Using Six Minds Experience to Diagnose Broken Wifi Service, And It’s Opportunities.

Recently I had a terrible wifi outage that turns into “outrage” because my life depends on it. What started as a nuisance sporadic wifi connection become a perennial pain 2 weeks before my marathon virtual training and coaching with several clients.

The story goes like this.

When the continuous outage became “common” intermittent wifi connection I wasn’t happy because it happens during day time - it is work time! I had this problems too sometimes at night but I tolerated it; maybe they are updating the network and so on.

But day time? Work hours? My business relies on this wifi a lot especially when it needs it - it has to work.

I browse the ISP wifi app to lodge a complaint - but I didn’t see any tab or button to it. What?

After some app browsing back and forth, I saw the Live Agent button. I clicked then it took me to Whatsapp menu lines. Another shocker because there’s no number option to lodge complaint.

I was unhappy then I called the customer service number. I was put on hold and queue for long time that I should. I gave up. I decided to lodge a complaint to MCMC (Malaysia Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

There’s more to this story but help in underway to fix my wifi problem.

Having learned “human-centered design” and “design thinking”, I couldn’t help but asking myself how might broken service like this could turn around? Based on some mental models, design principles and taking customer as the POV (point of view), here are some thoughts:

There hundreds of cognitive processes happening at the time of crisis mode that I had experienced. Using the Six Minds of Experience mental model as guide to dig some opportunities:

1. Vision, Attention and Automaticity

When I first had the wifi outage I was trying to be understanding of “best effort” from the ISP services. When the problem continues for some days and later weeks, I have to search for option and naturally I turn to the ISP app because my profile, billing and services subscribed are all there.

2. Wayfinding

So I thought I found the app to sort my wifi problem, I was looking high and low.

Therefore, a complaint form should be there too, right? Wrong. It wasn’t there. None. This is already a red flag for customer service because customer couldn’t self-serve and the complaint access is “designed to be difficult”.

3. Language

The provider speaks a different language than the customers. Typically the provider uses their business and services departments to describe the thing they do. Here’s another design problem. I couldn’t find the exact word I was looking for - complaint and problem.

So I turned to Live Agent, again another “barrier” because there’s no menu option for direct complaint.

You probably notice menu number 5, but all of that is already in the mobile app and too many items in one number is bad design. Again another “designed to be difficult” for customers to proceed.

4. Memory

We usually have expectations about how certain people, organization and process works. There’s certain mental models and understanding that a Regulator should side the customers and make it easy for them.

Again, I was wrong and flustered.

The biggest “barrier” of all is from the regulator (MCMC) themselves which supposed to help the customer and make it easy to report service breakdown, the form filling was redundant and complicated.

Look at the things they want you to do when filing a “wifi problem” complaint - “signal bar & service”, “speed test”, “subscription of X mbps”, “screenshot of error”.

Another “designed to be difficult” for customers to pursue complaint. I am upset because I feel my right to complaint is ignored and neglected.

5. Decision Making

It is at this moment of “barriers” that I almost decided not to proceed with the complaint because it was difficult by design - to deter the complainer.

But when I think about my own right, other wifi outage problems faced by my neighbours and the continuous price increase by the provider because they thought they were doing OK (since number of complaints is low - deterred), I was determined to proceed with the complaint anyway.

I thought the worse has ended because the next day I received 3 calls from the ISP to help me fix my wifi problem. I felt “important” again and “treated like a customer” again.

However, it didn’t end there.

This ISP crashed the last and most important element in experience, Emotion.

6. Emotion

The ISP scheduled an appointment with the technician a week later. I had told them several times to troubleshoot remotely because I believe it is possible. Since the ISP insisted to come, I made? time.

The technician didn’t turn up on time and no show at all after almost 90 minutes of waiting from the earlier schedule. I have cancelled my other appointments for the technician, yet I was let down.

Angry, frustrated and exasperated. My wifi still sporadic and my virtual training marathon is coming in 3 days time.

The ISP being the incumbent and probably thinking “the customers have no choice” decided to sent an SMS that is very unfair and one sided.

Again another, “design to be difficult”.

Should the customer be compensated when the ISP technician didn’t turn up?

Conclusion

An experience is multidimensional, dyamic and isn’t singular at all. As you can see the situation that I described started with just wifi outage. There are many brain processes involved as well as business operational tasks.

Using brain science, human-centered design and design thinking, these tools could help you and your organization to redesign and reimagine a more compelling, competitive and contextual services for your beloved customers.

These programs are learnable and teachable to staffs, managers and business leaders. Let your operational leaders be literate in innovation opportunities when solving customers problems. Embrace processes change and discard old practices.

Since every customer is binded with 2 years contract, we should ask for sterner action as well as penalties from Regulators for pre-emptive / intended ignorance and refusal to improve poor performance.

Reach out to us DT LEADERSHIP to assist your workforce in developing productive innovation habits, change to innovation mindset, develop innovation culture, use innovation as catalyst to incite new ideas, augment learning organization and facilitate boards and top management to discuss strategic innovation.

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