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.
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. […]
Don’t you just love when prospects ask you that question? – What Makes You Different? If you recognize the question as the true trap that it is, and you know how to deal with it, then you love it. If you don’t treat that question as the trap that it is, you’re toast. For […]
Your first time as a manager is a learning experience as much as anything else and what is the best way to build trust? How do you lead your team well? Who should you hire? Where do you draw the boundaries with former colleagues who are now direct-reports? WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO BUILD TRUST? […]
Ways to Use Authenticity is so much more than “being yourself”, and how you can use it as your new career playbook. It was a teeny bit embarrassing. I had just kicked off one of the most important negotiations of my career. I was brand new in the COO role for my company, and one […]
Clarity Certainty and Hope. Many have spoken about VUCA times, where it all becomes Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous. We had a large taste of it in 2008, during the global financial crash, but the Coronavirus has really challenged every nation, and every person. We will share some thoughts and insights that may help you […]
Elon Musk Activates Starlink internet service to keep Ukrainians connected to the world. Ukraine (27 February 2022) – The Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine tweeted Elon Musk asking him to get Starlink internet into the country, and the South African-born American entrepreneur activated it immediately… reconnecting Ukrainians with the world. The Russian invasion has impacted internet […]
To unlock employee motivation, you may need to change how you communicate special requests. These are things like important changes to operating processes or customer service procedures. You need people to embrace a different way of doing things. It has to be done right and it needs to be executed right away. But you notice […]
What’s Your New Year’s Addiction? Here are 6 Simple Steps To Avoid Changing Who You Are and Instead, Changing Your Addictions. It happened for years. Too often I would come home from work, open the refrigerator, then the freezer. I’d sigh and think, “F*ck, I have no idea what to make for dinner.” Sometimes I’d […]
Our Mission
© All rights reserved 2025. Created using VOXEL THEME
