Want to keep me as your customer?

Posted by random olio

What do you do when you have a good customer service experience? How about a bad one? I am kind of a nut. Okay, Chris would say more than a nut. If I have a bad experience, I can guarantee that I will be alerting the company. If I have a good experience, I can guarantee that I will be alerting the company. Below are two recent – shall I say – adventures!? One was annoying and the other started out annoying and the company eventually tried to fix it.

Late last week Chris and I were dropping his parents off at the airport. We decided to stop by IKEA on the way home to return a comforter cover. (Who knew that IKEA sells covers that are not the same size as regular US comforters. I should have thought of that!) What a bummer of a customer service experience that was for us. We had to wait for 30 minutes. In that time they called 15 numbers. Now you might think that 15 numbers meant 15 customers, but it did not. Many of the individuals with numbers before us left. They had waited too long. Many times during the 30 minutes we were there waiting this is what was happening.

Returns desk at IKEA

As you can see in this photo, there are no customers being helped. There are 4 representatives at the desk, but no customers. It was a frustrating experience to say the least. You might think that I am complaining about just one experience, but I am not. Just a week before we were dropping Chris’ brother off at the airport, and we decided to venture to IKEA with Chris’ parents. Chris stood in line at the Returns area for a similar amount of time (he is patient)!

I will definitely think again before I purchase something at IKEA. I will make sure that it is something we have no desire to return, because I am not sure I can handle going back to the Returns area! Have you had a similar experience with IKEA?

My second experience was with Shoebuy.com. I ordered a pair of slippers just before Christmas. Had I been faster with my purchase, they would have expedited it so I could have it before Christmas. I was not in any rush, so I made the purchase, got free shipping, and 25% off. Always up for getting a deal I made the purchase on December 21. My order arrived today. When I opened the box, and tried on the slipper, it did not fit. I then noticed that the slipper was a different size than the size listed on the box. They were an entire size smaller. Annoyed? You bet I was. I had waited 2 weeks for my order and it was incorrect. Most likely a mistake at the manufacturer, since the paper in the shoe box did not look like it had ever been touched.

I called Shoebuy and asked what they could do for me. Nothing. The only option was for me to print the mailing label they were going to email me, and return the slippers. Once they received them they would proceed to send me a new pair. So all in all I was probably looking at another 3 weeks. That would be the beginning of February. By then, my mind starts to think about flip-flops, not slippers. I continued to push, and explain that it was not my fault. Would they be able to expedite them? No. Could they send them now? Only if they charged me again. The representative was nice, but kept saying there was nothing they could do.

I am a bit of a Zappo’s evangelist. I probably should just have paid full price at Zappos where I know the customer service is creative and top-notch. (Maybe next time I will). In the end, I pushed her to speak to her supervisor and call me back. She called me back within 10 minutes, and said we could start a new order, where she would charge me $10 for expedited shipping and give me 10% more off. I would be charged all this and later the billing department would credit me for the extra $10 shipping charge and give me 10% off. Exhausted and frustrated I decided to take this step. I should have my slippers in a few days, and they will then credit me for the ones I return. Yet, that only happened because I pushed, and allowed them to go ahead and charge me again. Otherwise, you know February and flip-flops on the mind.

My issue is why not empower employees to be able to fix customer service issues quickly and easily? Why does it have to take a 30 minute phone call and a frustrated customer? In the end, I have to return the slippers and watch that I am refunded the money, and I have to watch that I am credited for the shipping and 10% off. This puts the work and follow through on the customer, not the company. I do not really care about the money, it is the principle of what it takes for a customer to have quality service. If Shoebuy empowered their employees to do what they need to do to fix a mistake, they might find quicker call handling times and happier customers. If IKEA noticed how long their customers were waiting, should they maybe hire more individuals? Add more computers for Returns? Or maybe they want you to decide returning their product is not worth the wait.

What do you think?

The Thank You Note Is Not Dead

Posted by random olio

I am old school about writing a thank you note. So when I heard about what Sprint is doing as part of their customer service, I was in awe. I have no reason to advertise Sprint. I am an iPhone user and have been on AT&T for years, but I commend Sprint for what they are doing. Take a second to read this article further. Here is an excerpt:

“Sprint’s commitment to personal outreach was introduced by the company’s CEO Dan Hesse, upon an employee’s suggestion. The campaign has been embraced by the entire Sprint team from the top down—not only has Hesse has been sending out notes himself, but the company has also implemented “Thank You Thursdays” on which all employees are asked to write at least five notes.”

