photo by WraithTDK
Disservice is an act intended to help, that turns out badly. How often do you have a disservice experience?
Frequently, I will wager.
When disservice happens, I figure it results from an absence of generosity. If the concept of service is purely one that seeks sales and lacks a genuine desire to serve, then it is unlikely to be sustainable.
There is currently a major US TV advertising campaign for a ‘service’ called xoom.com, that offers to transfer money more economically than banks. True, its price suggests this to be true. My bank charges $40 for wire transfers and xoom offers it for $4.99. But does it offer service?
My experience revealed that the company has little interest in offering genuine service. I tried to use it for a transfer from the US to the UK. However, there seemed to be no way to transfer an amount in the destination currency. I believed that it must be possible to send a specific amount in pounds sterling, but could find no way of transferring anything but US dollars.
The minimalist website revealed nothing. Calling customer service did not prove easy. The telephone number required careful search. The toll free number has many minutes of wait time and an unbelievable standard message about the high volume of calls and how important the customer is. Two long waits produced no response.
That was enough for me. I have no need of frustration. I just wanted the job done. My time expenditure on trying xoom was about 15 minutes and at my fee rate the cost soared beyond the theoretical saving of $35. In addition, if the company is so inefficient at dealing with a straightforward question, can they be trusted with my money and bank details?
When is a ‘service’ not a service?