I recently had a computer problem that caused me to consider the nature of customer service and of business itself in a technology-driven world.  It is a story of an industry behemoth, a local shopkeeper, and my not so surprising experiences with both.

My story begins with a relatively minor problem experienced at one time or another by many PC users.  In conducting searches for information and clicking on the sought for links, I experienced occasional redirections to sometimes germane, but often completely unrelated websites.  Additionally, sometimes while browsing the Web, a new browser would suddenly pop up for no apparent reason.

Advised that some type of malware was infecting my computer, I was concerned that the privacy of my system might have been compromised and further, wondered how that might have occurred since my system was protected by Symantec Corporation’s Norton Internet Security suite.  Attempting to get to the root of the problem, I ran a full scan of my system.  The scan identified only a low threat level tracking cookie.

Determined to resolve the issue, I accessed the software’s help and support link.  Following the prompts and inputting information as necessary, I ultimately was directed to contact them via a toll-free telephone number.  Following an automated system greeting and a number of minutes on hold, I spoke with a pleasant woman with a distinct accent.  In response to my question regarding her location, she confirmed my suspicions that I was contacting a facility in India.

Now, I don’t want to suggest that I viewed this as a problem.  In fact, it was not.  All eleven people with whom I spoke during my four-day ordeal with Symantec were extremely polite and spoke perfect English.  I only mention this in light of comments I will make further on in this article.

To resume my story, my initial contact in India assured me that the problems I was experiencing were quite common and that they could be resolved in 30 to 45 minutes by a technician who would access my computer remotely, isolate the security threat, and remove it.  And, she indicated that for just $99.99, I would be connected immediately to a technician who would promptly fix my computer.

Clearly, English-speaking Indians have a distinctly different understanding of the meaning of the word “immediate” than do Americans.  After providing my credit card information and waiting on hold for 10 to 15 minutes, I was connected “immediately” to Hanif Pathukalam, the first of a number of technicians with whom I would ultimately speak.

As would all of his successors, Hanif began by asking and reiterating to me my telephone number, email address, and case number – number by number and letter by letter.  For each letter, he would provide a word beginning with that letter – “r as in “ridiculous.”  Even with all the painstaking reiteration, the first person with whom I spoke somehow input the wrong email address.  And so, I could not receive an emailed confirmation, receipt, or any other document.  Apparently the designer of their system was perfect, for any information entered into it could not be changed.

But, Hanif went right to work.  He informed me that he would place me on hold for three to five minutes to research the issue and that upon his return he would access my system and fix the problem in 30 to 45 minutes.  Ten minutes later, Hanif returned and instructed me in connecting my computer with his.  Once connected, our communication was done via messaging on the computer.  Four hours later, I received a message that he had isolated and removed a virus and that I would suffer the pop-ups and redirects no more.  In demonstrating the fix, he did searches on Google and Bing.  The computer operated flawlessly.  I sent a message suggesting that I would like to attempt a search on Yahoo.  When I did so, I was redirected and up popped a new browser.  Undeterred, Hanif informed me that the problem must be with Yahoo.  At that point, I asked for his supervisor.

Following 20 more minutes on hold, I spoke with Ghanashyam Gondhali who indicated that he would assign another technician who would fix the problem.  He did, however, indicate that it might take a couple of hours.  Placed on hold, I next spoke with Rahul Tawde who again asked for and repeated letter by letter and number by number my name, telephone number, email address, and case number.  With that critical, yet incorrect information out of the way, he took control of my computer.  After several hours when I could wait no longer, he informed me that he would call me at 10:00 AM my time the next morning.

At 10:45 AM the next day, I called the Virus Removal Department telephone number.  Following an initial ten minute wait, five minutes going over my critical case information (again, I indicated that the email address as they transcribed it was incorrect), and a 20 minute hold, I spoke again with Rahul.  Several hours later, Rahul informed me that he would be unable to repair the computer, but that he would pass me on to a supervisor.  Putting me on hold for three to five minutes, I sometime later that morning spoke with Mukesh Shivmurti Tiwara who, with an air of confidence, indicated that he would indeed fix my computer.  By this time, I had clients who were scheduled to arrive and would need my computer.  We agreed that Mukesh would call me at 5:00 PM and, since I had a meeting to attend that would take several hours, he could have uninterrupted access for the 5 hours he indicated that he would require to complete the fix.

At 5:25 PM, I called the Virus Removal Department and, after providing and listening to my repeated case information, finally made contact with Mukesh at 5:45 PM.  After quizzing Mukesh on his concept of time, I established contact with his system and left my office.  Unable to answer my phone during the meeting, I received a voicemail from Mukesh at about 9:00 PM indicating that he had done what he could but was unable to resolve the issue.  He promised to call me in the morning at 10:00 AM.

