Measured by tickets closed, not problems solved

What are we measuring? Misguidance on what to measure can result in poor customer service, albeit service that may satisfy agreed customer service requirements.

I recently called a software manufacturer because I had trouble activating one of their products, which I had bought. Here’s a synopsis of what happened.

- First call to customer service. Rep asks me for name and phone number. Decides my case needs to be handled by another group which specializes in product activation. Routes me to another rep.
- Second rep calls me by a different name and has the wrong information about my case. Starts to walk me through activation process. Can’t handle a question about a different version that I have preinstalled on my machine. I mention that the rep must get this question all the time. Am asked to call another specialist (cannot transfer me).
- Third rep has to ask all over again what the case is. I explain again and ask the version question no one can handle directly and am told to call a fourth person. Am given 10-digit case code.
- I call fourth rep, who automatically knows my name from the phone number the system recognizes but needs the case code anyway. I end up explaining to him how I think I can solve the problem. He agrees and asks if he can close the problem ticket. I decline since I don’t know if the problem will really be solved since it will take 20 minutes to uninstall and reinstall the software.
- Receive two different long emails from customer reps asking if the ticket can be closed. Includes details on how to respond to message, such as different email address and ID number.
- Receive additional email (addressing me by a new wrong name) which states that the ticket is closed since I have not responded.
- Ticket closed, problem solved.

All too common topic of conversation

It seems that an all too common topic of conversation is about the use and questions about the use of gadgets.

I do not imagine that previous generations spent the time we do – conversation time – sitting around discussing their difficulties using the rotary dial telephone or the post office. Or rather, while I do imagine people in the past discussing how the phone works or just how mail gets delivered, I imagine that these discussion would have been about the systems themselves and how they change the way we communicate. I do not imagine that the conversations were about how much time they wasted trying to figure out how to dial or how to address an envelope.