A Review of Western Union: Service and Customer Service
Given my interest in companies that provide excellent or dismal customer service, and my tendency to provide feedback on the same (to improve companies we frequently do business with, and also to recommend — or warn — our friends and family), I must share about my experiences with Western Union. Not one experience, or a small handful of experiences, but literally, every transaction I have with WU leaves me frustrated with WU as a service provider, and the fact that there are few, if any, reliable services for transferring money internationally.
So when prompted to provide feedback, I took the opportunity to give it, no holds barred. I honestly hope that they take these suggestions into consideration, but frankly, what are the chances? Here’s a response via a web survey about my most recent transaction:
“OMG, i CANNOT STAND using Western Union, but am forced to because of convenient locations for the receiver. every aspect of interaction with your system, from the automated entry, to dealing with a disinterested live person verifying the info that your automated system has just verified, to attempting to contact live chat support when the live agent disconnects before providing the complete MTCN #, is pure torture.
So here are a couple tips from a guy who specializes in usability in technology and in keeping things simple:
1) i enter my information using the automated system, which agonizes over double-checking that i know how to enter my details via a keypad. here’s a tip: once i enter my Gold Card #, how about skipping the automated readback, and asking me for my birthday, or some other identifying information, easy to enter. again, skip the automated readback. if the birthday matches the information on my Gold Card #, assume i know what i’m doing and skip the remainder of the verification questions.
2) since i’ve confirmed my identity, DON’T have the live agent repeat every question to confirm i am who i am. if your system of transference of the data from the automated section to the live agent is unreliable, get a new system. i can make specific recommendations towards systems that handle this without error, and without frustrating your regular customers.
3) we regularly send money to the same people. i’ll bet many of your customers do. how about storing the contacts so we can simply provide a name, without the extra location data every time we place a call.
4) you have my email address on file. how about assuming that i would like a copy of the transaction data emailed to the address on file, so i don’t have to contact support when the live agent disconnects in the middle of reading the MTCN #.
5) contacting live chat support to get information that the live agent failed to provide, the window tells me I’m #3 in the queue, and that my typical wait time is a minute and twenty. Cool, i can handle that. But sixty seconds after my estimated wait time is over, the window times out and asks me to request email support. Really? I should have the option to email support, but what if i want to wait that 60 additional seconds to connect with a live agent? i had to connect to chat four times before i could actually get to someone.
6) i would love to use the website for our transfers, but don’t get me started on the issues we’ve had there. not to mention that transactions performed via the website, a system which is FULLY automated and requires no human interaction, costs $40, while a phone call, which uses an dinosaur of an automated system, plus taking several minutes of a live operator’s time to verify the same information i just entered, costs only $15. i’m not a tightwad, but the difference for the amount of time spent is just nonsense. human capital is more costly than technology — your pricing logic makes no sense.
summary: the easier you make your systems for your customers, the easier your systems will be for your agents, the less time they will spend per call, and the less frustrated your regular customers will be.
given my experience with Western Union, i half expect this comment field to be cut off after 50 characters, so nobody from WU may read this far, but it will be in print on the web, if you should care to read it. the moment a company comes along and provides a service that can feasibly replace Western Union for money transfer, i’m game for a switch.”
Seeking LT Meaningful Relationship with an SEO and Design Firm?
Growing a business. Becoming a leader in your industry. It takes guts and gusto, perhaps a bit of trial and error, and a definite willingness to break away from the pack and step out on your own.
If you’re a master chef who wants to open an exclusive restaurant, an inventor who wants to open a widget shop, a top-notch consultant who wants to increase business—you have a special talent to share with the world and may not have the time or wherewithal to become a jack of all trades in related business matters.
This is where engaging other go-getters in long-term business relationships is essential. There are two areas no business can afford to be lax in: establishing your presence and communicating with your customers. And if that’s not your forte, then it’s time to partner with a company whose specialty is just that.
Can you do it yourself? Many novices try. There are even templates out there to help you. But have you ever noticed that not even those who sell templates use a template to market their own business! If you are serious about your business’ image and reach, you need to place your signature on the industry and stand above the crowd. How can you do that?
Seek out a design firm that
1) Wants to get to know and understand your business
2) Has the time and staff to dedicate to your needs
3) Can show you specific examples of other businesses they’ve branded and marketed
4) Exhibits good communication skills
5) Will work to continually grow and groom your web presence
6) Speaks in layman’s terms and has a plan that makes financial sense
7) Is well-rounded in design, marketing, and social media
8) Can reasonably maintain a long-term, personal relationship with you.
You can attempt a relationship with anyone. Like all successful long-term relationships, it really boils down to finding someone who really sees and can bring out the very best in you and who will champion who you are. Where will you look for that kind of relationship in the business realm? Welcome to YDO. It all starts here.
To learn more visit www.yourdesignonline.com.
Up Next: The Path to Enlightenment: Harnessing the Power of the Internet to Grow your Business
Clear WiMAX saves the day
I’ve complained a bit about my personal experience with Clear Wimax in terms of signal, salespeople, and customer service, but have to admit they really came through for us this past weekend at our training event.
