One thing I hated about lockdown, aside from the feeling of confinement, was trying to call my mobile phone, broadband or energy provider and being hit with an automated message: “We are experiencing unusually high call volumes at the moment.”
Much as it was annoying, though, it was understandable. We were in an unprecedented situation.
Call-centre agents were working from home; many others had been furloughed and some had even been let go. So it was unsurprising that big providers were struggling to meet call demands.
Today, however, I find it unforgivable that many customer-service lines are still playing that message.
In every instance, it is important to consider the provider’s point of view. Is there a genuine reason for the delay?
If call volumes are always high, they are no longer “unusual”. They are the norm. Providers need to up their service or, at least, update their messaging.
In the finance world, advisers frequently bemoan poor service from providers. Long call-wait times, sending out stacks of seemingly unnecessary paperwork, being slow to pay claims and failing to integrate with certain platforms and back-office systems are common gripes.
Of course, there are instances when this is entirely the provider’s fault. A form gets lost or put in a pile and forgotten about, errors are made in sending out paperwork, or staff are not properly trained so they don’t understand all the financial regulations or even, in some cases, the company’s own policy.
The provider may, for example, need to check the details of an illness with a GP, and GPs are notoriously slow to reply
But are reports of poor service always warranted?
Bad news sells
Inevitably, these reports get picked up by the media. The sad truth is that bad news sells. And, once the media get hold of a story, it can very quickly become a bigger deal than it was originally.
You need look back only to 1998, when England footballer David Beckham got sent off during a World Cup match, to understand how bad news can snowball. Beckham, arguably, simply contributed to a football team losing a game (OK — and being knocked out of the World Cup). Not a big deal. Yet many football supporters hated him for years afterwards.
‘Advisers assume it’s just red tape stopping the claim from going through, but it’s standard due diligence,’ my contact says
In every instance of so-called poor service, it is important to consider the provider’s point of view. Is it just being deliberately obtuse? Or is there a genuine reason for a delay in the process?
Understanding the context
One of my contacts has recently moved from an advice network, working on the distribution side, to a large protection provider.
In their old role, they were used to hearing advisers complain about providers. But the biggest lesson they’ve learned in making the switch, they say, is the importance of understanding the context and the reasons why providers do what they do.
Media outlets — maybe try to balance out the bad-news stories with the good
They give an example of a recent claim a client put in for lung cancer. The assumption is that lung cancer is smoking related. In cases where it is, this is a standard claim for a provider.
In this case, however, the client said it was not smoking related. This meant the provider had to do some due diligence to check the claim was valid.
“All of a sudden it is no longer business as usual, and we can’t pay the claim out within 10 or 15 days because we have to go and investigate,” my contact explains.
The provider may, for example, need to check the details of the illness with a GP, and GPs are notoriously slow to reply.
“Advisers assume it’s just red tape stopping the claim from going through, but it’s standard due diligence,” my contact says. “We have to make sure everything is correct and accurate.”
It’s important to understand the context and the reasons why providers do what they do
So yes, of course there will be times when service is poor and the provider is at fault. But sometimes there may be a genuine reason for slow processes.
And it is important to remember that it is, more often than not, the bad parts that are picked up and publicised.
Advisers — maybe cut providers some slack.
And media outlets — maybe try to balance out the bad-news stories with the good.
Lois Vallely is chief reporter. Contact her at: lois.vallely@moneymarketing.co.uk
This article featured in the February 2024 edition of MM.
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