In my 26 plus years as a corporate telecom audit professional, I’ve seen a lot of problems that at times I never thought I could resolve with the phone company. Most often they involved massive overcharges or fraud that had been going on for years, that had to be documented and formally protested in order to get proper refunds. Nevertheless, I have found that there is always an answer to any billing problem or issue, but you must persevere and and not give in to the temptation to just let it go. If you are correct about a telephone billing issue, go after it. Moreover, you might be surprised; a seemingly small telecom billing issue can often turn into a giant payoff. That said, I have a few rules I’ve learned along the way that I would like to pass on to our readers as follows:
Rule 1: If you cannot get satisfaction with the phone company representative that you have been working with, you must escalate to higher management. If the next level cannot help you either, then escalate the phone problem even higher until you ultimately get satisfaction. Remember, you may hear the word “no” to your request two or three times before you finally hear a “yes,” to fixing a billing problem. Also, before you escalate to each level of supervision, let the person you are dealing with know that you are not satisfied and that you will be moving up the chain of command with the issue. I have often found that just the mention of possible escalation gets things moving.
Rule 2: Be nice. No matter how difficult the telephone company personnel are, don’t lose your cool. Be professional and matter of fact, do your homework, and be able to state your telecom issue in writing, succinctly and clearly.
Rule 3: Reward results. If the person at the phone company does a good job for you, let them know. After the project is over, take a minute to send an email to your phone company’s sales or service representative’s supervisor or manager and cc their manager. I have a email “reward” template that I use often for these kinds of circumstances. Another good idea is to send a Starbucks card and tell them to have a cup of coffee on your dime! You will be surprised how this goodwill will help you, and be sure to send your appreciation in a genuine manner, because you should be genuinely appreciative of a telephone service person who gets you results. And, the phone company should know that a particular rep is valuable to customers. Being a phone company service representative is one of the most stressful positions, full of daily complaints and problems. I cannot tell you how often I have heard, “if only all my customers were as easy to work with as you, I would love my job.” If you are with a telecom audit company, and you treat phone company employees well and with respect, your company’s reputation in telecom circles will be more positive and you will get better results.
Rule 4: Attack and pursue each and every problem or question. If you review a telecom bill and have any question regarding a charge, find the answer. I cannot tell you how many times I have thought perhaps this or that charge on a telecom bill looks legitimate but had a slight doubt about a particular feature. I then ask the phone company representative about the charge anyway, and I find that the charge actually was not legitimate and a huge telecom refund is forthcoming. Don’t let the matter drop or waste away, email your representative weekly for updates, cc their supervisor on your request.
Rule 5: Seek professional telecom audit advice from other consultants or the internet. There are many telecom billing consultant experts out there that know the answer to your telecom issue. The CCMI Voice Report’s ”telecom talk” email forum is an excellent way to seek help from your telecommunications audit peers. There are thousands of outstanding telecom consultants on that forum and the are always happy to help. Another telecommunications forum for help is The Telecom Audit Professionals International Group (TAPI) is another group on Linked in that you can join that is full of seasoned telecom audit pros who will be happy to assist upon your request or question. Finally, use the internet, you will find an abundance of good information out there regarding phone taxes, FCC rulings, and many other valuable telecom audit information that can help you a lot.
In summary, be persistent with your telecom billing issue, its all about producing effective telecom cost savings and getting satisfaction for your clients. And remember, if you cannot get customer satisfaction on your billing issue within the phone company, you can always escalate to the courts or file complaints with the FCC. There are two kinds of complaints that you can file, a formal complaint which is basically a web form that you fill out and send. The telephone company must then send you and the FCC an answer. Next, you can file a formal complaint, which usually involves hiring a telecom attorney who specializes in such action. Another means of getting results is to contact your state’s attorney general and filing a consumer complaint with them. And still another method of escalation is to file a complaint with the FTC, also via an online form. The FTC is especially effective against cramming complaints.
You can also hire a professional telecom cost savings professional auditor to help you with your telecom billing issues. Contact BottaBoom at bottaboom.com to assist you with your telecom bill problem. We’ve solved hundreds of major telecom bill issues over the years and successfully secured numerous refunds for our clients, contact us, we’ll be glad to help you.
For more state-of-the-art telephone bill audit articles like this, check out telecom audit news at Bottaboom.com/news.
