The Customer Disservice Department

I am a member of the Europcar Privilege Elite Program. Due to an issue I was having with booking a car, I called the Customer Service Department and was told that due to the nature of my request, I had to email (they don't take calls) the department that looks after the Elite Customers.

Upon sending an email, this was the opening line of their automated reply: "Dear Customer. Thank you for contacting our Customer Services department, we will aim to respond to you within 7 working days." 7 days??? I have been a member with them for years, have spent thousands of dollars and have recommended their services to others. When I am treated as a no-name customer and given a response time of 7 days, it makes me rethink who I should be using to hire cars and the referrals to them will cease. On the flip side, I met with a large reputable building company this week and one of their stated values is: "We take ownership of our customer’s problems." I love this and that is how it should be. Taking ownership of customer problems means that responsiveness is quick (not seven days) and the company is on the front foot to drive a resolution for the customer. Too often it is not this way and we wonder why we don't get repeat business. You want to make sure your Customer Service Department is not the Customer Disservice Department.