Businesses sticking to stone age technology

Kumejima

Am I the only one encountering business after business that only seems to use snail mail and fax(!?) as a form of communication.
One of the direct debits on my car insurance bounced. The first I became aware of it when a registered letter came from my insurer to inform me my policy had been cancelled.

"But why didn't you contact me?" I asked.
"We sent you two letters over a 3 week period, when there was no response our system cancelled your policy."
"I assume that stuff is either marketing stuff or statutory information you have to send when you change your rules etc. Surely if someone is in default you'd pick up the phone to let him know?"
"Our system doesn't have phone contacts"
"Well can I reinstate the policy?"
"No, its cancelled"
"So can I get a new policy?"
"Sorry, we have a policy of not doing business with people whose policies are cancelled".

I rang around and was refused by further insurance companies because of the cancellation.
At this stage I'd had it and got back to the original guys to beg them basically to take my business. I explained that it was insanity to turf a potential lifetime customer and tens of thousands of Euros of potential revenue out the door, simply because they were using communication methods from the last century.
They had to go up 3 levels of management to allow me to give them my money. Which they then took upfront for the year.

So they have a system which is perfectly efficient at getting rid of willing loyal customers yet puts a mountain in front of them to remain customers if they miss a single €36 payment through stone age communication methods.


Short version: If any of you work in insurance, banks, or other institutions and something is important, pick up the phone and goddam well call and tell your customers! If you have documents that the customers need, EMAIL! not faxes, not snail mail, not carrier pigeon.

Any other examples?

El Guapo!

Maybe you should have read the letters they sent you.

Kumejima

Dean09 wrote: »

Maybe you should have read the letters they sent you.

Yes I should have, and in a perfect world there would have been money in my account when the direct debit came through, and these situations would never occur.
Its not their responsibility to make sure I keep my payments up. Thats not the issue. The issue is they are spending millions on advertising to get new customers but won't spend 10c on a phone call to retain them.
I know there are some people who open all and every piece of mail that comes through the door and immediately take whatever course of action is necessary on the spot, but for the rest of us mere mortals sometimes things slip through the cracks.
As a business or institution how can you not factor that in?

mikom

Kumejima wrote: »

Businesses sticking to stone age technology technology

It's awful awful.

Pottler

Kumejima wrote: »

Yes I should have, and in a perfect world there would have been money in my account when the direct debit came through, and these situations would never occur.
Its not their responsibility to make sure I keep my payments up. Thats not the issue. The issue is they are spending millions on advertising to get new customers but won't spend 10c on a phone call to retain them.
I know there are some people who open all and every piece of mail that comes through the door and immediately take whatever course of action is necessary on the spot, but for the rest of us mere mortals sometimes things slip through the cracks.
As a business or institution how can you not factor that in?

Er, make sure your direct-debits go through then?? Factor that in. They probably don't want customers they have to chase for payments. Sounds rational enough to me. If they rang you and then you got cut loose, you'd probably be whinging they never sent you an official letter.

Stovepipe

Every time I hear some public sector basher on the radio, I only have to think about how universally **** most insurance companies are. proactive ones will get my business, lazy ones that dick around won't.

regards
Stovepipe

Crackle

Kumejima wrote: »

I know there are some people who open all and every piece of mail that comes through the door and immediately take whatever course of action is necessary on the spot, but for the rest of us mere mortals sometimes things slip through the cracks.
As a business or institution how can you not factor that in?

You could just as easily have deemed their emails and phone calls to be as unimportant as their letters. It isn't an arduous task to open an envelope to see what's inside.

Gordon

Letters didn't exist in the stone age, tablets did. And now people are back to using tablets, who would have thunk it? Full circle, like the wheel..

L.Jenkins

Sounds like a Thread for Ranting and Raving!

Mr Cumulonimbus

mikom wrote: »

It's awful awful.

Jimmy Two Times..........

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-PHCaf9JnE

3ndahalfof6

Perfect place to bring this up, most of us on AH are neanderthals, in answer to your query,

if I can throw a stone very far it must be a small stone, but if I can throw the same stone and catch it before it hits the ground, I only threw it up into the air,

sometimes gruff gruff, works, take away all today's new capability to contact each other, how would you fair out,

a solar flare could do this, there are people (many many people) preparing themselves for this situation.

MadsL

To be serious.

Emigrated and can't change my address at my Irish bank online. Have to fill out and post a form.

Ridiculous.

Can't fax instructions for money transfers either. Last urgent transaction instruction I had to Fedex at a cost of $80.

Utterly backward.

Anyone

So you dont pay a bill, and then dont read the two letters about not paying and its their fault? How does that work then?

Lyaiera

The phrase snail-mail is so retro.