Below are both letters, sent to the appropriate companies (I hope) I'll leave it to you to determine which is which as well as where one ends and the other begins. Everything below this line is what went out and has not been edited.
This is somewhat longwinded but I ask that you please read to the end. I assure you it was personally written by me to help improve Sony customer service.
Support staff seem to make an initial attempt to resolve issues as soon as they arise but show little to no interest in seeing difficult or complex issues resolved (eg. the Xperia S auto focus problem, unresolved to this day). Staff simply stop communicating on old threads. This leaves customers feeling abandoned and undervalued and sends a bad message to potential customers who visit the forum.
Sony now has a reputation for poor customer support. There is a widely held belief that Sony prefers to attract new customers over retaining existing customers. I have seen no evidence to the contrary.
I personally own many Sony products and have found them to be reliable, enjoyable, fit for purpose and as advertised. I am about to upgrade my Xperia X10 to an acro S on a new 24 month contract and I'm giddy with excitement anticipating my new handset. It seems like a great product with cool features. However, I fear the day I need Sony support for anything other than an easy fix.
You need to show the world that Sony cares about customer satisfaction, and you need to mean it. I'm just one of many Sony fans who are one bad experience away from turning their backs on the brand. Our belief in the Sony name has been tested, but not broken. You can earn our trust back, we just need to know that you care.
You asked for feedback and I'm giving it to you. I implore you to forward this message to whoever you have to within the Sony company to make my voice heard. If I feel like this message falls on deaf ears then there really is no hope left.
I'm not asking for anything, I'm simply trying to help a company which I want to see last and thrive. I do, however, ask that I be sent a personalized reply to this message acknowledging that it has been received, read and considered. My email address isjoseph.billing@gmail.com
Thank you for your time. Please do your part and pass this message along.
joseph.billing@gmail.com
Hi, I just wanted to give some feedback on a recent phone conversation between myself and a Virgin team member. Sorry if this is the wrong avenue for feedback, I looked around the site and this is the closest match I could find.
I got a call from Virgin a few weeks ago informing me of my eligibility for an early handset upgrade -- a nice surprise. The fellow (I didn't catch his name) was keen to suggest a suitable replacement for my X10. I let him know I wasn't looking to spend more per month than I currently am ($29). He suggested the acro S which was on the $29 plan with a $5 handset fee at the time. He also looked at my current rate plan and suggested that I might like to wait for the bonus cycle to tick over if the bonus included value I currently enjoy is important to me as it wasn't being offered at the time. I don't remember if he suggested that the handset fee might also be reduced soon or not.
That was the end of his pitch. He didn't try to sell me on a more expensive plan than I wanted, he didn't try to convince me to choose an upgrade on the spot. He let me know I could get in touch with the loyalty team any time to discuss my upgrade options. I asked him a few questions, not necessarily all about upgrading and he helped me where he could. He was honest, straightforward and helpful throughout.
Now -- and pardon my french here -- FLYING FANTASTIC customer service. Top notch. If every company interacted with their customers like this guy, we would have world peace. And milkshake fountains on every corner of our streets which would all be paved with gold. It would be a lifestyle adjustment, sure, but adjust we would, and happily. I genuinely felt like my satisfaction was this guy's only priority.
Oh, I think I forgot to mention -- I didn't order an upgrade that day. I'm a sensible guy, I shopped around. I found some interesting offers from other carriers. I considered using the information I found to negotiate a discount, I'm cheeky like that. For a fleeting moment I even considered switching to one of those competing plans -- two months free access on an otherwise similar plan starts to look good at 4am. Then something amazing happened.
You dropped the $5 handset fee on the acro S. You fantastic larrikins, you dropped the handset fee. I had to check and double check, then I checked everything else again to make sure I wasn't losing my mind (4am again). As soon as I was sure my head was still attached, I hit the shiny Upgrade button (just as your sharp-witted team member had suggested many days prior. I told you he was good). I felt at peace, yet excited. A decision well made. I think I heard a harp.
I've veered wildly off the intended track already so I think it's best if I try to bring this beast under control now. In order to balance the tone, I'll share my one lingering concern: did my friend on the phone know the handset fee was soon to be abolished? Did he deliberately withhold that information in the hope that I would make a commitment at the higher price? I understand that businesses like to make money and are under no obligation to advertise that prices are about to drop, but I thought my friend valued my trust more than that. I thought we had something special. Still, maybe it's all in my head.
My phone logged the call on February 20 at 12:10 Adelaide time (daylight savings GMT+10:30) from the number 0289560266 and lasted a little over six minutes, just in case you want to track down my unidentified call centre hero and give him a pat on the back or an all expenses paid tropical vacation. Customer support is very important to me and I think this guy must be satisfying a lot of your customers.
tl:dr Thank you Virgin Mobile team for respecting and appreciating your customers as well as offering exciting handsets and the best prices in Australia. Sir Richard should be proud.
Feel free to use this message, in whole or in part, for any purpose including advertising or other commercial use. Please do pass it along to relevant parties, I want them to know they're doing an impressive job and it is appreciated.
If you want to respond to this message or just chat about sports feel free to drop me an email. I am also considering job offers at this time.
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