E-Mail as a Customer Service Tool

I wonder who first decided that it was women who should change their names when they got married. Probably eons ago, since in the past women were considered the property of men. Today, more and more women are keeping their maiden names when they get married. Unfortunately, I am not one of them.

I’ve been married twice, once in the 1970’s and one in 2006. After the first one, I remember having to change my name in a few places, like Social Security and my Driver’s License. But now that I am in my 50’s, I have my name out there everywhere. And for each account, I have to get my name updated to the new name, which can be time consuming and frustrating.

I’ve been doing it a little at a time over the past two years, whenever the need arises. Recently I updated my PayPal account and my Walmart card. I had two very different experiences while performing the same task.

While logged into my PayPal account, I clicked on the button to update my address and phone number. But I couldn’t change my name. The directions told me to mail in a copy of my driver’s license with my new name, and copy of my marriage license. So, one day when I was out and about, I made the requested copies, and mailed them in. In about a week, I got an e-mail from PayPal stating, “We have reviewed the information you provided regarding the name change request. The name change you requested is complete and has been updated on your PayPal account.”

On the other hand, while signed into my Walmart account, I found a little button to send an e-mail question to the Customer Service Dept. So I gave them my old name, and my married name, and asked what would be the best way for me to accomplish this name change. I expected to get back the same instructions as I had for PayPal.

Instead I got back an e-mail message telling me to check my messages in my account. When I signed in, I found this.

“We have received your request to change your name on your account. We want to take this opportunity to congratulate you on your marriage and extend our best wishes for the future.

Please be advised that your name has been updated and a new card has been mailed to you. You may expect to receive the new card within the next 7-10 business days.

We appreciate you as a valued Wal-Mart® customer and hope you will continue to shop with us.”

In his book Superior Customer Service: How to Keep Customers Racing Back to Your Business–Time Tested Examples from Leading Companies, Dan W. Blacharski gives some tips for sending e-mails to a customer. He recommends the following:

1. Remember you are interacting with a customer, not a friend.

2. Avoid abbreviations and emoticons.

3. Be sure to proofread before sending.

4. Always address the customer by name.

5. Respond in a timely manner.

I would say both of the companies mentioned above followed these practices, but Walmart took it up a step. Not only did they make it easy and convenient for me to accomplish my goal, they also including a friendly, personalized congratulations on my marriage. Not a big deal, but it is those extra touches that customers remember for a long time.

Walmart has always had a very strong customer service ethic from their founder, Sam Walton. I hope to continue this tradition because I am going to start to work at the local store very soon.

As a postscript to the issue about my getting my medication refilled, as mentioned in the previous post, I want to assure everyone that I finally got it refilled, after my third request.

We let folks know we’re interested in them and that they’re vital to us, cause they are.
Sam Walton