A Blizzard of Customer Service

Well, it's been forever, but I've finally found something about which I can rant without breaking any of my own rules. Let's start with the background.
Recently, JP went and dragged me into World of Warcraft. I had been intentionally avoiding this because I really didn't see the point of paying over and over, every month for a game. Not something I really wanted to do. But he got a number of my friends in on it, and finally I caved.
Now I'm hooked. Blizzard has put together a very compelling game. It has all the right twists to hook people. The gameplay is engaging, the rewards and risks keep things interesting, and it's got such variety that you can always find something new. I've always felt Blizzard was the best game company out there, and this just validates that.
However they have a lot to learn about customer service. Having purchased the game to upgrade my trial account, I also set up a Paypal account to allow me to continue my subscription. Blizzard advertises that you can use Paypal if you live in North America. This works for me as I don't and won't use credit cards.
What Blizzard doesn't say is that even if you use Paypal, you still have to use a credit card. They require Paypal (according to the information provided to me by Paypal) to ask me for a credit card before they will allow me to set up Paypal as a payment method.
But that's not even the true customer service failure. The real failure was achieved when I contacted them to find out why they require this. I've run into one of the classic service failures. The complete failure to pay attention to what the customer is saying. At best Blizzard's responses imply that they haven't even read my email. At worst they are being deliberately obfuscatory. And we'll see if they even keep my business.

I've pasted the Email chain below. I have deleted a fair bit of the header information for readibility. I have not edited either my emails or Blizzard's.

* * *

I was trying to use my PayPal account to continue my subscription to World of Warcraft, however when I got to the PayPal portion of the process, it demanded I put a credit card on my PayPal account to complete the purchase. When my friend JP convinced me to give World of Warcraft a try, one of the only reasons I was willing to do so was that you had started to accept PayPal. I don't use credit cards, and being mobility challenged I don't want to have to get to a store to purchase your game card options.
My first assumption was that this was a PayPal requirement, but their customer service department assures me it is your requirement. I would hope you would reconsider that requirement. As a former Customer Service Analyst (admittedly not in the computer game field), I can see supposed business reasons for making such a decision, but none of them are truly customer friendly reasons.

David Badilotti

* * *

Greetings David,

If you would like to change your account's payment method to use PayPal, please visit the Account Management page (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/account). To use PayPal to pay for your subscription, simply select the PayPal option on the subscription setup screen. You will be required to log in to your PayPal account and agree to the Terms of Service.

**PLEASE NOTE: After successfully setting up a PayPal subscription via Account Management, payment validation may take up to 60 minutes before you will be able to login to the game. Once this process is complete, you will be able to start playing again. Thank you for your patience and understanding.**

For more information on PayPal, or to set up an account, please visit http://www.paypal.com/. Please keep in mind that you can *only* process a PayPal payment through our website; due to privacy concerns we are not able to manually add PayPal payments over the phone. Any specific questions about your PayPal account should be directed to PayPal support.

For more information on using PayPal with your World of Warcraft account, please review our FAQ at: http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?articleId=20518

If you have further questions or concerns, Billing representatives are on hand to take your call Monday through Friday between 8am and 8pm PST, at 1-800-59-BLIZZARD (800-592-5499). Customers in Australia should call 1-800-041-378. Our Billing team will be happy to assist you with any billing related questions. You may also contact them via email at billing@blizzard.com.


Regards,

Blake R.
Billing and Account Services
Blizzard Entertainment
Blaker.support@blizzard.com
http://worldofwarcraft.com/account

* * *

Blake,

Well that was an amusing use of script. You might want to consider reading the email and responding to the actual issue.

Care to give it another try?

David B.

* * *

Greetings David,

Allow me to point out where your question can be answered. Since Paypal information as well as the use of credit card information is all considered highly volatile, we do not handle these over e-mail.

