Making (Worthwhile) Recommendations at the Right Time

June 2013 Inside Tech Services
Written by:  Jodi Cicci

“I realize how valuable it is to have someone make a solid recommendation based on your specific requirements—and explain the alternatives in terms that make sense.”

I recently changed mobile phones from one service to another. Some may say I’ve upgraded to a better phone/service; others might have alternate opinions. One thing that remained the same in dealing with the different phone services was dealing with customer service for activation and setup. How does this apply to an article about professional services, you may ask? From this experience, I realize how valuable it is to have someone make a solid recommendation based on your specific requirements—and explain the alternatives in terms that make sense.

Here Is How It All Happened…

I travel a lot globally, so my primary goal was to get a global-enabled phone. When purchasing a phone, I’ve come to realize that no matter how clear you make this requirement, either in the store or on the phone, there are flavors of “global enablement,” and no one seems to ask for more detailed information about “what you really mean.” I ask, and confirm during the activation period, that I have the “global plan.” Yes, I’m assured, I have the global plan in place. Also unlimited text and phone—what a bonus! So off I travel to Germany.

In Germany, the phone cannot connect to a service network and therefore doesn’t work. I am able to use another telephone device (Skype is still top on my list) to contact customer support where they have confirmed that my global plan was not activated. So they activate it and all is good.

Until… I check e-mail on my phone and am immediately sent not one, not two, but four text messages from my provider about huge data usage fees due to international roaming and data overages. Once again, I call customer service and they confirm that I have not signed up for nor activated a global data plan. At a small additional monthly fee, I now have this in place. But then an interesting conversation occurs with the customer service person. The following is a paraphrasing of the conversation.

“So your global data plan has been activated, and you are on the global voice usage plan, but I would strongly encourage you to use your WiFi connection so as to avoid overage charges when using your phone. This way you are not using the network and therefore you’re avoiding charges from your global plans,” said the rep.

“What you do mean?” I asked. “I bought a global phone and enrolled in global plans, but I shouldn’t use it globally unless I’’m connected to a WiFi service?”

“Yes, that would be more cost-effective.”

So, you can imagine my frustration at this conversation. I am the customer. I am being given advice after my immediate requests are processed that introduces new options without any reference to previous actions. There is still no holistic view of how my mobile provider is sufficiently able to satisfy my requirements and provide a comprehensive roadmap of how I should be using my phone in a variety of situations.

I realized that I am willing to pay for a consultant to give me advice…which is exactly the business I am in! Provide advice from a holistic viewpoint with pros/cons and recommendations on a solid foundation based on the requirements and business model of the customer!

The morale of the story: Keep your mobile service provider in mind when putting yourself in the shoes of your customer. Don’t satisfy immediate requests without understanding the big picture, and you’ll provide a more beneficial set of recommendations for a longer-term relationship.

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