I’ve bitched and moaned more than enough on this blog about how terrible customer service is in South Africa. I like to think of myself as one of the biggest moaners when it comes to incompetence and bad service. One of my last service related complaints was about the computer reseller Axiz. You can find the original post here.
For those of you with little desire to read the original sob story I basically got quoted on products that were not in stock and when I bunked university to go pick up the products I had to come back 3 times due to their incompetence. Now not only did I have to drive about 30KM each way to get these products but had to wait an hour each time I went there while they “located” the products they didn’t actually have. Since this was the third time that had happened to me in less than a year I was less than pleased. This prompted me to write that blog post and I’ve never bought anything from them subsequently.
This all changed on Friday when I got a call (which I missed) and then an e-mail from a Mr Craig Brunsden:
I read your posting on the 21st of April about the poor service you’ve received from Axiz. As you noted in your article, you’re previously enjoyed a (seemingly) good relationship with us and I’m extremely sorry to see we’ve let you down. I received a copy of the posting today and am taking the liberty of following up to ensure that your concern/complaint was dealt with or if you ever did complain to any of my colleagues.
I would greatly appreciate it if you gave me the name of your company and /or the person(s) you dealt with recently so that I can investigate the incident and ensure that this does not happen again. We would also appreciate the opportunity to prove to you that our service is not as poor and you now believe after this recent experience.
I must admit Craig is my new hero. The very fact that he had the decency to both call and then follow up with me says so much. In situations like this I’d expect a company the size of Axiz to send me threatening letters rather than contact me with an apology.
Considering how cynical I am this brings me a new look into customer service and shows me that it is possible to get it right. I wish other companies would take a look at this example, a single phone call means that all the people who read this blog will now know what a quality company Axiz is.
Again, thank you Mr Brunsden: You’ve made me a little less cynical and a lot happier.
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Why does he start every word with a capital letter?