"For more information on PayPal, or to set up an account, please visit http://www.paypal.com/. Please keep in mind that you can *only* process a PayPal payment through our website; due to privacy concerns we are not able to manually add PayPal payments over the phone. Any specific questions about your PayPal account should be directed to PayPal support."

Which, if you note, specifically gives you our answer to the question, which is, "I can't discuss that."

There are plenty of other methods you can use if you'd like to not have a credit card trail on our servers. The game cards that you mentioned are another viable option. You can also attempt to use the phone subscription method if your phone would allow for it.

Unfortunately, there are no other methods in place for payment outside of this. If you'd like assistance setting up any of the latter ones, I'd be more than willing to help or at least point you in the right direction.

Regards,

Blake R.
Billing and Account Services
Blizzard Entertainment
Blaker.support@blizzard.com
http://worldofwarcraft.com/account

* * *

Blake,

So let me see if I understand your answer.

My question was "Why do you require Paypal to ask me for my credit card information before you will let me use that as a payment method." Your answer is that Paypal and Credit card information are too volatile to discuss in email. That seems to be a bit disingenuous to me. I think a more frank answer would simply be that you do not know why that is required. I'd probably have accepted that and simply asked for you to pass the feedback on.

Ah well, fodder for the mill I guess.

Thank you for responding as best you can.

David B.

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Perfect Service Quality Loses Customers

I'm going to start by relating a recent set of customer service interactions. Please understand that everything I say is my interpretation of things. This is opinion, not objective facts (but that's the whole issue.)

Jogo Canada a Winnipeg games store that I frequent. I probably go in there 4 to 5 times a year, and I'll spend between $40 and $200 a visit. A couple of weeks ago I'd stopped in to pick up a birthday gift for a friend. I grabbed the latest Settlers of Catan expansion, knowing she was a fan of the original game. Unfortunately her husband had the same great idea. No problem, I decided to keep it, and inquired if she'd tried Starfarers of Catan. She was intrigued, so I promised to pick it up for her in replacement. The weekend before last, JP and I returned to Jogo to do just that. When we walked in the door, the clerk sitting behind the desk asked us if he could help us find anything. In my opinion it didn't sound like he was happy to see us, so I declined, indicating I knew what I wanted. I walked over to the section where the Catan games were, but could not see it. At this point I said that I was looking for Starfarers, but I didn't see a copy. The clerk, brusquely (again, in my opinion) informed me that it was there. I replied that I saw two copies of the expansion to Starfarers, but no copies of the actual game. His reply was something to the effect of "Oh, that's all we've got." By now I was very displeased with the whole interaction. I felt that the service was completely unfriendly. I made one last attempt, asking if they had any coming in. The clerk stated that they were concentrating on other areas, but that I should try the Explore Store in the mall. At that point I left. For good. I won't be going back to Jogo.

Fast Forward one week. Having not had time the Saturday of the Jogo visit, JP and I hied off to the Explore store. There were two clerks behind the counter, neither of whom said a thing to me as I entered. I walked over to the strategy games section, grabbed a copy of Starfarers, and went to the till. The one clerk asked if I found everything, and rang up my purchase while the other clerk bagged it. I probably exchanged no more than 20 words with them but both were friendly. I'll go back to the Explore Store.

So why did I start by saying that "Perfect Service Quality Loses Customers"? Well, based on a 'Quality checklist' approach, I will bet that the Jogo clerk would score much higher than either of the Explore Store Clerks. Let's look at the objective facts. He greeted his customer when they entered and offered assistance. He never said 'no' or 'can't' but rather phrased things in more positive wording. He offered alternatives. These are exactly the type of objective behaviours that end up on Quality Checklists.

He followed the process of customer service, and lost a customer.

The clerks in the Explore Store barely interacted with me but they left me willing to return. I don't know if they had any steps they were supposed to take, but they were friendly.
Process is irrelevant. It doesn't matter if you do the right things, if those right things don't have the desired result. I'm guessing that the Jogo clerk was taking the steps he'd been taught to serve a customer. However the result was a very bad taste in my mouth. I went away displeased, so I won't return.

