The nightmare at SFR
A Simple Order… Or So It Seemed
Hell at SFR
(not sure if it’s any better with other providers).
A young SFR customer orders a new phone on the SFR website and pays for it remotely via her credit card.
Once the device arrives at the store, the salesperson refuses to hand her the order (even though the phone she’s been dreaming of is right there in front of her)! Why?
Because she needs her mother’s physical ID. Her mother is the account holder and has been paying the subscription for a few years. However, her mother lives 300 km away. The only solution is to ship the phone to a store closer to her mom’s home. They can then retrieve it when they meet in a few weeks (a hassle, but doable…).
But no, that doesn’t work because she also needs the payment card of the person who made the purchase!
In summary, you need the payment card + the physical ID card. You also need a power of attorney if the ID is presented without its holder… 🤒
There’s no solution other than making a 600 km round trip to retrieve the ID. Then, pick up the order. Afterward, another 600 km is needed to return the ID. Or, send the ID by mail (a risk I personally wouldn’t take 😊).
An absurd process, a lost customer
The situation is ridiculous, and the process is brainless. A simple photo of the mother holding her ID next to her face would streamline the process. Plus, a photo of the ID itself would still prevent fraud. This is what peer-to-peer car rental platforms do with driver’s licenses.
In any case, given this unusual situation, couldn’t they have made an exception?
No way, you fool! What if it’s a scam and they give the phone to the wrong person?
Yes, there’s a small chance that could happen. Except this customer just canceled her account, so there’s a 100% chance they’ve lost a customer.
When fear of risk kills the customer experience
So, what do you really gain by locking everything down?
In their obsession with preventing fraud, some companies forget the most important thing: the customer themselves.
At COS SYSTEM, we advocate for a business world with more customer common sense. We’re paving the way for teams to see through the customer’s eyes. “Change your perspective, put on the customer’s glasses”—it’s in support of this cause that we’re launching our new website 😊.