Dealing with VoIP Service Problems
Telecommunication service in general doesn’t necessarily have the best reputation for customer service. The VoIP industry is also known for this shortcoming, and although some companies have better customer support than others, there a few general rules of thumb to for improving your VoIP support experience. Here’s a quick explanation of why some VoIP providers have service challenges, as well as tips on dealing with it.
First of all why is VoIP support sometimes lacking?
• Reason #1: It’s a new industry. When a VoIP provider posts a customer service job, applicants tend to have experience at traditional phone or cable companies but not with VoIP. In other words, there’s not an existing trained work force that knows how to fix every VoIP issue.
• Reason #2: VoIP is a good deal. By keeping prices low, companies forfeit the ability to build huge customer service centers. On the one hand you get inexpensive phone service.
• Reason #3: Even though customer service is still shaky in the U.S., some companies outsource this function to other countries. This can make an existing communication problem worse due to shortcomings in English fluency.
Next, how can you deal with it?
Tip #1: When you pick a provider, ask if the company has its own customer support or if it is outsourced. If possible, go with a provider with an in-house team so that your customer service reps will understand the product and speak fluent English.
Tip # 2: Make sure your provider offers help online —then get comfortable using it. You can solve a lot of problems yourself, which is especially helpful if hold times at the customer service center are long.
Tip #3: Remember you are saving money. If you have headaches, they are likely to be on the front-end. Once you are up and running, you probably won’t have many issues—yet you will continue to save money compared to a traditional phone service.
Uncategorized | fbnewman | 
March 16, 2009 6:19 pm
Subscribe