I spent a few years as a Quality Analyst. I know why the industry creates checklists and focuses on behaviours that can be objectively rated. I also know that none of that creates good customer service.

So what's the answer?

Toss out the checklist.

Ignore the score.

Talk about results!

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You Can Make a Difference

I stumbled across this story on the net. It's a reprint of a Guideposts article, and is appropriately inspirational. But I think it's also an interesting take on customer service. Few people in customer service would have taken the time that the lady did, especially with a child. She approached things from a completely different perspective.

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This is Customer Service on a Brain

Ok, that title probably doesn't do what it's supposed to. I was going for the allusion to the old anti-drug commercials using the egg to illustrate how one's brain would be fried by drugs.

Anyways, I wanted to share another Customer Service Moment of Excellence I experienced last week. I had to book a business trip to Halifax for later this month. Now the departure was more than two weeks, so I was expecting to get a decent rate. I always try to book early to save the company a few bucks.

I called Carlson-Wagonlit, who handles our corporate travel. I'm always very impressed when I work with them. Sean (Shawn? Shaun?) with whom I often deal, is the epitome of a customer service professional. This time I was a bit disappointed to get Paula.

My disappointment vanished quite quickly. Paula displayed all the personality that Sean usually impressed me with. Things proceeded well with her providing a couple of different options. However, I thought things had gone south when the price was almost 50% more than I had expected. I stated that to Paula, and she agreed. Then she won me over completely. She let me know that she would need some time to try out a few other options to see if she could find me a better price. She wanted to be conscious of my time and asked if she could let me go, and email me those options in 20 minutes?

As I'm on vacation at the moment, I was quite pleased to go back to cleaning my office and agreed readily. 20 minutes later there was a perfect option in my email!

Paula thought. She thought about me.

Keep it up Carlson-Wagonlit. You are at the top of my list for customer service!

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Fire-Fighting isn't Good Business

Now before anyone gets the wrong idea, this is not a post about our noble emergency service workers. I view them with nothing less than awe. These people would risk their lives to save mine, and they don't even know me.

This post is about business in North America. Talking with a number of associates from different industries, and looking at the literature out there I've come to realize that many organizations spend most of their effort in putting out fires. That is to say that they only have time to fix the things that are critically broken. There is never time to build or grow as an organization.

When organizations engage in change efforts, they are often radical change efforts. "We are redefining ourselves." "We are going to shake up the company."

A post by Tom Vander-Well titled The Mantra of Mediocrity got me thinking about this in the context of Call Quality.

I've seen the Fire-Fighting approach to Call Quality:

"Agents aren't branding! We must fix this. We'll start doing monitors that only listen to the opening and make sure the agents brand. Anyone who doesn't will receive a Zero Score."

I've also seen the radical change approach:

"Our CSAT has dropped 5 percentage points. We need to completely redesign our Quality Guideline!"

The Fire-Fighting approach 'Over-Solves' the immediate symptom and rarely improves actual Call Quality. Unfortunately, most radical change efforts fail as well. The amount of resources and energy to lead a radical change effort are immense and generally not available as they are devoted to fighting fires.

Instead of Fire-Fighting or radical change, we need to consider true continuous improvement. I'm especially enamoured of Jim Collins' Flywheel concept. The idea that we continuously give that flywheel small pushes, speeding up the wheel to incredible speeds and ultimately making that Breakthrough.

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Numbers

Why do people think numbers have intrinsic meaning. In my work as a Quality Analyst I provide numerical expressions of the state of affairs in customer service. But all too often people look at the numbers as if the actual values were important. 85% is bad where 90% is good?

If I tell a company that their customer satisfaction is 85%, do they need to improve, or are they doing too much? The number is meaningless out of context, but so many people look at it as if it mattered.