I absolutely love it. I remember from a very young age my mom somehow ingrained in me the art of the thank you note. It is an extra gesture of gratitude for a gift of any size. It takes it a step farther than an email. It has a longer life than a phone call. It is something the recipient can go back and read again and again. Maybe they will just throw it away, but maybe the time you took to write the note will mean something to them, they keep it, or post on the frig, or above their desk. You never know how much your words will mean to them. You never know how much you will touch them. The fact that you took extra moments to write out your thoughts, put it in an envelope, address it, spent 45 cents, and put it in the mail. Does that mean more to someone than a quick text or email? Maybe. Maybe not. But, I believe it is worth a try.

If a company believes it is worth the time to send a thank you note, I think it says something about how much that company cares about the personal touch. It means that the individual customer is more than a number and that they believe that the personal touch matters to their customers. More companies need to see this and take action. I can think of a few times when I purchased an item and on my shipping receipt I had a personal note. I have not forgotten. The one that I remember most was from Shop Horne. I purchased a mug, and not only was the packaging amazing, they wrote me a personal, handwritten note on a beautiful, embossed, textured card stock. I was so impressed I still have it. It was something I wanted as a reminder for my next business venture.

A personal touch goes a long way.

Shop Horne thank you note

Two Favorite Apps + Two New Tips

Posted by random olio

I am someone who likes to share a good thing. When I find an amazing local bakery, I cannot help but share and tell others. If a great company gives stellar customer service, I tell others. I will also warn others about bad customer service. I apologize in advance that the rest of this post is going to be app/iPhone-centric. I do not know if these apps are available for non iOS devices, but they might be.

incredibooth photo

My newest favorite app is called: IncrediBooth. It is a 99 cent app, that lets you take four different pictures and puts it together in a photo booth style photo. There is something about the nostalgia of photo booths. There used to be a toy store in Portland that had an old-fashioned photo booth that gave you a black and white photo. I love the fun and spontaneity of these booths. Now I can do it right from my phone!

Wunderlist. A free app. It creates lists that you can update online or from your iPhone or iPad. Chris and I keep our lists of weekend To-Do’s, movies or TV shows we want to watch, restaurants we want to check out, etc. I could add an item to a grocery list from home and Chris could sync the list when he gets to the store to find my additions without having to call or text me.

Ready for some tips now? I have had my iPhone for a few years now, and I just learned two things last week. Someone at work told me how to close out of your apps (I always thought I had been when I got out of them). Only to find out that they are still open in the background taking up battery life. To close them, double-click the home button and all open apps will show in the bottom bar. Hold down on one of the apps to get them into close mode and they will all show up with a red X. Then close the apps you no longer want open.

My second thing I learned last week is that you can set up a more complex password on your iPhone than just the traditional four numbers. I had no idea! If you want to make it more complex, go to Settings, General, then Passcode Lock. You will have to enter your current Passcode, then turn “Simple Passcode” to Off and your iPhone will prompt you for a longer, more complex Passcode.

What other random iPhone or iPad tips do you know? What apps have been your recent favorites?

We Deserve More On Airplanes

Posted by random olio

I am always in awe that an airplane can fly. I do not take that for granted. We get into a metal contraption, and fly through the friendly skies. It is a mostly natural event in many of our lives, and it used to be one that was a luxury. Today it seems to feel like herding cattle. It is no longer much fun, and no longer feels luxurious. Sure, we have the ability to have wi-fi Internet, while flying at 30,000 feet. Pretty amazing if you really think about it. In recent years, I have heard folks get pissed off on an airplane when the wi-fi or TVs do not work. Annoying right? I mean annoying that someone would complain about it. I mean you are flying 30,000 feet in the air. Yes, I will say it again, you are flying, quit complaining!

Having said all that my bone to pick (here is where that saying came from) is that they charge you for everything. We recently flew across the country on Delta. They are usually the airline we fly. I do not have any problems with Delta. In the last few months though they have put more fees on things. It is starting to get annoying. I fear that soon I will have to use my credit card to pay to use the bathroom whenever I fly. Trust me that could get expensive. Whatever happened to customer service and caring for your customers? Think back to when flying was a luxury and way less expensive. It was about service. The TV screen in the seat in front of me had movies and TV shows. They used to be free. Now it is $6 for a movie, and $6 for any amount of TV (or $1 a show). On our flight the TVs were not working. I was not annoyed that they were not working, I understand that happens. I was frustrated that we have yet another fee. Seriously. We pay hundreds and thousands of dollars to fly around the world and we have to pay more for a few hours of entertainment in a seat that we can barely move around in, while eating pretzels and horrible coffee. (It was. I even heard the flight attendant tell the other flight attendant the coffee they made was bad).

flight #1 TV broken

What has it come to? We now pay to check bags, we may eventually have to pay for our carry on bags. We have to pay for real food, and now we cannot even get free entertainment. Ugh. It is annoying. Yes, I am still grateful for the amazing feat that we can even fly the friendly skies, but airlines, if you are listening, save something to brag about – give us a little customer service. Please. A little can go a long way.