Bernard Ginns: Everyone’s happy if you provide great customer service

GREAT CUSTOMER service is the mark of a great business.

In reality though companies often fail to meet expectations and faced with three poor experiences in the space of a week I am using this column to name and shame those businesses in the hope that they improve their service for the benefit of everyone.

First in the firing line is British Airways. It might be the world’s favourite airline, but it was not mine earlier this month, when I was a customer of its transatlantic service to New York.

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I am the parent of a child with a nut allergy, so safety on the flight is a major concern, given that sufferers can be dangerously affected by peanuts anywhere in the aircraft cabin.

Shopping around for tickets, American Airlines offered the cheapest fares but when I phoned to check its policy on food allergies it would not take any responsibility for peanuts on board.

In contrast, British Airways was very helpful when I contacted the call centre.

A sales agent said she would alert airport staff and cabin crew and request an announcement on the flight to update other passengers.

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As a result, British Airways got my custom, despite being more expensive.

But when it came to travelling, no announcements were made, the crew seemed unaware and were not greatly helpful when I informed them.

​​I ​felt​ misled during the sales process and complained as much, later receiving an apology from the customer service department.

This was followed up by one of those surveys seeking views on how a complaint has been handled.

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I ignored it, preferring to put it to good use in a column.

Next up is Yorkshire Bank.

I emailed the bank to let it know I would be going on holiday in the New York area and not to block any transactions from this part of the world.

The bank wished me a good trip and said it would mark the cards accordingly. So far so good.

The first day I used the card with no problems, buying some books at Barnes & Noble in Brooklyn.

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But subsequent transactions failed, causing inconvenience, embarrassment and stress, especially when trying to book a hire car.

I contacted the bank and was told that an automatic block had been put on the card because of unknown transactions.

The lender later admitted that it had failed to send on the instruction to the relevant department and apologised.

I won’t be relying on Yorkshire Bank next time I go abroad.

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Finally, the last company is BT, which I quit earlier in the summer for a much cheaper broadband and calls package with Plusnet, its Yorkshire-based subsidiary.

The switch seemed to go through smoothly with BT acknowledging my departure and the new Plusnet service starting as planned.

But several weeks later I received an email from BT to thank me for my order. What order? The “order” for BT Total Broadband, an order I did not make and did not need but would be costing me £30 a month.

I contacted BT’s customer service department and was told the fault lay with Plusnet.

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So I called Plusnet and after 15 minutes on hold - way too long for a company that is supposed to be good at customer service - and was told it was BT’s error.

This was starting to become Kafkaesque. I started to complain vociferously at BT and the telecoms giant finally apologised and cancelled the order I never made.

As with British Airways, I received a follow-up email seeking my views on how the customer service department handled the issue.

Again, I ignored it. It is more constructive to use this column to expose poor service in the hope that businesses improve what they do for the good of customers, management and shareholders.

Everyone’s happy then.