Is Your Message Consistent?

Imagine that you're enjoying a meal with a friend in a restaurant.  Your friend is nice and charming to you.  But when dealing with the server, he or she suddenly becomes quite rude and demanding.  You have a front row seat for the behavior change and you find it quite unnerving.

A lot of companies are the same when when it comes to customer service.  Recently I had to switch out some cable equipment with Comcast.  The people I talked to on the phone were great.  They were helpful and apologetic about the situation.  Later when I went to an office to pick up my new cable box, I found the staff to be confused, unsympathetic, and not very helpful.  The experience was duplicated at another office that I had to visit.  Apparently staring blankly at a customer is part of their training.

It's too bad that Comcast can't get its customer service messaging to be more consistent.  The person who handles the phone operators has done a great job.  The office training is poor.  Too bad customers end up getting a mixed message.