Author: Brittany Hodak
How many times have you written off an entire company based on your interactions with ONE employee? Don’t make the choice Xfinity made… A few weeks ago I got a call out of the blue that left me so shocked I have to share the story. Let’s get into it… We’ve all been […]
How many times have you written off an entire company based on your interactions with ONE employee? Don’t make the choice Xfinity made…
A few weeks ago I got a call out of the blue that left me so shocked I have to share the story.
Let’s get into it…
We’ve all been in situations where we said certain vendors were so difficult to work with because that one person was rude or was slow to respond to an email. In today’s experience economy, every employee is a living representation of your brand and has the power to shape its reputation.
A few weeks ago, I received a phone call from an Xfinity telesales agent named Charles. Normally, I wouldn’t have picked up the call, but it came from the same area code as mine and I thought it might have been important (they got me ).
I have Xfinity gigabit-speed internet and am satisfied with it, but Charles was determined to upsell me on the X1 Box, which I don’t need because all of my TVs are Amazon Fire devices. I politely declined the offer twice and explained to Charles that I did not need an X1 box. He was IRATE; he yelled at me and said that I obviously didn’t understand how valuable it was and that I must be afraid of change. Then, he hung up on me. Ouch!
Ironically, at the start of our conversation he said the call was being recorded for training purposes, so I tweeted at Xfinity Support and gave them Charles’s phone number so they could listen to the recording ASAP. A nice man named Robert apologized and told me that he would look into it, but that telesales is handled by an independent third party so there wasn’t much they could do.
An! Independent! Third! Party!
When I answered the phone, did Charles say, “Hi, I’m calling as an independent third-party salesperson working on commission to upsell you something?” Nope. He said, “Hi, I’m Charles, I’m calling from Xfinity to review an important item on your account.”
Guess what? Every employee — and every “independent third party” having conversations on behalf of your brand — is a representative of your company!
It doesn’t matter to customers if the telesales agent doesn’t technically work for your company. Or if it’s Dave’s third day in his role. Or if Suzie had zero involvement in creating the store’s return policy. Any employee can be responsible for the first (and maybe last!) impression someone forms about your brand. Whether it’s your corporate employees, the agents on the frontlines, or third-party vendors, you’ve got to ensure that everyone is representing your brand in the right way.
If your employees and contractors are apathetic about your brand, your customers will be, too.
If you choose to outsource your customer-facing positions (something I am NOT a proponent of), then you must find partners who understand your company’s mission and have the same dedication to customer centricity. While I understand that Charles isn’t an accurate reflection of all of the employees at Xfinity, our interaction still diluted my perception of the brand. If they don’t care enough to properly screen and train customer-facing sales agents, then do they really care about me as a customer?
Xfinity regained some points thanks to Robert quickly addressing my inquiry on Twitter, but I can’t help but wonder how many Charleses there are for every Robert?
Think about ALL of the people that work with your company, both directly and indirectly. If I randomly drew a name from a hat, would you feel comfortable with any of these individuals representing your brand?
If the answer is no, shoot me a message so we can talk about how to change that.
“It takes months to find a customer… seconds to lose one.”
-Vince Lombardi
Have a great week and I’ll talk to you next Tuesday!
Article published originally on LinkedIn and written by Brittany Hodak
Contact Us at WeSpeak Global and follow us on Twitter
Author Profile
The articles, video and images embedded on these pages are from various speakers and talent.
These remain the property of its owner and are not affiliated with or endorsed by WeSpeak Global.
Chris Bertish | Captains Log 13th June 13th -17th June 29 05’474 N 128 01’447W Pacific Ocean Milestones-The waterline/ Hatches & rouge waves/MOB take 2 -Injuries /Slow is pro / It’s all shifting / Maslow’s hierarchy of Needs / Story of the clever turd! / Shifting spaces / Into the light.. Breakthrough/ Flicker on! / […]
Extreme explorer, Cipla Foundation trustee and ambassador, David Grier, the First person to run The Great Wall of China in both directions and fellow extreme athlete, Andrew Stuart have passed the half-way mark of their gruelling 70-day, 4200 kilometre journey across the Great Wall of China. This challenge is a feat that Grier already […]
What does it mean to be an inspiring leader? An inspirational leader is someone that people follow, if you’re a leader and nobody’s following you, you’re not really a leader or you lack leadership skills. Think of the world’s most inspiring leaders, who are inspiring leaders throughout history? What does it mean to be an inspiring leader? An inspiring leader is someone […]
We all know remote working and the loneliness in your team has had a large impact on our mental health with loneliness being cited as the most common emotion being experienced by entrepreneurs, leaders and employees. This can cause us to withdraw and be less committed, creative, collaborative and attentive, and both the quality and […]
The best way to predict the future is by Creating a Personal Strategy A powerful quote! Do you know that Abraham Lincoln considered even himself a failure for the most parts of his life? He failed far more than he ever succeeded in life, yet most people remember and reference his success rather than his failures. […]
I have found that running gives me time to think, running give me time to introspect and running helps me heal so WHY ARE WE RUNNING?. I have embarked on all these journeys over the past 12 years for probably two main reasons. I suppose the first is the selfish side. It’s something I love […]
Why is a 216-year-old voluntary member-based organisation like the Cape Chamber of Commerce thriving under lockdown? It shouldn’t – when times get tough, members will look at their expenses and cut those that are ‘voluntary’. People tend to pay their utilities, because if you don’t pay, you don’t get to play. And heaven forbid we […]
To succeed, you have to Training Others to establish boundaries. But boundaries are only as good as your ability to communicate them. If people don’t know your boundaries, they become ineffective and are more likely to be discarded. Training other people on your boundaries requires learning how to say no. That doesn’t […]
Our Mission
© All rights reserved 2025. Created using VOXEL THEME