A few years back I designed a quality assessment program for customer service where a baseline score was 60%. Managers were absolutely terrified when they saw Quality Scores of 70% being reported. They knew that quality was bad unless the score said 90%.

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Quality in Customer Service

As an Analyst in the Customer Service industry, I'm often struck by how many people seem to approach Customer Service Quality as if it were no different from Quality in the Manufacturing Industry.

In the Manufacturing world, quality is a function of inputs. The nature of the materials used, and the processes applied to them determine the quality of the finished product. If I want to ensure a high quality product, I can do so by ensuring high quality inputs (top quality raw materials and rigourous processes). In theory, I have all but 100% control over the inputs, and thereby, 100% control over the outputs.

In the world of Customer Service, the most significant input is a variable. The Customer is the main input of customer service, and I know very little about that input until I come into contact with it. I don't even know if the Customer is male or female.

The second most significant input is also a variable. That input is the Customer Service Professional. As part of a Customer service group, the CSR has a unique style, a unique set of skills and talents, and a unique set of biases and blind spots. The process that works for another person may not work for the CSR.

We can't approach Customer Service with rigour. Rather, our approach must be principled and dynamic. The CSR must understand what they want to achieve, but they have to have sufficient freedom of movement to use their strengths and to compensate for their weaknesses in achieving it.

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Customer Service

You can expect to hear a great deal from me on the topic of customer service. Unsurprising as I work as a Quality Analyst in that field.

I tend to wander around different customer service sites on the net. Most decry the state of customer service today. Many suggest fixes (often their own customer service training package.) Quite a few talk about automated solutions.

Although I won't be so bold as to say I know all the solutions to what is wrong with customer service today, I would like to posit a slightly different cause than most of those I see put forward. I don't think the problem is a lack of training, or the wrong training. I don't think the problem is a poor IVR, or bad websites. I think the problem is with the people doing the customer service.

North American culture worships entitlement. We are 'entitled' to everything. We have rights! It is the duty of everyone else to ensure that we get what we are due. Unfortunately, if we all expect others to serve us, that leaves no one to serve. Customer service in North America is floundering because too many of the people who are providing it aren't concerned with the person they are supposed to be helping. They are only concerned with what they are due.

So when these people encounter others looking for help, they are entirely correct in treating with indifference, or disdain. Their culture has told them that they only need to be concerned with their own needs.

If you've read my previous post on altruism, you'll know that I believe that everyone acts only to their own benefit. Unfortunately North America has become very short sighted in this regard. We've lost sight of the big picture of the benefits a caring society provides in favour of a very narrow view. Our vision is only of tangible personal gain. We have deified the cold and calculating individual.

So what does this mean for companies that want to differentiate themselves from their competition on the basis of their customer service? They can hardly alter the collective ethos of hundreds of millions of people. No company is going to make North America a caring culture in any sort of realistic timeframe.

In the short term I think the best a company can do is to take three basic steps.

1. First they need to hire people who care (at all levels of the organization). This requires a bit of a different focus in terms of the recruitment and selection process, but I think it will create some very interesting side benefits for the company willing to do so.
2. Second, the company needs to create it's own internal culture. I think the example of the Ritz-Carlton demonstrates how that is done. They talk about customer service every day. They define themselves in terms of their character: "We are Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen.'' They drive their culture through constant communication of a message that says 'this is who we are'.
3. Finally, the company needs to structure it's performance management, at all levels, to include customer satisfaction and culture adherence. One of the truisms of performance management is that what gets rewarded, gets done. Failure to make the culture part of the performance management regime sends a clear message that it is simply corporate lip service and should be completely ignored. Any organization that says the quality of its customer service matters, and doesn't include the customer's feedback as part of its performance management is deluding itself (and whoever else is listening). Depressingly, many companies do exactly that.

Until a company can hire or create caring individuals, it can do little more than dabble in the field of customer service.

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