Somehow, we don’t see a service orientation with most of the service providers in India. One challenge obviously is that they can’t handle the growth. So let me share few tips to manage service issues.

Document 
If the amount at stake is high, then take time out and ensure you document your concern in a comprehensive manner. I keep sending Reminder 1 and so on till I get a resolution. Find escalation matrix and follow the grievance resolution process from the website. Preserve the ticket reference no. etc. Follow the basics. 

Ask difficult questions 
One way is to ask questions, very difficult one. As an example, as per the regulatory norms in India, what are your responsibilities for resolving customer grievances? Please share the checklist that was used for verification after this product was manufactured. Send me the recorded conversation on my complaint. 

Start from the top
When you don’t see things moving, it’s time to make noise. My suggestion is to start from the senior most executive, typically the CEO or MD. It’s not very difficult to find first the name and then their email id. Send them a crisp note, but no stories. What you want them to fix? Follow the twitter style. Be as brief as possible. 

Avoid frequent changes
Scaling up is an issue for many back offices. The quality of the support staff is generally poor. Systems are not integrated. They make us feel regretted of having to deal with them. So avoid disturbing an apple cart unless you must need a change and you can track them. 

Be proactive
Let’s start assuming that there is going to be an issue. So may be, we call the support numbers proactively and push them for the status of our request. Sending a note, retaining a copy of the signed documents, preserving reference numbers, saving numbers of front end staff can come very handy later on. 

More power to your money, that is.