Your chatbot made me cry
… and you lost a customer forever
A few months ago, Sky (sorry guys) rang me with what sounded like a good deal. After two years since I’d cancelled all services, they were offering me a dirt-cheap (satellite only) package; I said yes.
When the technician came to do the install, he couldn’t find a satellite feed. The service wouldn’t work. He said not to worry – “We’ll sort it in the office and it will automatically cancel.” I even double-checked whether or not I had to do anything.
Six months later, I woke up to a direct debit notification from Sky. They had started charging me for a service I hadn’t received. I immediately cancelled the debit order on my banking app and rang them.
The AI automatically recognised my number, which I can only assume was under ‘active contract’, and then offered me only one option: to set up a new payment for the service that had been ‘cancelled’. There was no way to speak to anyone. I called a few times, trying to find different routes to get an agent.
This was taking me time, and I was so frustrated I literally cried hot tears of anger.
Then I thought about what department always answers calls in person - SALES! So I called another customer service number, and it worked. A real person answered (which really, really annoyed me). I must say she was so lovely and kind and tried her best to help me. I couldn’t believe she had no way on her system to help me or even transfer my call. So I called the original number again and basically hit every number and symbol on my dial pad I could and finally spoke to someone.
Eventually, after imitating a telephone seizure by hitting * and # over and over, I got through to an agent.
They admitted the system had automatically started an out-of-contract charge. They did refund me in the end, but I was so incensed I swore I would never be a customer of theirs again. I told my friends, my kids’ friends and anyone else unfortunate enough to be in my orbit for days afterwards. Even worse, I decided to write about it and post it on my blog.
Automation is useful, but please be careful.
When system rules are automated, there has to be an option for your customers to get help. People forgive mistakes, and I certainly wasn’t mad when I first called. However, not allowing me to speak to someone flipped everything on its head. I don’t understand it when the amount it costs to acquire a new customer is massive (it ranges from 5 to 25 times more than retaining an existing one, and some sources cite that the first year of customer revenue (around £400) is almost fully wiped out by their Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) of approx £390.
This isn’t just a SKY problem; there are many out there. Hands up all you online retailers that make it really difficult or almost impossible to return an item and get a refund. Shame on you.
Marketing can’t fix broken trust.
When the customer’s lived experience clashes with what the brand promises, brand trust breaks and brand reputation plummets. Good luck getting it back.
Where to start fixing it
Take a deep breath, forget all other metrics, and focus meaningfully on Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) for just a moment.
Make sure there’s a direct line between Customer Service and Marketing and fix all escalations quickly.
Crazy idea - appoint someone as ‘Head of Failure’. Their role: find the breaks and fix them.
Make it safe to talk about what’s not working. A culture that punishes problems never learns from them.
Review how customer feedback travels inside your business, as you will be missing insight that could save your brand reputation (and even turn an unhappy customer into a brand advocate).
Automation absolutely has a place – in speed, scale and consistency - but it isn’t perfect, and you know it.
ps. SKY - if you have fixed this problem, let me know, and I will happily update this blog.