10:15 AM the following morning again found me contacting the Virus Removal Department, going over my case information in detail, and waiting on hold to speak with Mukesh.  I subsequently spoke (following holds of five to ten minutes each) with Gavrav Kumar, Madhu (whose last name I did not take down), and Jenny Jay.  At this point, it was decided that my case would be resolved by a member of their “elite team.”

Enter Irubayaraj John.  John, as he preferred to be called, was perhaps the only person with whom I interacted whom I actually had the inclination could be of assistance.  So much for gut reactions!  John worked on my computer for a number of hours on that day.  When I messaged him that I had to leave, he indicated that he would call me at 10:00 AM on the succeeding morning.  At 10:15, as I was on hold for John, I found out that he actually did call me, but not on the number upon which we had agreed.

When we finally connected, John informed me that we would need to repair MS Windows in order to fix my computer.  He instructed me put the Windows CD into the appropriate drive and provided me step-by-step instructions.  Once the process was underway, John would hang up and call me back to check the progress.  On his second callback, he advised me to start the process again as it had appeared to stall.  On his third callback, he instructed me to terminate that process and restart my computer.  Hearing a tinge of panic and resignation in his voice, I realized that we now had a much more significant issue than that with which we started.  In fact, my computer would no longer boot up.

At this point, I asked him if there was anything more that he or anyone at Symantec could do for me, a query to which he responded in the negative.  Following a relatively short hold, I spoke with an extremely apologetic customer relations manager, Jay Miranda.  Four days after beginning the process, my situation had deteriorated from bad to much worse.  Informing Jay that we could discuss this later, I determined to seek out the local computer technician who had actually built this system to assess damage and suggest a solution.  The only reason I had engaged Symantec in the first place was that their service promised a quick fix for which I would not have to leave my office.  Live and learn!

I called Pritek Technologies, a small computer shop, on Somerset Street in North Plainfield, New Jersey.  Pleasantly surprised that the owner Richie was there, I explained my problem and indicated that it would only take a few minutes for me to traverse the short distance from my office to his shop.

When I got there at about 2:30 PM, Richie immediately dropped what he was doing and began work on my computer.  He indicated that the solution was to recover my data (or as much as he could), do a low-level reformat that would eradicate any infection along with everything else on the drive, and then reinstall Windows, my programs, and the recovered data.  The process, he indicated, would consume a minimum of five to six hours.  Regardless of the time, however, he committed to providing same-day service so that I would have the use of my computer the following business day.

When I called him at about 8:45 PM that evening, he informed me that he had recovered my data, reformatted the drive, and was in the process of reinstalling Windows.  I arrived at his store about an hour later and waited as he completed the “true” fix on the machine.

Leaving with my restored system at 11:45 PM, I reflected on the poor quality of the service that I had received from Symantec, the world’s largest maker of personal computer security software, and the outstanding response of a small, one-plus person business establishment.  David had once again outgunned Goliath.

And, the bottom line is that my business is clearly more meaningful to Richie than to Symantec.  At Pritek, I have personal contact with the owner of the establishment.  At Symantec, I am just a case number and email address (incorrectly entered) to the presumably overworked technical staff.

Additionally, I believe that something is lost when a company like Cupertino, California-based Symantec outsources its technical and customer services to another country.  Would Americans have been more caring, respectful of my time, or resourceful in resolving my technical problems than the Indians with whom I dealt?  Perhaps not.  Yet, whether the difference be cultural or language based, I believe that Americans would have been more fastidious in keeping their callback commitments at the very least.

In the final analysis, the level of customer service received depends upon the knowledge, training, and integrity of the person providing it.  As technology further isolates the customer from those providing the services, the quality of customer service, I believe, will continue to decline, particularly in the case of large corporations for which each customer represents an increasingly insignificant proportion of revenue.  In my future dealings, I will seek out, whenever possible, a small local business with whose owners and representatives I can connect on a personal level and in whom I can have a sense of trust.

Bailing out wealthy kings of industry with hard-earned taxpayers’ money.  Lying bold-faced to the public.  Seesawing on critical issues (e.g.; promising New Jersey households property tax rebates, then yanking them, and finally, reinstating them with the proviso that earners in two-income families bring home no more than a whopping $37,500 per year each in order to reap that rebate).  Politicians must be held accountable for their actions, which often demonstrate not a whit of genuine concern for the average American taxpayer.  Ideally, every politician, indeed every figure of authority, should be raised with a functional conscience, including genuine compassion for the plight of every constituent he or she represents.  As our elected leaders have hogged the headlines more than usual lately, we’ll keep this focused on those who serve in the political arena.  Since almost no politician in my lifetime seems to have had the proper upbringing, I suggest that we, the constituents, push for a bill mandating a grueling testing ground before any politician is sworn in to public office.

