Every spring I have to renew my security on the internet.  I have Trend Micro on my Dell computer and two other laptops have gone unprotected for awhile.  So when I ran across a 3 for $55 deal I thought – this is perfect.

Things went smoothly through the on-line purchase process and I was able to download the updated version on my Dell without pause.

Next were the two HP laptops.  As I started to download, things were going well until I received message that told me I needed to shutdown Outlook and my web browser.  I did so and hit “retry” and (again) the message came up to shut down Outlook and my browser.  These things weren’t open, so I hit retry a couple more times until I decided to reboot my laptop.

The reboot completed and I tried to install again . . . same message.  I looked for a FAQ . . . nothing.  Then I looked for a phone number to call . . . nope, but I could email them.  This was getting interesting, so I did email them.

I got some automated response about searching their knowledge base and a ticket number, but no phone number to call.  This email was followed 15 minutes from some from the consumer support team with basic instructions on how to download . . . not helpful.  I am now an hour into this “simple” task and fired back an email that I would prefer to speak with someone because these instructions were not getting the task completed. 

While I was sleeping that night I got an email giving a number to call and the hours available.  I was going on vacation so I decided to call when I got back. 

Back from vacation, I got the email out and also decided to try to see if I could get the download to work (one more try).  I noticed something I hadn’t before and that the download was good for 30 days . . . I was on day 34.  Frustrated I called technical support.

Navigating the IVR I found someone in support and told my story.  After the technical support person discovered that I owned HPs she informed me I would need to call a different number (lucky me).  I called the number and after about 10 minutes we had the issue resolved.

If a 10-minute phone call would have resolved this why couldn’t I call someone when I first encountered the problem?  This is the problem with today’s service organizations they have all this technology and ideas dreamed up to not provide service.  Customers are frustrated, I am sure Trend Micro is losing business over this.

There are so few companies that are good at service.  And for those that believe that what I experienced was good service, think again.  I was handled 3 times and that costs money and when I want to renew . . . lost revenue.

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Make the new decade a profitable and rewarding one, start a new path here.  Download free from www.newsystemsthinking.com “Understanding Your Organization as a System” and gain knowledge of systems thinking or contact us about how to get started at [email protected].  Reach him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TriBabbitt or LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/trippbabbitt.

Tripp Babbitt is a columist (Quality Digest and IQPC), speaker, and consultant to private and public service industry.