Comments on: Customer Service: One Good Reason Why Small Businesses Should Stay Small

By: Pelago | Facebook

Pelago | Facebook — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 03:30:24 +0000

[...] a new address: 423 North Milpas Ave. Santa Barbara, CA 93103November 23, 2009 at 2:17pm Pelago http://www.myintervals.com/blog/2009/11/23/customer-service-one-good-reason-why-small-businesses-sho…Customer Service: One Good Reason Why Small Businesses Should Stay Small | Project management and [...]

By: John Reeve

John Reeve — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:34:40 +0000

So much has happened since the move, where do I begin? How about I just talk about the end. We ended up going with a different provider for our phones. The new provider has customer service reps who actually know what is going on with our phones and we were up and running in just a few days. And we have a rep who was able to help us through the whole procedure. That said, I don’t think any amount of effective planning could have handled the fustercluck that is Verizon customer service. Not only did their tech bail on us, but each and every person I spoke to after that could not get our call forwarding working. In order to plan effectively, one has to assume some amount of competence from third parties.

You don’t work for Verizon, do you?

By: Jim Bob

Jim Bob — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:13:02 +0000

Fair enough, but rather puzzling then that your description lacks those activities.

Those details are also desirable to indicate in a revised blog posting, as it appears you’re blaming the big company for poor planning on your part. The misleading description starts with “With only a few days left until the move, we called Verizon again to verify the transfer.” and continues with the header “The Day of the Move.”

As well you know, all effective planning assumes that things will not go well, and plan and allowance is made for non-desired outcome.

By: John Reeve

John Reeve — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:59:51 +0000

You are oversimplifying the issue.

We did set it up three weeks in advance. I should also add that our new office was under construction and did not have any phones lines installed, which is why we reserved the Verizon tech to come out that day and install them. The tech bailed on us. So we tried what you suggest above, we set up call forwarding. However, Verizon never got it working. After 11 days and as many phone calls not one person at Verizon could get our call forwarding working. Not a single one.

We did everything in our power to make sure the move went smoothly. Verizon, on the other hand, really screwed up.

By: Jim Bob

Jim Bob — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:54:31 +0000

Your mistake was not to set up service three weeks in advance and make sure it was operating well before moving day. You could have merely forwarded your previous numbers on or before moving day when you knew everything was working.

It was your mistake to have a switch over on a just in time basis. Not a good idea for any important resource.

By: Intervals Forum - Our phones are down

Intervals Forum - Our phones are down — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:45:32 +0000

[...] CommentTime5 seconds ago I neglected to update this post…my apologies. Our phone system is officially back online and we are up and running with a new provider. Thanks again for all of your support and kind words during the changeover. If you are interested in the back story please check out this blog post. [...]