I am not guiltless when it comes to being rude to customers; but every time I find myself on the receiving end of rude customer service reps, I’m reminded why it’s important not to be rude to your customers, especially if you’re hoping they’re going to pay your way to that million dollar mansion.

Today I had to call Network Solutions about renewing one of my domains. I’ve been having trouble renewing domains online for a few months. As it turns out, I’ve been having this problem since switching to Firefox from Internet Explorer; but this was not discovered until today.

So, I called Network Solutions and had to deal with a rep named Rebecca. I explained my problem to Rebecca; and she proceeded to tell me a lot of nonsense that I knew had nothing to do with anything. At the end of the day I had to hang up, so fed up I was with dealing with her. She was not listening to what I was trying to tell her and kept on insisting that it was I who would not listen; that she has tried to explain to me that the reason I could not renew my domains was because I was not listed on the account as the primary account holder and needed to login with the primary account holder’s information. Mind you, I have had this account for 5 years. I am the only account holder and the information I used to login is the only information associated with my account; but Rebecca refused to understand this very simple point and kept insisting that I needed to login with the primary account holder’s information and then I would be able to renew my domain.

In any regard, after hanging up the phone I had to spend about 20 minutes on restoring my mental balance. I do have anxiety issues and any type of confrontation, however mild, makes my heart rate accelerate to a point where I cannot breathe properly. It took me 20 minutes to get to the point where I could chance to call back.

This time I explained my problem to a different individual. The first indication that I might get a different result was when the new rep was able to login to my account. For some reason, Rebecca couldn’t log in for the life of her. We spelled out the username. We spelled out the password; but Rebecca couldn’t get into the account, she claimed. This of course convinced her that there MUST be another way to login to the account using a different username and password that I wasn’t privy to for the obvious reason that the account wasn’t mine but someone else’s. She did not say this, but what else could one conclude? It could not have been that maybe she wasn’t entering the username correctly, or she wasn’t entering the password correctly, it had to be that I was making a mistake, I who have had this account since its inception in 1998, or it could be 1999, and have had no problems with it until recently. It could not have been Rebecca because Rebecca is the expert here and I’m just someone who knows nothing about anything.

Long story short, the new rep asked some key questions and we arrived at the point of having me check to see if I encountered the same problem using Internet Explorer. I did not encounter the same problem using Internet Explorer. It turns out the problem was Firefox, which makes sense because the problem did start in recent months, and I did start using firefox in recent months. Now, of course, I might have thought of that myself, but….

The point here is, everybody wins when you’re patient with your customers and try your best to help them, even if they come at you with a bit of an attitude; and I can admit that I began to get fed up with Rebecca and my tone might not have endeared me to her; but regardless of the tone your customer takes, they are paying you money; they are keeping you in business, and you should never belittle them, never patronize them, never insult them, and endeavor not to be impatient with them. Help them when they come to you seeking help. Always try to go above and beyond if you can because when you please people, they tell other people good things about you and your number of customers increases.

Obviously I’m just one individual and Network Solutions won’t feel any loss were I to take my business elsewhere; but if you’re not so big that you can afford to lose a single customer, abide by the rule that the customer is always right, even if they’re wrong. It will be more to your benefit than making your customer angry. I can tell you personal stories about making customers unhappy as I have not always been professional when dealing with difficult customers and I have paid the price.

Here is a copy of the letter I wrote to Network Solutions. It won’t make any difference, they’ll probably never read it and Rebecca will probably never be reprimanded as she deserves. I have the experience of being on both ends of customer service so I know well enough how we really feel about our more difficult customers, what we would really like to tell them, and what we say about them after they hang up the phone or leave the store. I have no expectations that anyone at Network Solutions will care one way or another about a lone unhappy customer one of their employees sent into a fit of anxiety; but I sent my letter of dissatisfaction nonetheless. It’s not my strongest writing; but I wrote it while still heated. Another lesson for you - always calm down first so you can think clearly when you need to make a point. The letter:

I called today to get assistance with renewing a domain that was about to expire. I ended up having to hang up after trying to get help from a tech assistant named Rebecca, and calling back to get assistance from someone else. I have been able to renew my domain with the help of the new assistant, and I would like to request that your tech assistant ‘Rebecca’ be notified that the reason I was unable to renew my domain online had nothing to do with her suggestions.

Rebecca was not helpful and was in fact patronizing in her approach to customer assistance. She did not listen to what the customer was trying to tell her and was therefore unable to provide any relevant assistance.

As I have been paying Network Solutions at the high rate of $35 per domain for five years for multiple domains I registered with your company despite being fully aware that many equally reputable companies sell domains at more than half the price charged by Network Solutions, I don’t believe I deserve to have my blood pressure and anxiety elevated trying to get competent assistance with renewing my domain. Until Rebecca I have had nothing but good experiences with Network Solutions. The individuals who’ve assisted me in the past have all been “patient” and “professional”. Above all, I think patience is key in dealing with customers, whether or not you think they are wrong. As it happens, in this case, Rebecca was wrong. Not the customer. Perhaps Rebecca needs to be reminded that happy customers keep her employed.