LAST Friday, my mobile phone suddenly lost its signal. I tried the usual troubleshooting steps, including moving my SIM card to another phone. When that failed, I filed a support ticket with my mobile operator, hoping to get the problem fixed before the long weekend.
By the time the operator confirmed that my SIM card was defective and needed replacing, the long weekend had begun. I was without mobile service until business resumed the following week.
For someone running a business, losing mobile service can mean losing access to banking. The one-time passwords (OTPs) I needed to authorize transactions were still being sent to my mobile number. I couldn’t receive them, so even routine transactions had to wait.
When my follow-up email went unanswered, I called customer care. The representative routed me to technical support, which told me SIM replacement was an account matter and transferred me to an account specialist.
The account specialist said it was outside their remit, too. I was directed to a support team that could be reached only by email. I had called because my emails had gone unanswered. Now I was being asked to send another one.
Each department may have followed its own procedures. What I needed was someone who could see the request through. Instead, I had to figure out how the company’s departments fit together while trying to get a defective SIM card replaced.
During one call, a representative acknowledged that I was having trouble doing my work. I explained that I couldn’t authorize financial transactions because I couldn’t receive the OTPs. I offered to pick up the replacement SIM myself if that would get me back online sooner. I was still asked for a delivery address.
Missed opportunity for empathy
That was a missed opportunity to put empathy into practice. Once a representative understands what a customer stands to lose, that information should guide the next step. In my case, it meant checking whether pickup or delivery would restore service sooner.
When I asked to speak to a supervisor, I was told one was in a meeting and another had yet to return from the long weekend. The account specialist eventually disconnected the call. I still had no replacement and no clear way to escalate the request.
Handling a frustrated customer takes patience. Even when employees can’t solve a problem on the spot, they can listen, explain what happens next and make sure someone takes responsibility for following up. For urgent cases, there should be a clear way to do that when the usual supervisor is unavailable.
I finally reached out to Frech, a partner development manager at Globe whom I had dealt with before. He had spare SIM cards and offered to send a replacement immediately. He arranged for activation while it was in transit. By the time it arrived, my signal had been restored.
Frech had the resources and authority to act. He understood the urgency, found a spare SIM and coordinated its activation. Customers should be able to get that kind of help through regular support channels.
Companies spend heavily on automated ticketing systems, chatbots and self-service portals. Those tools can make it easier to file a complaint or check its status. It still takes a clear process to identify urgent cases, assign responsibility and give employees enough authority to resolve them.
Call response times and ticket counts tell managers how quickly requests move through the system. To understand the customer’s experience, managers should also look at how long it takes to solve the problem and how many times the customer has to ask for help.
The episode also made me think about my own business. I had taken for granted that the mobile number I used for banking would always be available. A backup plan for accessing critical accounts would have made the interruption easier to manage.
For a company in the business of keeping people connected, the irony was that the hardest part was reaching someone who could help. Once I did, the solution was almost immediate.
Kay Calpo Lugtu is the chief operating officer of Hungry Workhorse, a digital and culture transformation firm.
