The Runaround: Smartphone Support - 3 Sep 2010 - by gins

While at my previous employer, InnoPath, I occasionally wrote about difficulties customers had with support.... the inability of the mobile operators to resolve customer smartphone usability issues on the first call, and the finger-pointing between the operator, the handset vendor, and the OS platform provider such as Microsoft or Google (Android). Well, it seems as if the problem has not gone away, and in fact may be getting worse as a new, less clueful generation of smartphone users encounter Android, Blackberry, or even the iPhone for the first time.

This morning, Maggie over at CNET reported on an issue at Sprint, with some functionality lost or no longer operating as stated after upgrading an HTC Android phone. The response by Sprint was unsympathetic and probably not in the interest of future customer loyalty. I'm sure these issues are not limited to Sprint or HTC, but there has got to be room for at least one mobile operator (T-Mobile?) that champions the customer... that engenders a loyalty experience more along the lines of Nordstrom (known to take returns, no questions asked) than the airlines.

In fact, mobile operators should hope that history doesn't repeat itself leading to a 'smartphone customer bill of rights' echoing that which has been enforced for the airlines and the credit card issuers. It would be ironic if their hands were tied in the same way that they currently tie the hands of their most loyal customers.