The frustrations of being "just" a customer

I really hate being “just” a customer.

“Just” a customer is someone you force to call an 800 number to get service.

“Just” a customer is someone that has to spend 10 minutes on the phone working through the maze of the automated phone system before talking to a real person.

“Just” a customer is someone that you tell ‘sorry…you are under contract and must pay $125 to cancel before your 1 year anniversary”…..when that anniversary date is 2 days away.

“Just” a customer is someone that you really don’t care about keeping.

I hate being “just” a customer.

If you treat me like “just”a customer, you can expect me to treat you similarly.

When I call you to inquire about my service and it takes me 3 phone calls and 30 minutes of hold time, don’t expect me to be receptive to your offers to ‘increase’ my service for your  ‘one-time special offer’.

Don’t treat me like Vonage just did and make me wait on hold for 10 minutes then connect me to someone with extremely poor phone service (vonage….you ARE a phone service provider, are you not?)  and tell me that I agreed to a ‘cancellation fee’ if I cancel within a year of my order date….and my year anniversary date is in 2 days.

Don’t treat me like Legal Zoom did either. Don’t use an under-handed technique to sell me on your service. Don’t offer me 3 free months of service than automatically charge me for a year of service without informing me that an annual charge is about to be placed.  Mind you…I wanted the extra year of service….but just remind me about the charge beforehand.

Treat me like Ooma did when I called them a few weeks ago.  Answer the phone and ask me how my day is going. Answer my questions quickly, clearly and with information rather than sales speak.  (I’m now an Ooma user..and love it).

Treat me like AppSumo did when they thought I’d unsubscribed due to something they had done.  They reached out and apologized (even though it wasn’t their fault).

Treat me like “just” a customer and you’ll be one of the first companies / services I cut when I want/need to save money.

Treat me like a person and you’ll be amazed at how quickly I open my wallet and how much money I’m willing to spend with you.

Image Credit: Customer Service By Here’s Kate on flickr