Apps
Contact
Seminars
RSS FeedSeptember 28th, 2010
“You forgot to get your empanada”, and other lessons in Customer Service
When I pulled out of the drive through, there was no empanada in it, and if I was smarter and more health conscious I would have left the matters at that, but as I said, it was after 12 hours of fasting and it was a different Amrinder. So, as I pulled into the drive through again, the woman said “Forgot your empanada?”. Did I forget it? No, I ordered one. You took the order, and noted it. You charged me for it. I paid for it. Here, this receipt even shows it. The only thing that happened was that you forgot to put it into the brown bag.
“You forgot to get your empanada”, and other lessons in Customer Service
August 30th, 2010
“Decalcify Coffee Machine”
Everyday when I walk into the office, I usually start the coffee machine and go through its ablutions and other rituals of starting up. Machine Rinse – check! Empty Grounds – check! Fill water tank – check! FYI, the machine that we have is the fancy Jura-Capresso 13421
).
However, today, it threw such a curve ball – “Decalcify Coffee Machine”, that I might actually have to read the manual. This reflects some of the changes in customer support that we have experienced in the last one decade or so. The first big change is that when you buy a product, you are usually provided a CD, or at least a hyperlink to the support documentation on the web. Secondly, the products usually come with a big note: “Please do not return this product to the store! Call this 800 number.” Obviously, the return costs are so high (in term of logistics, brand reputation, charge backs etc), that it is much easier for the product manufacturer to first give the user an option to rectify a problem by calling the customer service. In some cases, they will send you a replacement free of charge, and it is still better for them rather than you returning the product to Target or Amazon.
December 21st, 2009
Air Travel: 3 hr limit on tarmac strandings
Air Travel: D
OT imposes 3-hour limit on tarmac strandings: This has been a long time coming. I have long maintained that such stupid behavior on the part of the airlines is simply due to maintain some metrics (like on time departure rate) that have become industry norms.
Though, this also reinforces one point I heard Carly Fiorina make a few years back – “You can never have enough regulations”. It is a shame that the government has to make such regulations – shouldn’t airlines be worrying about end customer satisfaction anyway?
July 9th, 2008
MetLife: Interesting Customer Service
I recently applied for life insurance from MetLife. Today, I got a cryptic mail from MetLife, which says “… we have found it necessary to take the following action: ######. …”. It also had a bunch of wording on how I had the right to ask this information and that information and all that, so I did exactly that (ask for that information).
It does not reflect good on MetLife to send a cryptic letter to a potential customer using an internal code (“we have decided to take the following action: #####..”), when the customer is not expected to know what the secret code means. I find it very surprising that a company of its size, and billions of dollars in turnover cannot get its customer facing messages correct.
August 27th, 2007
Bank of America – Is it a one man show?
Ages ago, when website was a business enough, 2 of my friends opened a company, providing information on pet birds. Chuck, who is not exactly at the cutting edge of technology, wanted to be the business guy. So Nitin had to do all the hard HTML programming.
Chuck wanted to be the customer front. So, on the website, contact page, 3 links were provided:
Sales: sales@mypetbird.com –> forwards to Chuck
Existing Customers: customers@mypetbird.com –> forwards to Chuck
Support support@mypetbird.com –> forwards to Chuck
So, a two people company with 3 addresses, all of whom forward to Chuck. A classic case of a small company trying to appear big.
Anyhoo. This is what happened today, that prompted Chuck’s failed business history coming out in the open.
Due to a late onset stupidity, I lost my wallet. Everything gone – credit cards, debit cards, license, cash, all. So, I started the painstaking process of canceling the cards. Credit cards (Citibank and Chase), went smoothly. Talked on phone, all taken care of. Then came the debit cards.
Called my credit union. Those cheapos have consolidated into one line for all CUs, so a not so pleasant lady took all the information, and said, ok, they will forward to my credit union. Forward??? Fine, it is off of my plate. If the card gets used in the meantime, it is their problem, I have already reported it, and it was lost less than 3 hrs ago.
Then came Bank of America. On the website, they list a dedicated number for lost/stolen cards. I called in. The voice asks me for my card number. I lost the card damn it! OK, they provide a social security number option, used that, the voice is able to track. The voice asks me what I would like to do:
To check your balance, press 1.
To transfer balances, press 2.
To pay your account, press 3.
Hmm, I had called lost/stolen card number. Why I am I talking to Chuck. Whatever, I used to “Other, press 7″ option.
It says it will forward me to a representative. Anthony comes on and asks me for my card number. I lost the card damn it (just once, but deja vu is beginning to set in). Ok, he provides a social security number option, I used that. Now, everyone on the bus knows my social. Fine, what is so special about a number with 5 7s and 4 6s anyway. He says, what would I like to do – check balance, transfer, get a home equity line of credit. Basically how he can help me. Now that I know he is helpful, I tell him I lost the card, and would like to cancel it. He says he will transfer me to the right department.
I am back to voice. Voice is telling me about the home equity line of credit. You know, after a couple of times, that is starting to look good. Perhaps I will wait till after I have a house.
Ok, voice wants me to press 7, for “Other”. I do that, voice puts me on the queue. It tells me my wait time could be about 16 minutes. Holy cow! I get to wait for 16 minutes, while someone uses the Bank of America check card. Maybe I ought to call my broker and short on BOA. Perhaps I will wait till I have a broker.
So, how is it that a large company like Bank of America, routes all of its different (specialized) phone numbers to they same system. Should I ask, what the Chuck?
August 22nd, 2007
The Genius Bar Needs a Liquor License – Problems with an iPhone
Saw this most outrageous post about iPhone – some had a truly bad experience with Apple’s customer service. (If you are a mac zealot and want to tell me there was nothing wrong with iPhone, read my comment again, it says nothing about iPhone, but while we are on the topic, I do consider iPhone as an unusable device).
This person’s experience tells me two things:
Firstly, Apple’s geniuses are not that smart, or they had a very off day. The crucial point is not that they failed to see a simple thing, or that they failed to fix the problem. The crucial point is that the guy simply reinstalled the system 2 times, and then claimed it was fixed, when he knew it wasn’t. The author of the note made a clear note of the wait times, the guy’s attitude, and none of that is favorable. Read Joel’s this blog entry (#4) about a guy who tried 2 times and did not fix the problem, yet won over the customer with his simple attitude (and by fixing it 3rd time).
Secondly, comments on the blog are a bad idea. If you happen to read the comments, you can notice that they are quite distasteful (the comment’s author may be thinking they are funny, or witty sarcastic, or something, but in reality they are plain hateful).