Simple Overcomplexination.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 4:05PM 
I recently purchased a combination extra battery and hard case for my iPhone. In the two weeks that I used to, it was great. Actually, it still is great. I can be on the road for the entire day and still have some battery life left for evening use.
Sometime during the day last Friday, I lost the hard plastic ‘end-cap’ for the case. I was bummed. I searched high & low and retraced many steps – at least those that were practical to retrace. By Sunday, I gave up the cause.
According to instruction manual, the manufacturer’s customer service line would be open at 9:00 a.m. on Monday morning. On Monday, at approximately 9:20 AM, I gave the customer service line a call and spoke with a very friendly woman by the name of Crystal. Crystal was somewhat sympathetic to my (in the scheme of life) minor conundrum and suggested that I go to the company’s web site, click on the support tab and fill out a technical support form.
I hung up the phone and entered the company’s URL into my browser. I easily found the technical support page and found the technical support form. However, on top of the form was a large gray and green button that said: ‘LIVE HELP ONLINE, click to chat.’
Thinking that this might simplify up the process, I clicked on the button and entered my message concerning the missing end-cap. Before long, the text-based support person came on line (through text), and calmly explained that I needed to fill out the technical support form that was located beneath the gray and green ‘LIVE HELP’ button. It just so happened that the technical support person that I had just spoken to on the phone was also working the ‘click to chat’ desk. I said my goodbye to Crystal, clicked out of the chat, filled out the technical support form, and clicked the SEND button.
An hour or so later, I received email notification that my request had been logged, given a job ticket number and that I would be notified again within 24 hours. By the close of business Monday, I received an email notice from Mike in technical support. My end-cap would soon be sent out and that I should expect its arrival within the next 5 business days. This is great. I am very happy.
However, I keep thinking that when it is all said and done, we have– through technology overcomplexinated* even the simplest human interaction?
What, if in my original phone call, Crystal would have taken down my contact information and dropped the end-cap in the mail. Instead, a multiple step, multiple person, multiple machine process was put into motion. Rather than taking 5 minutes– the synchronized series of multiple events involved a whole day!
*Thanks Claude, I love that term. Thanks for allowing me to steal it.
Reader Comments (1)
I felt that I should follow-up on my recent post concerning over-complicating technical support. Today I received the replacement end-cap for my MOPHIE 'juice pack air.' It was sent to me at no charge, and a second end-cap was also included in the package.
I admit that my original customer service ordeal was slightly drawn-out. However, I am very impressed –not only with MOPHIE's great product, but also their commitment to comprehensive and thorough customer service.
I grew up in Bradford Pennsylvania, home of the Zippo Lighter. Zippo has always had a policy where–if your lighter ever needed to be repaired, you could send it back and they would fix it for free. Growing up, I was led to believe that this was the way every company operated.
It is great to see a relatively new company like MOPHIE, that has these same great values.
If you own an iPhone and have a tendency to run out of juice by the end of the day, I highly suggest checking out the MOPHIE JUICE PACK AIR. You will be extremely pleased.