In October, we started our terror-filled tales of customer service series. The first article in our two-part tale carried you through the series of unfortunate events of the Equifax security breach. In this article, I’ll share with you how text-based customer service saved me from a harrowing experience.

Now, draw the blanket up just a little tighter. Keep the lights on and listen carefully to what is about to unfold, because there is mischief afoot. This story begins, like most spooky stories, on a dark and stormy night, much like any other Friday night in our neck of the woods.

The text-based customer service ping in the night

I was sitting on my couch, mindlessly scanning Pinterest – my treat after everyone’s fed, the dog is walked, and the baby snoring softly in her crib. I heard a noise. Not the bump in the night kind of sound – more like a ping.

It was almost 9:00pm and I was receiving a text message. Friends and family usually text me at all hours of the night. I always have my phone with me and am particularly aware of incoming text messages. As a parent and the caregiver of an elderly parent hundreds of miles away, I can’t afford to be digitally untethered.

This message wasn’t from a friend reacting to the latest episode of a TV show. This was a fraud alert. The text-based customer service message alerted me that there was a charge for a Las Vegas hotel for over $1000. Almost 830 miles away from the neon lights of Las Vegas, my first reaction was, well, envy for whoever was out having fun – on my stolen credit card information. My second response was, of course, panic.

Real-time customer service

Coincidentally, moments before I heard the text message alert, I had just overheard a voice on TV mention the Equifax data breach. I thought to myself, “Are we still talking about this?”. You see, I had already moved on to the next piece of alarming media that was permeating the news. It was comforting that my credit card was still on high alert even if I wasn’t.

Wide-eyed and a little nervous, I eagerly replied with a “2” which, according to the fraud alert, confirmed that the charge was not valid. Another quick text of “Help” sent me a response that provided me with the next steps I could take immediately.

Quiq Messaging allows you to initiate a one-on-one communications to customers like the alert I received. You can also send one-to-many outbound messages for things like promotions or out-of-stock updates. The two-way nature of text messaging enables business messaging to be less about alerts and more about having a short conversation.

The long and short of it

The only reservation I had was that the alert came from a shortcode. My carrier lumps all messages under one sender – SMS Business. There was some hesitation to trust this warning. I would have felt more confident if, like a message from a friend, it was a number I had recognized or I could save in my contacts.

Quiq Messaging allows you to provision phone numbers that may already be familiar to your customers, eliminating that unease. These could be the same landline numbers your business already uses, or you could also dedicate new SMS business texting lines to send and receive messages.

I am grateful that this bank is in tune with how I, and most consumers today, prefer to communicate. A text message, especially for something with this degree of importance, is how I prefer to engage with companies – timely, relevant, and to the point. Opening up customer-preferred digital messaging channels like text messaging, social, and web chat helps top brands stay ahead of their competition and serve customers better. This preference for digital messaging is exactly why Quiq is one of the leading messaging solutions.