Category — Customer Service

Seth reports today that Anbesol conned him into thinking that it would ease the pain when his tooth fell out. His dentist said it actually makes the pain worse! They cheated to make a sale.

A friend of mine just told me that when she tried to scan something with her multi-purpose fax/printer/scanner, she found that HP doesn’t support scanning on the latest Mac OS. They’re cheating to try to get her to shell out hundreds of dollars for a new machine (when the old one works perfectly).

Cheating may get you a quick sale, but it will annoy your customers, who will spread the word (as Seth, my friend, and I just did) that you’re more interested in a quick profit than a long-term happy customer.

It’s an old rule that one dissatisfied customer will tell 10 people about their experience. Instead of cheating, why not provide support or products so remarkable that your customers will be eager to talk about them (and encourage their friends to use them)?

Photo:pete simon

I’ve talked a lot about the perils of putting up barriers to your customers (Flash, logins to comment on blogs, complicated contact forms, etc.), but can a site be TOO easy to use?

I have a client who has a listing on Lexis/Nexis’s legal services directory and wanted it updated. (not my usual thing, but he’s “technologically challenged”).

He asked me to update a listing for him on Lexis/Nexis. He told me all I had to do was hit an update button and make the changes. This seemed way too easy (what, no login? no password?). Sure enough, he was right. I filled out an online form (with name, address, etc.) and uploaded the changes.

That’s when the trouble started. There was only a tiny box to put three pages of material, and no way to tell what it would look like “live.” Then, I got a message saying the changes would go live at their next update (no indication of when that would be).

I called and was told that the reason there was no password was because you had to add the name and address in the form (so that would stop fakes). Meanwhile, the name and address were all there in plain sight on the existing listing!

They also said it would take 7-10 days to go live. Why? Because they review each entry individually, retype it, and then upload it!! I asked them to send the changes so I could check that it was OK.

They wanted to fax them! I asked them to email me. They emailed the client (who doesn’t use email). The changes were sent in plain text, so I couldn’t see the formatting.

Then, they sent a second email saying the upload was too long (they had a 300 word limit, and the listing had 682 words). No sign of this on the site anywhere.

So, after three hours of talking to the client, making changes, checking them, several phone calls back and forth, reading emails, and getting strange messages, my client has the same old listing he had before (in which the typist misspelled the client’s name)!

Yes, be accessible, easy-to-use, and friendly, but don’t leave the doors unlocked with a big sign that says, “Steal my Stuff”!

Photo: civilian scrabble

The New York Public Library web site is broken (is this contagious?). Two days ago they uploaded a bright, shiny new site that lets you tag books, create lists, and gives better search options (such as only e-books or only books in Chinese). The trouble is, that you can’t log in. So, you can search and find the book you want, but you can’t actually reserve it (or see the status of your current holds).

Be Sympathetic

After fighting with it on and off for an hour, I called the help desk. To their credit, someone answered within a minute. He said they were getting 80 calls an hour, and to try again in a day or two. He told me what was going on, but he was awfully grumpy about it. I got the feeling he wanted to get off the phone as quickly as possible.

Now, if you’re having a problem, why not communicate better to your customers? Things do go wrong, but when they do, make sure your customer reps are polite, pleasant, and well-informed about the situation. Encourage them to sympathize with the customers’ plight (hey, I’m a book addict, I need my fix!), not push them away.

Explain the Situation

And, put up a quick note on your home page: Sorry, we’re having problems with our system right now. We hope to get it fixed by Thursday. Meanwhile, we’re suspending all fines so you won’t get penalized for books you can’t renew.

React Quickly (and Publicly)

UPDATE: I wrote most of this post last night. There’s now a note on the site, saying they’re having difficulties. Unfortunately, it took over 24 hours for them to publicly acknowledge the situation.

If you have a problem, don’t wait that long to tell your customers!

Photo: oddsock

I’m sitting home waiting for the super.  If you look at the picture on the right you’ll see why.

Unlike the last super, this one is readily accessible.  He answers the phone at all hours (even last night at 8 when this started as several small leaks).  He arrives on time, and he fixes whatever is broken.

The last super never answered the phone. I always got a machine, and it took hours to get a reply.  Sometimes it took days.  I’m not directly paying the bill, but when there’s a leak, or the toilet won’t stop running, it’s good to know that someone cares about customer service.

Take a few minutes to think about  your company’s service.  Call in from home or your cell.  Pretend to be a customer.  See how you’re treated.  Do you have to wait on hold for a long time?  Are your questions answered?  Are the answers helpful?  What happens when you email a question or a problem?  Does someone answer promptly?  Do you get a canned response or a personal one?

Your customers will feel better (even in a disaster) if you show up, answer the phone, and try to help.  If you solve their problems quickly and effectively, they’ll love you.

One Sunday afternoon a few months ago, I bit down on the PB &J sandwich I’d just made and it went *crunch*. I looked more closely, and found there was glass in it! (it’s OK, I wasn’t hurt).

I emailed Polaner (the jam company) and told them what happened. Less than 2 hours later (on a weekend), I got an email from Marge. She apologized profusely, told me she’d reported it to their Quality Assurance Manager at the plant, and asked for the UPC information for the product so they could track it through their system.

Why does this matter? I got an email from a real person. She apologized for the problem. She told me she’d taken steps to inform the appropriate people about it. She asked me for more details so they could track down the problem and correct it. Her actions let me know I was an important customer and that my problem mattered to the company.

This is not only good service, it’s also the best way to retain your customers. In fact, Internet Retailer just published a survey (4/3/09) which found that excellent customer service beat all other methods for keeping customers happy and loyal.

Finding glass in my jam was unpleasant, but I will buy that brand again, because they treated me well.