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February 18, 2006

eBuilding or: How to create an unhappy customer

There was a time I was very happy with eBuilding. I would have recommended anyone.

This entry is a story of how a couple of bad events changed me into a customer that is no longer engaged and absolutely disappointed in the company. This is a story about a company that tries hard to beat strong competitors but whose telephone customer service is able to destroy all the good-will built up in just a couple of calls.

So here we go:

Over the last couple of weeks, eBuilding’s connection to my building was very erratic - on and off, but actually more off than on. It took a long time to get the connection up and running.

Calling and reaching someone in eBuilding over the weekend is a game of luck. One time in January I was lucky and I reached someone. One very friendy woman from eBuilding let me through a process that helped me connecting. But a week later, it was gone again.

The thing is that frequently, I am online at home during the weekend. This is of course very disadvantaging for me when I cannot reach anyone in eBuilding. How often did I call them to no avail. Leaving messages and no on returns the call – not even on a Monday.

Last weekend, my wife purchased an online tool for my child, to assist him in his homework. He didn’t go to school the following Monday as he was sick and instead, they decided to log on to the web. No connection. Since my wife is not that internet savvy, I called eBuilding and talked to a guy called Jack. He asked me if I were at home and I said, no, I was in the office. I asked him to either call my home and lead my wife through the process of reconnecting or, even better, send someone over. He said that no technicians of eBuilding was in the area and if I could call eBuilding in the evening. I said that this is useless, because my wife would need the computer during the day, and it is impossible to let a customer wait until the evening. To convey this message wasn't easy. I had to repeat it may be five times, and he constantly came with the argument that I have to call in the evening time. Excuse me! A customer is in need, and you are asked to wait until the evening? Finally, he got the message, I thought. He promised to assist and wanted to call back – never did.

Somehow along the line the connection worked again and I left it at that - I actually thought that may be Jack tuned the connection on their side.

Today, the connection failed again. Again, I am on the phone. The lady told me that there are some technical problems in my place and that is why the web doesn’t connect. If things are back to normal they would call me. Again, no news.

In the afternoon I call again. I am now told that they migrated the system and if I would have migrated already. Duh - I didn't even know that they planned a system migration. No e-mail, nothing!. So I said no, and that I wasn’t told.

Apparently it already happened last weekend. I didn’t get a respective e-mail. The lady assists me in migrating, leading me through the process. According to her instructions, I am logging on to the computer, to eBuilding’s webpage, register, agree to the service agreement (didn’t I do so the very first time I subscribed to them, way back in 2003???) – and then, the system fails - "the webpage you are trying to reach ... blah, blah, blah!.

I try again – the same situation, and one more time. Finally, it works, but then, the call is interrupted. No connection as well. I call eBuilding and reach the answering machine. I leave a message asking for a return call – a call that doesn't came.

Okay, I proceed alone. Somehow, I manage to register. An old user has to register again. I get worried that I am getting charged twice, if all of this is so complicated and not customer friendly – at least in my perspective.

Okay – proceeding. New user name, new password – the automatic response that an email has been send to my email account for verification. Ha – everything done.

Let’s see how it works. Trying to open Internet to log in to my GMail account and no, the webpage doesn’t open. Okay – I log off from eBuilding and want to log in again. Hoping that it needs to go through this process. Typing in my username and password. The box tells me that the username is wrong. Wrong? How can that be.

I call eBuilding again. A guy responds. He sounds a bit helpless listening to my description. Since I couldn’t get the lady, and she hadn’t have my telephone number, I give him my contact details straight away - I don’t want to lose out again. I explain the case again and he gets even more lost. He asks me to hold on, he wants to check with his colleagues – and the line goes dead. He never calls back!

I try to log in to the web again. The same result. Then I try it with a large caps first letter. Ah – it now registers my name, but not my password. While doing so, I call eBuilding, since I sense more trouble. The password, my good old password, doesn’t work and trouble looms. The system informs me that I tried to log in more than three times and that it shuts me out for 24 hours. Great - how pathetic can this be?

Finally reaching someone in eBuilding. But the moment I mention my name, the line goes dead. Is there a system behind the system? I call again, and reach someone. The lady again, her name is Asa. She is friendly. Tries to help, wants to get my name correct first. I have to repeat it 5 times, that the last letter of “Andreas” is an “S”, not a “N”. This happens all the time – frequently, I am ending up as Andrean instead of Andreas.

I tell her my problem and she does sound lost. Suddenly she says that there is a Gateway problem in my building and they try to rectify this. Doesn’t this sound familiar? She gives me a temporary password and says that a technician will call me back when their problem is rectified. She doesn’t know when. She doesn’t answer to my frustrated question, if I can charge eBuilding for all the lost hours and enjoyment.

I am very angry, very unhappy with eBuilding. I hope I have a chance to get a new supplier because today, eBuilding lost a loyal subscriber. It is difficult and cost intensive to win customers and when you are a smaller company such as eBuilding, shouldn’t you run twice as fast and work twice as hard to keep your customer?

Later: I am out on the highway when y handphone rings. It is eBuilding. I ask the guy if he can call me back in 45 minutes, since I am on my way home. He intends to do so.

45 minutes later. I am waiting, and waiting. I call eBuiding. Leave a message on the answering machine. Ask then to return my call. 15 minutes later, I call again, and tell the answering machine that I am pretty fed up.

I am now using my good old Jaring dial-up to post this entry. Tomorrow morning, I am trying to reach eBuilding again. And on Monday, I want to talk to their management.

Posted by Andreas at February 18, 2006 05:14 PM

Comments

Posted by: Very dissapointed at November 12, 2006 08:33 PM

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