Amex deserve their repution

Once again, I’m reminded that people are the most obvious – perhaps the most critical – touchpoint an organization has with its customers.

I opened in the mail my new ‘upgraded’ Amex card today, to discover that the card had a new account number on it. Now the upgrade would double the Amex points earned, so I wanted it. But the hassle of changing all the places and payments that are registered to my old account number was just too daunting.

With a heavy feeling of dread, I call the customer service number. I just know that I’m going to be in a bad frame of mind by the time I finish this call. Sure enough I get the voice activated system. And it recognizes my accent (many do not!) and tells me what it is doing. So far, so good. After the usual questions I get to a representative. She is bright, breezy and talks as though she is a human talking to another human (unlike my experience this morning with audible.com).

“Oh sure”, she says, “I wouldn’t want to go through all of that either”.

She cancels the new card, arranges for a cancellation note to go to me (So I can be sure that the card is dead), then upgrades my current account number, arranges a new card to be mailed and assures me that all will be fine and wishes me a good evening.

What a pleasant experience! Boy am I a happy Amex customer.

The lesson? Well trained, motivated and interested staff make a huge difference. They can save a bad situation, they can make an advocate out of a customer. They are worth their weight in gold. I’ll be using more of Amex, not less in future.

And Audible.com? Well, he was not in a good position to start with. An unexpected, unauthorized charge to that same Amex card. But this person read, stiltedly, from a script. No attempt to relate to me, no sympathetic ear, no connection with me. Also, most importantly, no attempt to satisfy me. The only way to keep the account open was to pay $229. So guess what, I’m no longer an Audible customer, even though there is (was) credit in my account that I gave up.

It’s not the guys fault. He was clearly executing corporate policy, reading a corporate script and had (in my opinion) nowhere near the training and experience needed. It’s the corporate folks at fault.. Audible’s management should be whacked around the head for allowing such policies, procedures and such abysmal execution.

Which is closest to the way your company looks to your customers?

Are you sure?

{WOM, Brand, Customer Service, Phone, Product}

Technorati Tags: Brand, Customer Service, Phone, Product, User Experience, WOM

KQED The Final Frontier…..

Once again, life shows how good people make the difference. Compare and contrast as the marketing exams used to say….

Those of you following the KQED saga will know that I spent most of this year trying to get our local PBS station to pay attention. The steps in the saga are listed earlier in this blog if you don’t recall…..
I posted my previous post and it actually struck a chord! I got a comment to the blog post that said:

“Hi. I just ran across your posts. I run Internet group for KQED. I’m sorry you are having a bad experience with KQED customer service. I’d be glad to help, send me an email at xxxxxx [at] kqed dot org and I’ll see what I can do to help or send me your phone number and I’ll give you a call.”

Turns out that this is the interactive director for KQED and from our email exchanges, seems very aware of modern techniques and how to go about engaging and turning and audience into participants (and I hope, donors). I hope he succeeds….

The email I sent as a result of his interventions show how big a task he has in front of him:

“Hi XXXXXX the miracle worker!
You have done what no one else can do, and sparked KQED into action. But oh boy, even when complying your organization reinforces my points wonderfully!

I got a letter that stated ‘Your card has been credited with $48′. That was about it.

I hope you make progress in getting KQED to indulge in dialog, and if you ever need professional support in doing so, please let me know.

Cheers and thanks”

So out of a huge organization, it looks like the ID is the only one who ‘gets it’. I hope he sticks in there and makes progress. The problem in my experience is, that the organization often grinds down the new thinker, – the one who gets it – and eventually they become brainwashed or leave.

That’s the danger we need to watch out for, that new blood, the fresh ideas, the ‘outsider’ needs to be given room to bring the organization to a new, better, more customer focussed place….

What does your organization do?

{Customer Service, Marketing, media, WOM}

Technorati Tags: Brand, Customer Service, Marketing, Media, WOM

Bait and Switch at its worst….

I use Skype as my office number and also have it on my MacBook. Whilst quality is OK on my MacBook, I wanted the best I could get on business calls, and that means a handset. I researched and USRobotics do a USB handset AND – critically – provide Mac compatible drivers – most manufacturers don’t. So I order the handset via Amazon – it’s actually a merchant called Amperor Direct, but no matter. The order is placed and I get my confirmation. The package arrives and immediately seems strange. There is no name at all on the box or on the handset. It is, to say the least, cheap and shoddy looking. I check my order confirmation, sure enough it is what I ordered: Ordered Shipped 1 1 USB-P8D USRobotics USB Internet Phone (NAM ROHS) [Electronics] $33.87 Ship Date: 5/21/2007 Sure enough, when I try it out it doesn’t work on the MacBook. I email Amperor (via the Amazon web) and inform them that what they sent me is a no-name brand that is not what I ordered. The following day I get an RMA by email, but that leaves ME holding the shipping charges both ways. I email them back asking for a full credit, including shipping both ways. Nothing. Then I get a bulk email telling me that the drivers for the Yealink phone I bought have been updated. I reply to the marketing manager, expressing my displeasure. I get a response: “ Thank you for contacting us again with your questions and comments.

Replies to your Amazon.com inquiries were sent to you on 5/21/07 and 5/24/07. In the replies you were given status information about your order and an explanation regarding the nature of US Robotics branding their name onto a 3-rd party product as well as requesting confirmation that you still wished an RMA for the unit, minus shipping charges as per our return policy. This has been the first contact we have received from you since then and we assume you had not received the other two messages.

US Robotics, like Fonaso and about a dozen other retailers have taken a product – or series of products – made by a company called Yealink and have had their name printed onto the device so it will sell under their ”branding.“ Some companies have in-house technicians who will take the driver software provided by Yealink and change the names inside to suit their companies needs, but main support is not by that company. US Robotics has followed this practice for the past 15+ years with modems, etc.

Other companies do this on a regular basis as well. Take for instance the recent peanut butter issue which affected several name-brands as well as several generic brands. All were produced in the same factory by one producer but sold under numerous names.

Even under USR the device only has a limited Mac compatibility depending on the OS X version, processor being used, and version of Skype software being run.

We shall be happy to provide an RMA to you for the return of the unit for a refund minus shipping costs. We shall issue one to this e-mail address shortly.”

All fine, but that’s NOT what I ordered – and I hadn’t had an explanation, and even if I had it’s not OK! To crown the lack of understanding, it turns out that what I got was a forwarded email. The marketing manager’s comments were still in the mail: “The downside to sending out a mass email.. you want to issue an RMA to the guy below… I don’t have the energy to explain that the product is identical and the listing shows ‘this item is labeled VoIP’.” So I repeat in my reply that I want them to make a full refund, including shipping. I tell them that I’ll also file complaints and send the product I did receive to USRobotics intellectual property department if they will not do so. No response….. So I contacted USRobotics and they now have all the details…. What a way to run a business, they are still on Amazon, still appear to be trading – and I’m not the only one to complain about this issue. In the end I bought a Futiro phone, great service, great responsiveness and a stylish product.

{Marketing, Bad Customer Service, Brand, Phone, Product}

Bad Customer Service, Brand, Customer Service, Marketing, Phone, Product, User Experience, WOM