The client experience: where's CRM ?!?

The more I am involved in this sector, the funnier is observing the absurd lack of customer relationship management processes in many organizations in our daily life experience.
Actually these considerations are funny until you are not one of the unfortunate customers who has to face all the hassles originated by bad services and bad practices.
After almost 6 years of trusted service, few days ago I decided that it’s time for my good Toshiba Satellite S-5100-503 to retire for a more relaxed living way than the one I have forced it to have until today.
So I have decided to go for a new laptop and chose one that can represent a valid heir of my good Toshi, with the clear idea of not going for cheap solutions (after all, my Toshi cost a lot but granted me a long and fruitful Return of Investment).
My preference was for a 13.3” wide screen for portability reasons (I travel a lot and 3 and more kg of my Toshi are good for workout but too much to carry always around with me) but without any compromise in terms of power, efficiency and functionalities.
For this reason my final decision has been the SONY VAIO VGN-SZ71VN/X: 4 GB RAM, 2.5 Ghz Dual processor, 3G connectivity, etc.
Ok so, with little hesitating for the important disbursement, yesterday evening I finally connected to the SonyStyle site to make this important step.
I choose the series, the model, I opt for the express delivery (I want it soon!!) and finally I enter my credit card information and I press Ok… 10 sec, 20 sec (ok, the site advised the process requires some seconds, let’s wait patiently, don’t always think bad), 30 sec… 1 min.. Ok, there’s something wrong… no! the infamous IE error page.. damn! I knew it!
Relax Manuel, relax… let’s have a look at the e-mail.. no, nothing, no confirmation, ok.. probably no transition has been accepted..
Let’s redo the process: select the SZ series, the model, bla bla… no, I don’t believe it.. again?! No way I cannot stress like that for this, I mean, it should be a happy moment… I am buying my new laptop, my new fellowship for new projects… ok, it must work, come on…
Let’s redo it… YES! Validation page correctly shown and mail sent. Oh.. Finally..
What is this link? Oh, enter my account to follow the order.. bah, let’s have a look… What the F***?! Another order has passed without any confirmation? Great, simply great. Ok, I send an e-mail to inform Sony that an order should be cancelled then I go to bed and fight with this question again tomorrow: it will be Monday and maybe someone has noticed something is wrong with the site.
So Today I turned-on my Toshi (sorry that I am substituting you, I am already regretting it…) and looked at my e-mail… no answer. Well, let’s call the Call Center, today is Monday and should be opened from 9:00. Yes, good morning, I am experiencing this and that.. what? Which is the order number? Ok, the one that has been confirmed is this and the other for which I did not receive any confirmation is this other, but on the site, under my account, is in status open as the other one.
While I am talking with this guy, I am thinking… but he’s not asking me who I am or my SonyStyle ID… Just the number of the order? Boh…
Ok, it seems it’s normal because the system keeps track of all the orders, also the not good ones… well, I guess it’s normal for an operator terminal but not for a customer: in the status I would like to see “invalid” and not open, if it’s really a not good one; otherwise how can I differentiate it form the good one?
So I go out perplexed but finally satisfied from the closed deal. When I come back at home I am curious to see the status of my order… maybe they have sent the package!
What? Cancelled?? Ok, let’s synchronize my e-mail…oh, of course, someone else has read my yesterday evening e-mail, has not understood the situation, and to be sure he/she has cancelled also the good order. I was expecting this, actually, but for sure this is not a good integration of the different CRM customer communication channels, no? The operator I called this morning (ah, the number, of course, it’s not free of charge…) should have took care of my case and managed it entirely to grant me the service I am paying for. Could it be related to the fact that this guy did not ask me my name or any ID, so that no cases are associated? If you remember he just asked me for the order number, because my name is associated to the order, not vice versa… fantastic, I am just the orders I do… and actually I feel like that, because if an order fails I am a no one for Sony…
Ok, let’s call the call center again and try to explain all the situation, supposing that the next operator will believe me.
