Tag Archives: clear communication

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Kudos to Rogers (sort of)

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When Rogers bought Shaw they retained Shaw-mobile although Freedom Mobile was sold to Quebecor to appease the regulators whom were opposed to the potential anti-competitive circumstances of concentrating mobile phone service to three major providers.

Shaw mobile customers were attached to the Freedom mobile network with roaming agreements on Rogers and Telus networks, subject to bandwidth limits.

Maintaining the Status Quo

 

Rogers must move Shaw mobile customers to their network (from Freedom mobile), although the transition time frame is not public as far as I know.

To ensure favourable public opinion in support of the merger Rogers stated they would provide Shaw mobile customers with at least the same terms for five years, although they could select a different Rogers plan if desired.

The transition

Transition officially commenced on June 6th.  I am an early adaptor so I went ahead and made the switch.

For me, the change represents an improvement as I went from free calls anywhere in Canada and free text anywhere in the world with 300 meg of data a month for $3.30 to free calls anywhere in Canada and free text anywhere in the world plus 1 gig of data per month free.  Plan fixed for 5 years.

However the process was not completely seamless but pretty fast and certainly efficient so far (I am still waiting for my SIM cards).  For me Rogers over promised and under delivered the services, no big deal but a bit misleading.

The Glitches

First, transition steps;

When making the change I was advised a credit check was necessary.  No issue for me except inquiries can impact your credit score, but for some this could throw a curve in the process.  ( You need to supply two pieces of ID as well).

So not a seamless cutover but most people will have no issue.

Second, over promise;

During the conversion the agent provided me with details of the new plan showing data speeds of up to 250 Mbps (basically 5 g) however after concluding plan set up I received a plan details document showing data speeds of up to 150 meg (4g).

With Shaw mobile the speed is LTE slower so this is an improvement but I do believe it is not proper to get me to accept the transfer based on on speed than downgrade to another.

Overall

I am getting faster, cheaper service so I have no complaints.  My recommendation to Rogers though is to be upfront about the ID and credit check requirement when asking people to switch ( at least include in the FAQ) and take care to quote the correct network speeds.

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Continuity Matters

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Recent experiences with various companies has really driven home how critical continuity of the message and actions is to provide basic acceptable levels of customer service.

Handoffs lead to Disconnects

In the past two weeks, interactions with four different companies (large and small) were all scarred at various points by because the transactions could not be completed without interacting with multiple individuals who were not in sync with each other.

The sad part is on the whole these experiences could have been totally satisfactory or even better had these unfortunate hand-offs not left a bad taste for something that overall was fine.

Coordinate and Confirm

The solution is simple. The principle should be a single point of contact for a customer to the greatest extent possible.

In cases where other expertise or skill focus is needed the transfer of the customer should always include all parties in the company (and the customer) to ensure a full understanding of what has incurred to date.

Just dropping the customers into someone else’s hands is a recipe for disaster.  Consistency in approach requires a “warm” handoff.

How We Doing

With longer service and support interactions, particularly those requiring some handoffs of the customer, pay attention to how things are going.

Confirm the customer is getting what they need at a minimum by asking them for feedback each time a transfer is made to someone else (always a warm transfer with everyone present at the beginning).

Avoid dumping the customer on someone else without confirming they are okay with bringing in additional support and be sure to consult internally beforehand to ensure continuity of message and avoid duplication.

Simple Approach Works Best

The suggestions made here can virtually always ensure success with every customer interaction.  Even if things don’t always proceed without glitches (shit happens) being sensitive to this and addressing issues collaboratively within your organization can make the overall experience for those you serve a positive one.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Concision

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By minimizing the words used in conveying an idea we should enhance the ability of other to attain full understanding.    By eliminating redundancy without omitting important information clarity increases.

This is the practice of concision.  Being concise is not mainly about using fewer words but rather focusing on being meaningful with fewer words. This applies to both spoken and written communications.

The key skill associated with being concise is the ability to identify and then convey the critical meaning without requiring the recipient to expend much effort.

For Example

I enjoyed crafting the above paragraphs, but I admit they are not concise.  It is easier to write without concision but when the message is critical and the impact potential is high, being concise is a wise approach. 

I believe the lead to this post could have conveyed the same message with fewer words, for example:

Concision is a critical communication practice whereby important information, verbally or written, is relayed in as few words as possible. 

Unpack that for me

When explaining something or sharing an idea or concept when someone responds “could you please unpack that for me” or similar words, it is a virtual certainty you were not concise.

The path to concision almost always requires review and reconstruction before delivery.  This applies whether it is to be averbal or written format.  

Think about your key messages and remove all the extraneous stuff (i.e. unpack the message) before you proceed with delivery. 

In a verbal discussion this means being silent until you have atightly formulated message and in the case of written comminication try rewriting it for brevity several times before issuing.