The changing face of mobile radio
The old adage, “the more things change, the more they stay the same,” certainly does not apply to the mobile radio market. The market is changing in a number of ways — some positive, some questionable and some downright negative. Let me give you some examples.
On the positive side, radio technology has come a long way. A land mobile radio representative I talked with recently told me that radios rarely break on their own. The technology has gotten that good. Radios break because of what is done to them.
On the questionable side is the nature of the marketplace. I had a great visit with a dealer not long ago. I know the mobile radio market has changed over the years, but I was curious about his perception of the changes. He noted that smaller players are leaving the market. Either they are quitting the business or the bigger players are acquiring them.
Sad, but too true. With the loss of the “mom and pop” shops, the marketplace loses a bit of its soul. It loses the personal touch a smaller organization provides. The larger a company gets, the less personal service one receives. I received a telling email not long ago. The writer said that when he started his business he would travel a couple of hours to the company to pick up product. One time he walked in and the founder of the company was standing at the front counter. The founder knew his customers and greeted the writer. After the founder left the company, a corporate mindset crept in. As the writer noted, the company lost market share.
Can large companies provide customer service?
Sure they can. But, while many of the large players talk about customer service, my experience tells me it is harder for them to provide it to the degree they would like, or to the degree they think they are. How many companies have you seen that have “drill down” customer service? Half the fun in working with these companies is seeing how many menus you have to “drill down” before you can actually reach a human who is at all interested in your problem.
Then there are those companies who believe their product is the only choice in town. So if you have a problem, where else are you going to go? I call this “cable-company customer service.” This is the customer service philosophy of: “We are here to serve you as long as you are available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.” — all this so they can eventually tell you the problem is the end user, not the device.
There is also the customer “service thy self” approach, or how many troubleshooting logic tables must one go through over the phone with the “tech?”
I am combative when it comes to the lack of customer service. My wife calls me “The Terminator.” If her attempts fail to get resolution to a problem, she unleashes me. It isn’t pretty. But why should I have to be so aggressive to get a problem resolved?
The key to providing customer service is accessibility. Smaller companies are more prone to answering the phone, are more familiar with the specific product and more willing to do what is necessary to keep the customer happy.
Can the same be said of large companies? Yes and no. I contacted several police agencies to see how they are supported. The answers ranged from “adequate” (radios were no longer under warranty) to “great” (radios were under warranty).
I would be interested in hearing from you. What do you think? What are your experiences in getting customer satisfaction? I want to hear about the positive experiences as well as the less than positive.
Yes, Dorothy, there is a negative side
If there is a negative side to the mobile radio market it’s the meandering management of the FCC. It never ceases to amaze me how they can muck things up. (I’ve already written about Nextel and Nextwave so I won’t rehash them.)
We are the FCC’s customers. Yet, if accessibility is key to good customer service, guess who doesn’t have it. I recently made six calls to a bureau chief’s office and didn’t get one call back. I figure that a.) I’m too little a fish to bother with; b.) I should get a lawyer to make my calls; or c.) The commissioner read my columns on how they are handling Nextel and Nextwave.
So, how do I really feel about the FCC? I think the cartoon that accompanies Robert Schwaninger’s column this month nails it.
