Round the Mulberry Bush

(A customer experience to be optimised?)

My Dad said he couldn’t start his car. I thought it was probably a flat battery so I arrived with a charger and extension leads. Before I connected everything up I just thought I would try and start it - and there was the problem, a complete inability to turn the keys in the ignition. I tried everything but no good.

It is a pretty old vehicle of nearly 20 years, however, I figured the best first step was to call the main dealer to see if they could help. Whilst very polite, they suggested calling their dedicated assistance service which I duly did - wrestling with the “press 1 for” audio menu. 

The assistance line (once I got through) classed the situation as a ‘breakdown’ and so I was then put through to the breakdown service team. Unfortunately the service team informed me very nicely that they couldn’t help but would I like to be put through to the ‘options team’? I didn’t know what an ‘options team’ was or if they could help but as I seemed to be out of other options (and not wanting to repeat this process) I said “yes”. 

The ‘options team’ asked some more questions and then put me through to one of their third party affiliates - “We’ve Got The Key”. The customer services team here were very helpful and explained that as the car was old (19 years) it might take between 10 and 21 days to source a replacement part (to replace the ignition lock). The cost would be £660 and there was a £250 cancellation fee. I said “err, yes, okay then”. A bit later I got a text from another company (clearly a local partner) saying all was in hand and they would be in touch when it came to fitting the part.

Sure enough a few days later, an engineer attended to my Dad’s car and all was rectified. Happy ending.

What struck me was that I had to deal with so many different people, companies and call divert options! Some service reps asked questions to which I didn’t really know the answer and I’m sure I can’t be alone in that. I’m glad that I did the phoning because my Dad (now 87) although very capable, would have probably been confused and got nowhere to be frank. Looking back on the scenario, what I really wanted was for the main dealer to understand my problem, perhaps consult with a local knowledge base and then transfer me directly to the third party responsible or (even better) offer to have their technicians deal with it.

I understand that It is not always easy to resolve problems and on occasion, without third party assistance, some problems are genuinely beyond our gift to resolve. The difference though from a  customer perspective is how that resolution offer is presented. Whilst it is probably easier (and cheaper) for an organisation to ask the customer to go jump through a few hoops and deal with the provider directly, it's not necessarily what the customer wants (or appreciates). Most customers with an issue would say they want a single point of contact to whom they hand the problem and who will provide the solution - regardless of where or how that is achieved.

At PacSol we take ownership of problems. We believe our clients should only have to make that one call, deal with that single point. Request assistance from us and we will take care of the what, when, where, how of it all. PacSol will do the leg work, the third party consultation (if required) and we will provide the solution as quickly and appropriately as we can. If only all processes could be made that simple.

Mark Wheadon, Managing Director. February 2024

#pacsoluk #customerservice #processautomation #efficiency