricity and our expectation of an immediate resolution reflects this need. Our depleted attention spans and expectation that everything must be instant (from a flatter stomach to an Amazon delivery) has fuelled this attitude, and anything less results in vocal frustration and angry reviews online.
All this paints a rather bizarre picture by way of introduction, and in 2024 one that needs qualifying certainly. We have moved on since Victorian times, particularly since 2010 or so, as the world has become increasingly connected (though Broadband Journal suspects the mustn’t grumble instinct remains powerful, if latent, amongst most socially awkward natives). As late as 2006 a Turkish study of hotel tourists found that the British were more likely than Dutch, Israeli and Turkish folk to agree that “I am embarrassed to complain no matter how bad the product/service was “. If they had to complain, Brits were most likely to do it by writing a letter. It is really only in the last 15 years or so that the approach to complaining has changed.
How has this happened? Platforms such as TripAdvisor, Google Reviews and TrustPilot (as well as social media more broadly) have emerged in this time and have had a profound effect on customer behaviour, in good ways as well as bad. Such resources have enhanced and enabled decision-making and most of all, made businesses accountable for the first time. They have elevated customer expectations and provide a platform for customer voices to be heard, leading to greater transparency and improved service quality. Done well, the business in question will leverage good reviews as a marketing tool, gaining customer loyalty and achieving competitive advantage in the marketplace. The flipside of course is that while created with the initially altruistic intention of informing and protecting consumers, such mechanisms have emboldened even the most reticent of awkward Brits, who have made the most astonishing 180 O turn, and now rub their hands together at the prospect of complaining. In the past few of us really understood exactly why our ‘statutory rights were unaffected’ or even what they were. Not so now. Review sites these days
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Volume 46 No.3 September 2024
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