Often it is the less-than-satisfactory experiences in life that result in one being more grateful for the good things. 

I know good old fashioned customer service is harder to come by these days, but I honestly assumed there were still some remnants of customer service remaining in most industries.

It now makes a lot of sense to me that there is a shift by the larger companies, returning their call centers back to Australia after a surge in complaints and dissatisfaction from customers.

Here is my experience.

Recently I moved apartments and one of the things I had to do was relocate my internet service.

My service provider is affiliated with one of our larger telco’s (begins with a T), and I had contacted them some time prior to arrange the transfer of my service to the new address. They confirmed it had been done. All I had to do was take my equipment to the new address and plug it in.

So I moved house. The electricity worked, the gas and water were connected, however, the internet did not. There was an NBN termination box and 7 ethernet sockets next to it. Which socket went where? There was no labeling, nor instructions.

So I called the building management, thinking that all apartments would be cabled the same way and that this must be a commonly encountered problem for new residents. “No, we have never had that problem before” I was told, as I reflected on my apparent stupidity. Here I was running a technical business and apparently, I was not technical enough to work it out.

So I searched for a help line to call. No number. I went to the telco website and ran through the list of FAQ, but none covered my enquiry. So I logged a “ticket” with the technical department, hoping for a rapid response. Then I spied the Chat button. I stared a “chat” and communicated my problem in great detail. This resulted in a suggestion: “can I call you ?”, so I provided my mobile number.

Soon, my phone rang and I was confronted with a young lady speaking in a thick foreign accent, trying to help. There were chickens squawking in the background. Over the next 40 minutes we went around in circles, going over the connections, all of which was futile. Part of the problem was that I couldn’t understand her, and part of the problem was that she was reading from a document given to her for such occasions. She had no technical ability.

So I gave up on that approach and decided to take the initiative. I pulled the termination box apart and worked out which socket was most likely to have an internet connection (socket 1). I soon realised that I didn’t need the network connection device, so I removed it and taking the most logical assumption, plugged the internet cable into socket 1. Of course, it all worked. I then proceeded to check all 7 ethernet sockets to see where they went inside the apartment. After an hour or so, I had worked out where all connections went and was able to install my equipment.

The entire 8 hour endurance test made me reflect on the importance of customer service. If only there had been some.

In an extreme contrast, I am happy to say that our company Tecsun Radios Australia does provide quality customer service, and now, more than ever I realise how valuable it is. We have the advantage that we speak English and have experience using every product we sell. Most importantly, we want to help our customers!

So if you ever have a problem with one of our products, rest assured we will be able to help. You just cannot beat old fashioned service.

Postscript: 3 days later I received a call from my telco seeking to provide assistance. I was unable to understand what their operator was saying due to his accent, but I told him that the problem was resolved. He mumbled something and hung up.

I am now more mindful of those companies that keep their customer service within Australia.

Click here to shop our range of shortwave radios, antennas, and accessories, and rest assured you can call or email and speak to myself or a colleague to troubleshoot, if you experience any difficulties setting up your radio.

Garry