That baptism by fire is known as the retail industry.

The industry does not simply encompass purveyors of goods, such as clothing and household appliances; it also includes shops such as convenience stores.  Into this caldron boiling vigorously with intense interaction with the general public, I strongly suggest we pitch our political aspirants for a good six to twelve months. The retail industry is the perfect environment to gauge how well our governmental reps are skilled in handling certain situations.  Moreover, an internship front and center with John and Jane Q. Public will provide us voters with a good look at the attitudes of our so-called leaders.

Without integrity and strong people skills, an elected official would sink like a stone in a retail/service setting.  The sweetest customer will turn into a snapping dragon if provided with bad service or, God forbid, the wrong change.  It would be enlightening to observe how a politician-in-training would resolve negative interactions in order to bring about positive … Change!  The ability to problem-solve is a critical quality in any leader, particularly in leading a community, a State, or an arm of the Federal government.

Favoritism runs rampant in government, but in retail, everyone is equal; consumerism may be our last level playing field.   Every man, woman, and child who purchases or seeks to make a purchase from the hopeful politician should be treated equally, regardless of age, sex, race, skin color, social standing, religious affiliation, economic status, or political leaning.  The ability to honor not so much diversity but humanity, period, is significant for lawmakers entrusted with the protection and empowerment of all constituents.  None of this pandering to filthy rich associates who contribute mega-bucks to one’s political campaign at the expense of the common man and woman!

In a retail environment, many consumers are repeat customers.  Those who serve them on a regular basis should anticipate and plan for the fulfillment of their needs.  If customers are not treated properly, they will stop patronizing the offending establishments.  Would-be politicians intent upon screwing around with our hard-earned money need to learn this most important lesson.  If they can’t represent the will of their constituents for the better part of their terms, we can put them out of business!

Respect should be demonstrated not only to one’s customers but to one’s peers as well.  Some employees suffer from a superiority complex, assuming that they are smarter than their associates and forgetting that they themselves were compelled to undergo training at some point in their employment.  Should a coworker make a mistake, these people react with condescending and judgmental attitudes.  They forget to practice tolerance with those who do not immediately grasp the concepts being taught them.  Our politicians should take a similar approach.  Sometimes a bill is so complex (i.e., the $700 billion bailout fiasco) that it is patently obvious its murkiness is a ploy to obfuscate its true intent and functioning from the general public long enough to assure its passage absent massive public dissent.  It is high time that we adopt “plain English” as the standard for drafting legislation.  And, while we’re at it, we should insist that our elected legislator’s themselves should read and digest the legislation in its entirety prior to voting on it.  That would go a long way toward reducing the length of some of these bills and saving a few trees for good measure.

The retail/service industry is also an excellent place to examine future lawmakers’ abilities to cope with stress.   On a daily basis, constant deadlines and the need to increase sales volume, coupled with long hours worked for low pay and blended together with the nasty dispositions of some customers and the whip cracked by upper management would test anyone’s stress threshold!  Those who react by screaming back at customers or throwing the Twinkies around the store in a snit obviously do not possess the proper traits for dealing positively with stress.   Tempered in fire, those who learn how to take the more difficult high road  — instead of the easy, butt-covering political way out — would fair far better as leaders.

A fast-paced retail environment also compels one to prioritize and make sound decisions.  This includes maximizing one’s time not only by multi-tasking, but also by weighing all the information in order to make informed choices. Thus positioned, one can identify and utilize “work smarter not harder” procedures.  Increased productivity often equates to decreased expenses.  Just think of the benefits if these skills were to be applied in government.  No more filibusters!  No more lengthy vacations as members of Congress jet off to their tropical paradises.  Politicians would actually have to earn their big bucks!

The last testing ground would be honesty.  Equating honesty with politicians is usually akin to comparing apples to oranges.  But as we are now in the Era of Change, let’s institute some positive change in the form of transparency and integrity.  In business, dishonesty impacts everyone, from the owner who must jack up prices, to the consumer who must pay those prices, to the vendor squeezed to offer incentives or lose business to his competition. If there is too much theft, the business may decline because it may not be able to absorb the loss.  If the politicians cannot keep our government solvent, if they keep dipping into public coffers for their own selfish gain, or to fund the special interests of their friends, they too deserve to be put out of business (I mean, office).

This entire game plan is not only feasible, it is long overdue.  Let’s throw everyone who tosses his hat into the ring of public office into a demanding retail environment for an intensive, on-the-job training course. They will have learned valuable lessons that can be applied in their positions of authority.  Just one thing … I want to be their boss!