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AutoPage Cellular Their slogan: "Nobody knows more about personal communications" [ Autopage Website ] Autopage Cellular is a cellular service provider which provides "service" to cellular network users. In other words they are supposed to do the billing and assist with problems and act as interface between the network provider and the client. They are, in terms of the service agreement, supposed to take all reasonable steps to provide service. Communication is a two way flow and this is one of my biggest problems I had with this company in 1996. Numerous requests for service from me to them only resulted in slow and inefficient service from them. When I tried to take the problem up in writing and by phone in person with their MD I got no response. My intention was to merely try improve their service, but even this fell on deaf ears. In December 1997 and January 1998 I took the problem up again by publishing all the correspondence on the Internet. This time the customer liason manager and the financial director contacted me and we did come to a stisfactory agreement. They even offered to pay for all my long distance telephone calls and faxes. I think the lesson to be learnt here (and it is not only Autopage that had this problem) is that top management must be reachable by its clients. If clients have serious problems and are not satisfied with the service, they should be able to reach the top management. Employees in a company often only see the rules, or they are given just too many rules, that they have no room with in which to use any discretion. Top management should be the safety valve, so that the client does not go and explode somewhere else. Top management must have the attitude of being receptive to problems with the intention of solving them. I think the big difference in attitude came about in 1997 when Autopage appointed proper customer liason managers. This department could then give proper attention to problems. It is important to remember though that this still does not absolve top management of their ultimate responsibility.
Back to Quality of Service Page Last Updated: 1998-01-08 |