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| Tech Suport: Going, Going, Gone? |
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Featured Articles August 2004 • Vol.15 Issue 8 Page(s) 56-57 in print issue |
Tech Suport: Going, Going, Gone? The State Of Customer Service In The Computer Industry | ||
Complaints about technical support services are nothing new. Every technological innovation has its kinks, and the people who have to live with those kinks won't like them. Indeed, surveys conducted by Consumer Reports, Technology Business Research, and others show that the customer service satisfaction ratings for some of the world's largest computer companies have slipped. Anecdotal evidence taken from online blogs and chat rooms suggests that users are more fed up than ever. There's certainly plenty to grumble about, but is the situation really that bad?  Put It In Perspective Not everyone is convinced it is. "It's not clear to me that tech support is declining," says Dr. Richard Feinberg, director of the Center for Customer Driven Quality at Purdue University. "If you take the dissatisfaction experience as a percentage of all contact an individual has with a company, I believe the level of dissatisfaction is going down." He's probably right. Reputable hardware manufacturers and software developers have a genuine desire to keep their customers happy. And technology consumers in the 21st century have more support resources at their disposal than any group of consumers at any point in time ever. In addition to traditional phone-based support options, consumers can get help with their technical issues by looking in the back of the users manual, logging on to a searchable online support database, perusing FAQs (frequently asked questions) at company Web sites, submitting questions via email, or participating in real-time interactive chats with trained support technicians. Other resources include in-home service calls and Web-based support forums where consumers can have their questions answered by fellow users. Of course, not all companies offer all of these resources, but there are still many that do. Yet despite the honest efforts of thousands of technology companies to provide quality support options, consumers continue to complain about the service they receive when they need help the most. What gives? Feinberg believes the mood of dissatisfaction is due in no small part to consumer expectations. "Consumers expect to get the right answer within three seconds," he says. "It's gotten [to the point] where companies just can't keep up." No one can argue with that. We as a society tend to unreasonably expect perfection from everyone: our politicians, our schools, our doctors, our airlines, even our fast food restaurants. It's no surprise that we would expect the same from our computer companies. But that doesn't mean we should let these companies off the hook. "They've created their own monster," Feinberg says. "The industry has said we'll help you 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There's no going back on that now." Nonetheless, obtaining good, consistent technical support is a very real problem, as documented in our "Support Showdown" article on page 62. When major companies purport to offer—but consistently fail to provide—accurate and helpful support, it results in angry, frustrated consumers. Tech Support Today To meet the seemingly insatiable demand for quality service, the industry has had to develop a new system for providing technical assistance. Unlike the previous system, which was characterized by a remote technician dishing out solutions on a first-come, first-served basis, the new system is typically built around a searchable Web database that lets a company service more users in a more convenient and timely manner. "It's the mass commoditization of technical services," says Phil Fersht, senior analyst at the Yankee Group. "[Technical support] is now a quick, easy, and cheap process rather than a personalized program." As a result of the push toward commoditized support services, companies have had to cut the costs related to phone-based support. They do so by hiding their support phone numbers to minimize calls, charging customers a fee for calls, and—most notoriously—outsourcing their support services to cheaper offshore firms located in Canada, Europe, and Asia. There Is Hope But all is not lost. Consumers can avoid becoming slaves to technical support services by purchasing products from companies that have established reputations for providing quality service, as well as learning how to deal with tech support representatives (see "Get Better Support" on page 66), taking advantage of the many self-help resources that are currently available (see "Help Yourself" on page 74), and practicing prudent computing habits so as to avoid needing technical support in the first place (see "Your Best Bet" on page 70). After all, you can solve your problems faster and more efficiently than anyone else. Who can complain about that?  by Jeff Dodd
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