Jodey Smith, a long-time personal friend, was there to assist event attendees with technical problems or if our pace was a little challenging, but after internet issues from the venue (that’s another post in itself!), Jodey brought in several Clear WiMAX modems, a Clear Spot, and a few wireless routers. We were easily able to get every conference attendee online without problem. I promised to pimp his service if it went well, and sure enough, here i am…
Jodey Smith
design@gopublicdesign.com
404-538-2637
Thanks Jodey!
Clear WiMAX blows
I’ve been a user of mobile internet for years, starting back in the days where my cell phone acted as a 14.4kbps modem. For a couple years, i’ve used a sprint card and have been fairly happy with service.
I’ve heard about the clear/clearwire technology for a couple years, how great it would be, etc. And a few months ago, on the recommendation of a friend (who just happened to be a reseller with clear wimax), i signed up for clear service. I set out to find faster download speed. After all, who couldn’t use 10mbps download speed, right? The wimax is technically 4g technology (4g simply means 4th generation — it’s no reflection on speed improvements from 3g. More in this nerdy yet somehow cool video explanation from craig matthias). Product showed up at my door the next day and i couldn’t wait to get started. Dreams of streaming video from the highway, or conference calling beside the pool, like the tv commercials tell us.
Fyi, clear is using atlanta as one of its flagship cities. Signal coverage everywhere in atlanta. In fact, they back that up with media coverage everywhere in atlanta, and salespeople coverage everywhere in atlanta. I live in atlanta. And not like the outskirts, like people in alpharetta say they live in atlanta. I live in midtown. I travel atlanta extensively.
Long story short… i have the clear home modem, which sits stationary. Signal meter says it’s good, but more often than not, page loads take longer than when i’m on my sprint card. If they load at all. I have the clear mobile modem. But sitting in a client’s office in the middle of buckhead (again, very much atlanta), i get zero bars. And when clear gets zero bars, guess how internet performs? It doesn’t.
Quick synopsis: clear 4g service runs on sprint towers. Where sprint offers 4g service, clear offers 4g service. Where sprint offers only 3g service, clear offers jack.
If they had told me that up front, i never would have bought. I tried to cancel service and return equipment within 14 days of signing up, only to have customer service show me the fine print that voided any chance of cancellation after 7 days. Marketing brilliance: misrepresent your product, lock people into a contract, and charge astronomical fees to get out of it.
So here’s my recommendation: use sprint. Sprint offers the 4g technology. Heck, sprint built the towers. They’re just letting clear leech. Get the Sprint 3g/4g card. This card downgrades where 4g signal is not available.
My hope is to spread the warning to souls in search of faster download speeds. Stick with the proven product on this one. And for the love of pete, read fine print.
Incredible Customer Service for an Oil Change
Every few thousand miles or so, I find myself in a grimy, hole-in-the-wall waiting room, while those more mechanically inclined than I change fluids under the hood of ye olde family jeep. It’s not an arduous process, but a bit of an interruption in a fast-paced life. I stand still and watch a talk show on the tv in the lobby, careful not to brush against a wall or counter — oil stains have ruined many a pair of pants.
Today was different.
I remembered seeing a lube shop on ponce. It was a texaco, so I figured it must be reputable. I lined up the jeep in front of an open bay and was met at my door by a smiling technician. Pricing was posted just over her shoulder, and she explained their maintenance packages to me. After I had made my selection, she mentioned a man by name, and told me that he “had the door for me”. As if I were walking into the ritz. Odd, I thought, but I walked toward a smiling gentleman who, indeed, was holding open the door to the waiting area. Nice touch.
The waiting area was clean. Not immaculate — I wouldn’t have performed surgery in there, or eaten off the floor, but care had obviously been taken to provide a clean and comfortable environment. I sat in a chair and watched the last few minutes of a recently released dvd.
I hadn’t been seated long — it certainly couldn’t have been more than fifteen minutes — when a service tech came and sat beside me, clipboard in hand. I wondered what he’d tell me they found, that needed to be replaced. Classic upsell. It didn’t happen. He deftly explained the service performed on my vehicle. The oil. Belts checked. Tire pressure corrected. He made me aware of services that would be due soon. And he directed me to the counter.
The cashier logged me into the system, got my contact information, and informed me that they would keep a record of every service they perform on my vehicle, as a courtesy to me. Nice. In case I lose the envelope in my glove compartment stuffed with every piece of paper a mechanic has ever handed me since I bought the vehicle. She then told me that JJ had the door for me. I turned and, sure enough, the service tech was holding the front door open, my jeep five feet from the door, with my driver’s door open. He wished me well, and I went on my way, but was enamored with the level of service I had just been provided.
From my first encounter until I was buckled in again, I never questioned my next step. Never wondered what was taking so long. I’ve paid other people to maintain my vehicles since I could drive. This was by far the most unique vehicle service experience i’ve had. The crew operated in such a coordinated effort to make my experience a positive one, and performed, a little like my Jeep, pardon the pun, like a well-oiled machine.
Great job to the crew at Texaco xPress Lube, 566 Ponce de leon in Atlanta. I’ll see you in another few thousand miles, and i’m actually looking forward to it.