Customer Service Vigilantes

A swell of distrust toward corporate America, exacerbated by off-shoring of U.S. jobs - followed by lay-offs of thousands of employees, incredibly high executive salaries and higher than ever profits by certain industries. In the annals of customer service, we may be experiencing more consumer vigilantism than ever before. Frustrated by the usual Asian-accented call center customer service rep, customers are sending "email bombs" to corporate executives or going straight to the top after uncovering direct numbers to executive teams not easily found by mere mortals. For some people, the experience of bad customer service cuts so deeply that it transforms them from merely upset customers into an activist no longer just looking for a refund, but out for revenge.

In 2006, one such customer of the company - Cingular (now AT&T) believed that his computer speakers were ruined after a technical glitch. Frustrated at the company's lack of response to his complaints, he created a video as a grad-school project. In his video, he created an animated angry bandit in the shape of Cingular's orange trademark, complete with an AT&T blue-and-white pirate's bandanna and an eye patch shaped like Apple's logo. His video, "Feeling Cingular" has been viewed nearly 40,000 times on YouTube.

Behind such extreme tactics is a growing disconnect between company promises and customer perceptions of what they both think was expected from the initial product or service transaction. Technology is aiding the uprising, empowering consumers to blanket the Internet with negative comments about well-known products or companies. And lately, evaporating home equity, job insecurity, and rising prices are more apt to make the average consumer snap by submitting YouTube videos like the Cingular one mentioned that shout "YOUR COMPANY SUCKS!" to a cyber-savvy audience, with extraordinary impact.

Corporations have responded with what is called "executive customer service". These "Valhallas of customer service" as Ben Popken, editor of The Consumerist, had called them, are powerful support reps who may sit at corporate headquarters. Customer complaints that come to executives threatening legal or P.R. action are handled by these specialists. These highly empowered customer service experts are kept under wraps so the average consumer would find it extremely difficult to contact them, or even know they exist. But they do exist at companies like Washington Mutual, Circuit City and US Airways according to Business Week Magazine.

One high-profile customer got everything he demanded and more after finally monopolizing the ear of an executive customer service person at US Airways. He told Business Week that "The customer service person agreed when I said, you guys as a company, regardless of who you are, exist because of me and my fellow paying passengers." I think this is what I have been saying to corporate execs since the day I created this blog. The customer is not always right, (unlike the motto of some businesses) however, they are always the customer!

DJC