An example of Customer care?
The other day I had the occasion to call for a taxi for a friend and rang one of the many taxi firms in Bishkek. As usual, they asked for the address, where the passenger was going, and for a telephone number. I gave them the information, and they told me the taxi would arrive in about ten minutes and the fare payable would be as indicated by the taxi meter. We thanked each other and hung up.
So far, all had happened as usual, but then the problems started.
My friend changed his plan which meant that he wouldn’t need to take a taxi after all. I picked up the telephone and dialed the dispatcher to cancel the order, and that’s when the fun and games started.
Having been able to hear and understand what I had said when I gave the original order, the dispatcher now started to have difficulty with both. Eventually I think she got the message, but handed the phone over to someone else to confirm that this was the case. Yes, she understood. The order was cancelled.
A few minutes later the telephone rings to tell us that the taxi has already arrived and when we said that we had already called to cancel it, we were told that as it had already arrived we would have to pay a “fine” to the driver for a wasted journey. It was a pity that we hadn’t managed to phone the cancellation through in time but I got ready to go and pay the driver.
Then the phone rang again and we were told that we would have to pay a fine to the driver or else they would deduct a fine of 2000 som from my telephone bill.
That confused me, and to be frank, made me angry. I understand that taxi firms need to stamp out any abuse by people who call for a taxi and then don’t appear. The taxi driver has incurred expense driving to the pick-up point which had cost him both in terms of time and petrol, as well as the opportunity to pick up other potential clients. But, where had this figure of 2000 som come from?, and what made them think that they could charge it to my telephone bill? Maybe there are rules and regulations to cover this sort of thing, but if so, I am not aware of them and would like to see a copy.
The situation, however, then descended into farce.
Having paid the driver, I went back and rang the dispatcher once more. I asked whom I should contact if I had a complaint about their service. She told me couldn’t hear me … and hung up hung up on me.
Odd, I thought to myself, they could hear me well enough to take my order and dispatch a taxi to the address, and to tell me that we had to pay a “fine” when we tried to cancel it afterwards.
That was just the first of four such occasions they hung up on me.
I called the number again and asked for a supervisor but was simply passed onto another dispatcher. How do I know? Because I asked who I was talking to and I was told, “Dispatcher No. **”.
My first question was why the dispatcher had hung up on me. In response she simply asked, “Why, what’s happened?”. I asked for the name and address for the person to whom I should address a complaint about their service. She dutifully and purposefully tried to avoid answering the question. No, she didn’t try, she succeeded!
“Why, what’s happened?”, she asked again. I said I would explain it all in writing. “Young man, “ she said, “what’s happened?” I thanked her for the compliment but pointed out that I was far from being a young man, but I was a client who had a complaint. “What’s happened?”, was her only response.
Fearing I had hit a brick wall I explained. She told me to call another number. I thanked her and dialed the number she had given me, only to be greeted by a recorded voice telling me that “That number does not have the right to receive this call.”
I tried calling the dispatcher again, this time asking for a supervisor … and again … and again … it took eight calls in all, and as I said, they hung up the phone on me four times.
On one occasion, I was told that there was no “fine” of 2000 som. “I’m glad to hear it, but why was I told that?” She also avoided the question … by hanging up on me.
Eventually I got through to someone who seemed to be more willing to talk, although she still refused point blank to give me a name and address of the company’s head office. “We don’t enter into correspondence”, she said. “Excuse me,” I said, “you are a legal entity registered with the Ministry of Justice, you must have an address and you must enter into correspondence. I am a dissatisfied client and you should respond to my complaint.” Eventually, she gave me another telephone number, but told me to call after three o’clock the next day.
If this was meant to be a delaying tactic, on intended to put me off making the call, I’m sorry to say that it worked, but only because by the time three o’clock came round I was busy in a meeting … and about to pack up and rush off to another.
I felt, and still feel annoyed about the threat of the so called 2000 som fine, but what upset me more was that arrogant and flagrant disregard to basic customer care, not to mention my rights as a consumer. Even if the dispatcher is busy, they shouldn’t simply hang up on a client, especially a client who is calling about a complaint. Why wouldn’t they give me a name and address to whom I could address my complaint?
I suppose I can try Still, I have one recourse available to me.
I’ll never use that firm again. Fortunately, as I said, there are several taxi services available in Bishkek. Thank heavens it is not a monopoly!
Bishkek