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
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