“Good morning, I have made these orders… and this one, that was good and accepted, has been cancelled lately… sorry? Ah, you are telling me that if it has not been accepted probably it’s because of the Credit Card? Oh, you cannot help me further because your SAP system is down… I should redo the order because the site has been updated? ok, thanks”.
Ah, ah a SAP system? I would not be surprised seeing these agents using directly the ERP system to answer the calls.. at the end they just treat orders!
Ok, maybe this time the order will work, if the site has been really updated… maybe this has been the cause for the failures?
Actually when I click on products I have a pop-up window and I am not re-directed to a new one as yesterday.. so I redo the entire process.. perfect! All clean and confirmation mail. Excellent… until I don’t check again the order on my Account and I find it.. CANCELLED! What the hell? It’s a nightmare here!
Let’s call again the Call Center… yes, the order is this, my credit card is this… oh, American Express is not validating the transaction and you cannot help me further because you cannot see what is happening on the AMEX side. Ok, thank you, but first, as I am using a patient tone (given the situation), I would expect at least the same, second I am not a stupid final user as I know something about this processes and IT systems… but I keep this for me, there’s no point in discussing with this guy… he’s frustrated as me in using a unmanageable system collecting data from a full of bugs website.
But my customer experience is “Why? Why do I have to spend all this time and money to buy my expensive new laptop!?”… Now I have to call American Express (again, not free of charge number) to ask what’s going on.. wait, yes, ok… I am Manuel Breschi, card number… etc, etc…, at least they do the controls to grant my identity… So, between yesterday evening and today this and that happened… Ok, I wait for the correct department… what? A transaction has passed 10 minutes ago? Ok, thanks, I will follow your suggestion and not do other orders. American Express is protecting my own interest as a high-ranked customer (yeah, I have the gold card but honestly I don’t use it so much…) blocking transactions because the site used to make the order seemed not as secure as expected? No, the site really sucks, believe me… ok thanks I will call again the Sony Call Center.
So I hang up and I think… ok, they are protecting me, but why I have to call them on a not free of charge number and, on the contrary, they don’t call me to check what’s going on and what do I really want to pass as a transaction and what should be cancelled? I mean, I pay for the card, I pay for the call, you are retiring my money from my bank account I pay for!... come on, this is not serious!
So, call again the Sony Call Center, listen to the music… what I am going to tell to the new guy this time? Oh, it’s this morning one, great… hey look, all the orders have been cancelled but it seems a transaction has passed, what’s going on? From your system all the orders are cancelled and you cannot help me further. Nothing will be sent. Great.
American Express… look you have to tell me what to do, otherwise for me you can close all the transactions… what? Yes I wait… AH! Not only a transaction has been accepted this morning but also one last night?! Holy ****! Ok so now as I am this great high level customer I am expecting some suggestions from your side… Ok I will write an e-mail to Sony telling them that on your side 2 transactions have been accepted and that not charge-off has been communicated to American Express by Sony Europe, differently from what has been stated on the phone and described under my account.
An e-mail, yes ok, it’s free of charge and actually if I have to call all these times the operators to get this service, I prefer to maintain the distance… ok, to do the things correctly, can you provide me with an e-mail so that I can put you in CC of what I am going to write to Sony? You don’t know? Ok, I wait… ok, American Express has no e-mail for this kind of things… I will keep it and send it to you by fax if I have to challenge the second payment; which is the number? Ok, you will communicate it to me in case it is necessary…

COME ON! And then I have to hear that CRM projects have failed? But what are we talking about? As a customer I would say that CRM is just an onomatopoeic sound I do when I have to interact with these people that should serve me as a customer.. What the F***! ARGHH!! GRRR! CRM!

Now an order that was cancelled, together with other 6, has been re-opened and put in “elaborating” status… yes, elaborate it, and think about the customer satisfaction you’re creating around.
I have just to hope that Sony will charge-off one order and finalize the other one, as for the moment I just got a blank e-mail as an answer to my mail…
Ah… of course I also hope, if I will ever get my brand new laptop, that it’s quality is far better than the services they are providing… Good CRM to everyone.