TAMPA, Fla. — What may be the largest IT outage in history is causing widespread disruptions around the world, grounding thousands of flights, impacting essential services, and leaving businesses across the globe scrambling to mitigate the damage stemming from a faulty software update from CrowdStrike on Microsoft systems.
Chargebacks911—the leading dispute management and chargeback mitigation firm—is extending its support and expertise to airlines, retailers and other businesses who have been inundated with complaints, concerns and chargebacks from disgruntled customers.
As of Friday afternoon, more than 32,000 flights have been delayed and nearly 3,700 have been canceled, including nearly 2,300 flight cancellations in the U.S. Major airlines like Delta Airlines, American Airlines and United Airlines have all been significantly impacted by the outage, causing widespread inconvenience, with some travelers worried they’ll miss funerals, birthday parties and other significant events.
Additionally, major shipping companies United Parcel Service (UPS) and FedEx are warning businesses that their customers could encounter some service delays due to the IT outage impacting their systems Friday, with an official statement from UPS reading, “We are continuing to work to resolve all issues as quickly as possible; there may be some service delays.”
Banks and financial institutions weren’t exempt from disruptions either, with Charles Schwab reporting issues with their trading platform. In a warning on their social media channels, they urged customers not place trades twice, as it may create duplicate transactions.
Whether it’s delayed or canceled flights, late package arrivals, or duplicated transactions, what’s happening throughout the world is a customer service nightmare, according to Chargebacks911 CEO Monica Eaton, who is urging businesses to put significant effort behind customer engagement and communication or run the risk of their clientele turning to their banks for refunds via chargebacks, which cost businesses roughly $4.41 for every dollar lost to a chargeback.
“In times of crisis like this, transparent communication and immediate customer support are critical,” said Eaton, whose company works to prevent and manage disputes for more than 2.5 million companies globally. “Businesses should be allocating any resource they have available to resolve, or at least address, customers’ issues quickly. If not, customers will look to resolve the issue with their bank through chargebacks, a trend that’s been growing even before the chaos from Friday’s outage.”
According to a recent survey conducted by Chargebacks911, roughly half of consumers admitted disputing transactions with the bank without first contacting the merchant about the issue. Furthermore, 91 percent of consumers said they trust their bank to correct any issue brought to their attention, a troubling mindset for businesses whose customer support departments are bogged down by concerned clientele.
Eaton recommends businesses, banks and airlines facing disgruntled customers in the wake of the CrowdStrike debacle reinforce the following customer care initiatives to help avoid chargebacks:
Transparent Communication: Regularly update customers through social media, email and customer service channels to inform them about the status of operations, expected resolution times, delays in shipping, and steps being taken to return procedures back to normal.
Flexible Policies: Clearly communicate and implement policy fluctuations, such as product returns, travel waivers or refunds. Delta and American Airlines have already taken steps in this direction, setting a positive example for the travel industry.
Enhanced Support: Whatever resource is available to businesses should be used to increase customer service staffing to handle the surge in inquiries and concerns, which will provide attentive assistance. Additionally, businesses should deploy automated systems to manage call volumes, as well as offer self-service options to resolve common issues.
Offer Compensation or Refunds: Businesses who have the ability should offer compensation or goodwill gestures to those negatively impacted by the outage. This can include vouchers, discounts, refunds or loyalty points. While this will ultimately cost a company money, it will pale in comparison to what chargebacks will do to their bottom line, including loss of product, loss of sale, chargeback fees and penalties, reputational damage, and negative impacts to merchant accounts with payment processors.
Respond to All Chargebacks: Whether handling in house or through a third party, businesses should implement a chargeback management system that responds to all disputes, both valid or invalid. Doing so will collect pertinent data that can shed light on friendly fraud trends, operational gaps and other shortcomings that could impact a company’s bottom line.
While CrowdStrike has stated on social media that the issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed, it could take days for large organizations to return to normal operations, making customer care in the coming days—and possibly weeks—all the more important.
For merchants seeking expertise, guidance or chargeback management services, visit https://chargebacks911.com or call 877.634.9808 for more information.
