In the supermortal words of Hubert Farnsworth, "Good News, Everyone!".
Last eve some mishap caused my DSL model/router to disconnect. For some while it failed to reconnect: AUTH_FAIL, it said.
Now, my ISP, WebAfrica, whom I hold in very high regard, has been having an occasional little trouble in recent times with their authentication servers. So: patience is the order of the day. It was quite late in the day, so my bed called, nothing in my little local network really needed Internet access overnight, so I left matters until the morning, in the hopes that the problems would be resolved without any input on my part.
They were not.
So... Onto the phone this morning. Less than two rings! (Contrast this with giving up after an hour on hold last week with Telkom!) Spoke to a chap who was remarkably candid: "Yes, we have had a problem, and a few accounts seem (for reasons we don't fully understand, yet) to have been stuck in an "inactive" queue. We're terribly sorry. I am sorting it out right now [clickety clickety clickety click]; would you like to hold?"
I declined to hold. The pain of being on hold to Telkom being too fresh in my psyche, I suppose. After suitable pleasantries I hung up.
A couple minutes later the phone rang. Same chap from WebAfrica. " I see that your modem seems to be having some trouble connecting. Could we please confirm the password it is using to connect...?"
Well, Bugger Me Sideways With A Spoon! Not only did WebAfrica's support guy sort the problem out instantly, with an ordinary, human-to-human acknowledgment that something had, indeed, gone wrong, but, after I had explicitly said "Ticket closed; I'll call you if there is any further problem." had monitored the situation to make sure that I -- The Lowly Customer -- had been properly sorted out, and called me back to make sure of it!
What am I saying, here?
- I could have raved about not being kept on hold in some support-queue for an hour or longer.
- I could have raved about the great service I received during the handling of my support call.
- I could have raved all night in San Fransisco with the hot chick on her way to Hawaii (but that's another story!)
Here's a significant point: None of us (modulo the Absolutely Bloody Minded) is so stupid as to believe that everything Works Flawlessly All the Time. Shit Happens. We know this. When it does, please don't lie to us and use phrasing designed to imply that we, the Customer, are Stupid, Insane and/or Lying! Please don't pretend that it is Somebody Else's Fault or an Act Of (somebody's) God. (Hello, Telkom!) If you've fucked up, admit it, apologise, and move on. Nobody will hold it against you. In fact, given the current climate of Assumed Corporate Infalibilty, we'll sympathise and likely offer to help you fix it!
Just say "Yes. We Had a problem. We've fixed it. (OR: Here's what we're busy doing to Fix It.) We're sorry."
If it is a significant proportion of the working day, offer a credit for the lost service time. Not difficult, is it? Not Rocket Science!
I cannot think of a way to praise this enough!
This most recent incident is the perfect exemplar of the sort of brilliant, attentive, honest service I have unfailingly received from WebAfrica! I have had a friend[2] phone me up especially to say, "Thank you for putting me on to WebAfrica as a service provider! I've since recommended them to at least 15 other people!".
I kid you not!
If anyone in South Africa wants or needs ADSL service, Internet access or web-hosting, do yourself a favour: www.webafrica.co.za.
Their rates are amongst the lowest around. Their service is out of all proportion to what you pay! (i.e. It's brilliant!) If they ever get bought out by Vox Telecom I shall probably have to leave the country -- and even then I won't find an ISP as good!
[1] A "keyboard/finger" interaction nearly made that "Pox Telecom", whIch would have been appropriate...
[2] We've known each other over 35 years, now... I think that qualifies as friendship, no?
[2] We've known each other over 35 years, now... I think that qualifies as friendship, no?
