Some win, some lose in customer-service game
When I send complaints to large companies, do they always make things right in order to avoid bad publicity? My answer: Win some, lose some. While media intervention can help wronged customers, companies often stand their ground on certain issues and refuse to offer compensation.
Here are stories of two customers who received what they wanted and one who received only an explanation.
Adidas Christina Huras ordered $350 customized soccer shoes for her son, Jason, in October 2014 as a holiday gift. Since he already had an expensive pair of Adidas soccer shoes, she bought them a size larger, so they’d be ready when he outgrew the ones he was using.
But when that time came last summer, he couldn’t use the gift pair. They had metal cleats, which were banned by virtually all minor soccer leagues across Canada.
The parents failed to remedy the problem with a $30 purchase of nylon cleats that they ordered online; they didn’t fit since the screws had a different diameter.
“Adidas provided no help since the shoes were purchased almost a year ago. We are out over $380 and own a pair of size-seven shoes that can’t be used for any minor soccer play in Canada,” said Christina’s husband, Dave Huras.
“One of their suggestions was to put them up for sale on Kijiji (and transfer our problem to someone else). This is inappropriate corporate behaviour.” The outcome: Jason and his parents will receive a new pair of soccer shoes he can use on the field. “We never want our customers walking away with a bad experience,” said John Febbraro, category brand planner with Adidas Canada.
Tangerine A customer transferred $101,900 from one bank account and $92,700 from another bank account to Tangerine in early July. She had been told that both new deposits qualified for an offer of 3-per-cent interest until Nov. 30.
But when she called Tangerine in October, she was surprised to learn that the $101,900 amount was earning only 0.75 per cent and did not qualify for the promotion.
Later, a supervisor offered her a $100 goodwill gesture to make up for the lost interest and a six-month interest rate of 2.5 per cent.
Not good enough, the customer said. She’d lost $608 of interest when the money was sitting in the wrong account.
Moreover, Tangerine could not find the call in which she was assured both accounts would qualify. As a supporter of virtual banking, she found it ironic that customers were left without any means of proving their verbal conversations. The outcome: Tangerine admitted to making a mistake and paid the 3-percent interest she should have earned.
“This was a legitimate inaccuracy on our end,” said spokeswoman Cayley Kochel, adding the case will be reviewed to see what went wrong. “We place a lot of emphasis on a superior customer experience and always want to learn from unintended incidents such as this.”
TD Canada Trust Ian paid premiums for life and criticalillness insurance on his mortgage for 12 years. He hoped to get a payout when his wife had a golf ball-sized tumour removed from her brain after a 10-hour operation.
The doctors said it was a meningioma, a tumour that forms on membranes that cover the brain. Most are benign and not cancerous.
TD denied his claim under the criticalillness insurance policy, which covers only malignant forms of cancer.
“This didn’t sit well with me,” Ian said. “I wanted to cancel my policy and was told not to do so, as my wife would have great difficulties with eligibility at other insurance companies.
“My wife is still in recovery mode and she needs help. My work takes me away from home months at a time. I can’t leave my wife, but bills have to be paid.” The outcome: After a review, TD confirmed the meningioma was not malignant, even if the couple’s neurosurgeon referred to the benign tumour as a cancer.
TD’s critical-illness policy is consistent with group policies offered at other financial institutions, says spokeswoman Crystal Jongeward.
“Any diagnosis of malignant cancer is determined by tests ordered by the respective doctor or health-care specialist that a customer is consulting with. If you have a critical-illness policy, it is important to review it thoroughly and ask questions if you have them,” she said. Ellen Roseman writes about personal finance and consumer issues. You can reach her at eroseman@thestar.ca or ellenroseman.com