Blind date? Just call customer service @Jonothankh

By Jono Hunt 16:30How much is customer service worth?Right now I’m on the phone to Argos. I say “on the phone” of course, I’m actually on hold.I’ve been bounced between Argos, Santander and a financial authority for about 2 hours.I could have the items delivered tomorrow morning.But I paid for them to be sent between 7 pm and 11 pm.In this confusion of ‘bounce backs’, I’ve talked to Daren from Belfast three times and Susan from Argos’s account & recovery team, twice.Not to forget Dave, also from Belfast, Shawn, and Sarah.I’ve received three authorisation codes and 5 emails.And then about twenty asking me to review the customer service, and the problem hasn’t even been solved yet.16:44Susan (from Argos’s account & recovery team) has sorted it out. I will now be reviewing the items on time, despite what she claims is Santander’s incorrect financial data.And I mean that raises the question: who should I trust more with finance: Argos, or my bank?Santander has only five times let me down.Once was when I bought a €0.21c croissant. They charged me the €0.21c, a base €5 charge, €0.20c percentage buy fee, and an ‘a none warning overseas charge’ of €2.00.By this time, I could have just bought the bakery. And probably a holiday home too.Back to customer support though.Once I almost went gay for a man from EE.I had, by mistake, chosen the £15 3G pack, not the £10 4G pack.So I called customer support and was answered by an incredible man.He not only sorted out the problem and even saved me some money, but also provided great entertainment in a conversation about Linux, music storage, and how Sony phones provide the best value for money when it comes to sound quality.I got so excited, that I even ‘Snapchatted’ some of the conversation.And I didn’t stop there.I signed up for the EE feedback forum and because there was no ‘positive feedback’ category, I chose “What can we do to improve” and I put: “Nothing."I then proceeded to write about the joys of my phone call.The next day, I got a personal email from EE.I had won a home-pack of goodies.It hasn’t arrived yet. And it’s been ages, but still, that phone call has lived on with me.And so I switched to EE broadband, and, every time I see the logo, I sing the two note EE jingle. (🎵C# “E” to Ab “E”).I know most people wouldn’t be so ‘effected’ by great customer service, but it could be the difference between a customer returning or not.Even though I’m a student and cannot afford much, I will pay that little bit more for someone to ask how my day was and whether I would like some free radishes, because I bought 5 bunches last time (Brixton Market).So in a society, where the service industry is the future of human work, purchases and more, it’s important to be finding ways to make customer service the best it can be.Even a good bot can do it. For instance TK Maxx’s purchase assistant on Messenger.It’s been emotional.