Afternoon Tea in Jerusalem Blog

In addition to my work as a business coach, one of my interests is blogging about life in Israel. This is a country full of contrasts – over eight million citizens living in an area the size of Wales. You can see snow and the lowest place on the globe in the same day. Although surrounded by geopolitical extremes, Israel has achieved a decade of high economic growth. My work brings me in contact with an array of new companies, exciting technologies and dynamic characters. Sitting back with a relaxing cup of strong tea (with milk), you realise just how much there is to appreciate in the Holyland. Large or small operations, private sector or non profit, my clients provide experiences from which others can learn and benefit.

A post on LinkedIn from Geoff Burch referred to an a car repair job. Seemingly because he is a TV personality, the service was not insured. To summarise Burch’s thoughts, so much for customer care. After all, “happy customers make money”. (HCMM)

It reminded me of the time 30 years ago, when I had to go to the head Peugeot dealership in Jerusalem. They were incredibly rude. I complained to head office in France. The guys in Jerusalem were forced to apologise, but asked why I had not tried to resolve the issue locally in the first place. Er, um…. Meanwhile, I have not bought Peugeot again. Remember HCMM.

Have times changed? Last week, I ordered a new mobile phone via a website. I compared prices, delivery schedules etc between shops and decided on the retail chain called GoMobile.

Shortly afterwards, a rep of GoMobile called me up. “We just want to verify some details”. Oh yes, I think to myself. You know that it’s a trap, because he did not verify the model. Bottom line: The kit did not come with an original Samsung charger, but another make. If I am prepared to part with a small fortune, I can receive that and an extra year’s guarantee.

What the…? Why can’t they just put it in the package in the first place? Why the deception, from my perspective? To be fair, as was pointed out to me, this issue was clearly written on the website. But who takes in all the info, dotted all over the screen?

The rep was insistent and would not take no for an answer. So rather than trying to interrupt him, I let the guy waffle away. Finally, I was able to say no. I then told him that I would honour my order, but I think GoMobile is shooting itself in the foot. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“Because next time, I will not consider GoMobile as my first choice.” Suddenly, the rep was speechless. HCMM.

And if you think that is bad enough, try using Netvision as your e-mail server. That inbox receives about 30 spam entries a day from ladies suggesting various ‘services’. They all have the same content. However, Netvision will block this rubbish, if I just pay them around US$5 per month.

I have to ask myself: Why can’t Netvision just provide this service in an effort to provide excellent standards? Why are their customers subjected to this nonsense?

My three stories relate to incidents with Israeli services. However, I am sure that the world over is full of such incidents, daily.

When discussed as per above, it seems so obvious what suppliers should be doing. So why is it that so many fail? More importantly, what can you do to improve your service to your customers, right now?

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