Verizon Should Spend $2.8bln on Customer Service
In 2006, only 4 other national advertisers spent more than Verizon Communications. A total of $2,821,800,000 was spent on measured and estimated unmeasured advertising according to the Index of the 100 Leading National Advertisers, put together by Advertising Age. $2.8 Billion. That’s a lot of money.
In the mobile phone industry, the majority of customers who are buying cell phones have to go into the stores to make their purchase. This means, no matter how much the brand spends on advertising, the consumer has to interact with a human at some point. It’s not all automated. This is where the honeymoon with the brand melts down.
If all we saw about the brand was the edgy and fun commercials on television, Internet, and at stadiums, that’d be fine and chances are, I’d buy a Verizon product. Unfortunately, since we need to go into the Verizon store to purchase the item; I get turned off big time. Why? Because the last mile of purchasing a cell phone includes interacting with a human.
How many times have you dreaded going into your mobile carrier of choice’s store? Waiting on line for 30+ mins is common. Having issues with customer service is almost guaranteed. The human element of the mobile industry breaks down and is terrible. There needs to be a fix.
If you’re a brand who is spending $2.8 billion dollars on advertising, wouldn’t you want to curtail that a bit and spend money educating your retail staff? Verizon is just as much a service business as it a product. I’m not the only one with an issue with a retail business, Jeff Jarvis is infamous. Brands need to look carefully where their product/service interfaces directly with their ultimate consumer and embrace it. Make it special. Treasure it. Not hire the cheapest staff possible to push the product out the door.
If there was a high end mobile phone shop where the people behind the counter actually cared, I’d gladly spend a few extra dollars to be a customer.
On a relevant note: I returned my Verizon USB wireless card today and it took me 1 hour in the store before I spoke to a customer service representative and then another 35 minutes to have the money refunded onto my credit card. The staff in the store was interested in this past weekend’s football games and collecting their outstanding money that was owed to them from a few friendly wagers. Needless to say, myself and about 12-14 other people on the line weren’t thrilled about it.