In the last 10 years, companies have made it really obvious that they don’t want to spend time on the phone anymore. From my experience, there are two ways they make phone calls difficult: people and computers.
With people, you waste your time endlessly repeating your details to operator after operator to narrow down the correct department to address your problem. When you finally reach the problem solver, you explain your issue one more time and they offer up a solution—sending out a replacement for the damaged item or crediting your bill. Promises made and the phone call ended, you spend the next month waiting for a replacement that isn’t coming and a credit that will never materialize. And if you call back, it’s the whole process all over again, only this time it ends with your rep having never existed, being on the other line, and/or no notes being left on your account. It’s designed to frustrate you into not pursuing the matter further.
On the computer side, the frustration production is packaged differently. You get a phone maze of prompt after prompt before you’re put in the right queue, where you will then wait while you receive notification of your dwindling place in line. After 20 minutes of hold times and smooth jazz, you hear the call ringing. And then YOUR PHONE GOES DEAD!
Invariably, in either situation, there is never a single individual willing to take ownership of your problem to see it through to a solution. No matter how big the company is.
We recently saw this with Vanguard with a client rolling their 401(k) over to an IRA. When a COVID-19 quarantine shifted timelines and due dates, we had to get ahold of the company. It was endless runaround. The first time we tried the automatic callback system. We got a call back an hour later. We conference in our sick client, explain everything, and… the call gets disconnected. We call back again and I decided to wait on hold. After an hour and a half, we finally got someone on the line that could help.
At this point in time, you may be asking yourself why I am writing about customer service?
Throughout my 16 years in the financial services industry, I have been associated with two large firms. This week marks one year since I joined Franklin Retirement Solutions, and I am thrilled I made the move. While there are numerous reasons for my job satisfaction, the personal, caring, and knowledgeable interaction the office offers our clients is at the top of the list.
With Franklin Retirement, you will never have to deal with a frustrating phone maze when contacting our office. Calling when we’re open means your call is answered—by a human!—in the first two rings, and you’re directed to the right person. If you call after hours, you don’t get routed to a general mailbox (that’s somehow always full), you can leave a voicemail with the exact person you’re looking for.
We focus not just on our clients’ personal retirement plans, but on our clients as people. No one should be discarded and forced to wait on the phone for hours. It’s impersonal and unprofessional. Our service will always be above-and-beyond and unmatched by the larger firms in the industry.