A little of everything and something: June 2013

Sun Cellular: frustrating quality of Customer Service

6/05/2013 11:13:00 PM

Customer service is the process of ensuring customer satisfaction with a product or service.[1] It is the degree of assistance and courtesy granted those who patronize a business.[2]

I have been with Sun Cellular for five years already which I guess gives me some time to be able to observe what kind of customer service I see and get from them.

Earlier this afternoon, I was at the Sun Shop at Greenbelt 1. I was there to check if the handset for my loyalty reward is already available which I reserved some time mid of May. I don't know if it's only me but most of the time, when I get a priority number for the Customer Service counter, it usually is more that 10 numbers before you. Although usually, you only see about 2 or 3 people left at the shop waiting.

Anyway, my number was 80 and the counter was serving 56. It was about 2:45pm and I was there, 24 more to go with 2 counters in which only 1 of them was functioning.

I waited and waited. After a while, the other counter was FINALLY open for business again. But then again, as time pass by, there are more customers coming in and waiting for their turn.

When it was already my turn, I went to the counter and said what I have to say. The guy asked me the usual details they would ask whenever you go there and he was checking on his computer for stuffs. Then he asked me if I already reserved a unit. I told him I did by mid of May, I just don't remember exactly what the date was. So he checked the logbook they have at the shop and checked it twice or thrice but can't seem to find the name I filled up for. Then he stood up and looked for the other logbook they have, checked it again, again, and then finally asked me to check the first logbook they have also just in case he just didn't notice the name. We switched logbooks, checked it again. And finally! I found the name I filled up for!

Then he told me that the unit I reserved is not available yet, that they still don't have any stocks as of now and that their supplier of that specific handset does not deliver that often. He said he was not sure if the unit is to phased out or the supplies are really low as of now but he suggested other brand just in case I am interested. I asked if I could check with other Sun Shops if they have stocks on hand and he affirmed that I could do that. I finished at about 4:36pm. Almost 2 HOURS there only to be told that the unit is unavailable and that they don't know when they are going to have stocks.

Let me just say something...

1. I think Sun Cellular should improve their Customer Service system at their Sun Shops. I mean, come on, I may not know how much percentage of the Philippine population is a Sun Cellular subscriber but what I know for sure is that a lot of people really come to the Sun Shops whether it may be an inquiry, a complain, renewal, discontinuing the service, service modification or whatsoever. Point is, they have A LOT of customers to serve every single day.

2. Maybe they could try to put another table and label it as Step 1. It could be an information counter or the counter where you could do the basic stuffs. What if you were just there to pass your requirements for your postpaid application? Or like me, was just going to ask if the handset is already ready to be claimed. I don't really think it's practical that you wait for almost 2 hours just so the person in charge could tell you that they still don't have stocks on hand. Right? I don't think it would be too much for the company to add one more person in their roster of employees in a branch for that one.

3. In line with number 2, that same counter could be the one who could give out forms. For example, you went there for service modification. When it's your turn and you tell the person in front of you about that concern, he/she will get a form and let you fill it up. And I tell you, none of their forms is a one-information-to-be-filled-out form. Hence, it takes time (depending on the person-- some people take their time and want their penmanship to look real good, you know) for the form to be completely filled out. I think it would be practical that while waiting for your number, you are already filling out the specific form needed for you to be formally accommodated. It decreases every customer's waiting time.

4. The company could also consider adding up chairs in some branches especially those that are really usually visited by their customers. Good example is that Greenbelt 1 Sun Shop. Considering that according to Sun Cellular's official website (for your reference please click this link), Greenbelt 1's Sun Shop is the only Sun Shop around that very busy yet accessible area (between Ayala Center and SM area). That place is really accessible knowing that one mall is linked to another. But between all those mall around that same area, only Greenbelt 1 has a Sun Shop so it is really quite expected that it would be visited often.

5. We, customers, would really appreciate it if the staffs will have the sense of urgency while serving a customer. Sense of urgency without taking away the sense of genuine customer service or shall I say, customer CARE. I know that maybe they've grown tired for the whole day of facing the customers with all sorts of concerns and complaints (some of them even irate) but hey, it's what they are there for. I mean, it's their job description. I hope they also learn to love what they doing and not just doing it every single day just for the heck of it because the customer's can feel that too. I hope they know that because they are also customers in one way or another.

6. Some inquiries can be made through the Sun Hotline but unfortunately, you will also do the same waiting process trying to get someone on the line to talk to you.

Bottom line, there is so much to be improved with regards to their customer service. I am not talking as if I know everything. I am writing about this in a customer's perspective and observation. I am not judging these people personally and I do not have anything personal against the company either. It's just frustrating to go over the same process every time you visit the shop. You wait and wait and wait. The long wait.

I am not in the authority to conclude if the company needs more employees for customer service but I really hope that Sun Cellular knows the ratio of their employees and that of their growing subscribers.

This is only one of the frustrating experiences I had with Sun Cellular. I am too lazy to narrate the others. At the same time, I might have forgotten some of the details already. So it's just this for now.

I cannot say I hate Sun Cellular for this one. But I can really say that I am not happy at all.

"If you do build a great experience, customers tell each other about that. Word of mouth is very powerful." - Jeff Bezos, CEO Amazon.com

[1] Definition of 'Customer Service' http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/customer-service.asp

[2] Customer Service http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/customer-service

Love 01

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Sun Cellular: frustrating quality of Customer Service

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Sun Cellular: frustrating quality of Customer Service

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