Bits And Pieces Of Consumeristic Activity

Interesting tidbit from my local news. This is the reason we need
Planet Feedback and is a small example of what lousy customer service
is.





http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13466053/

Had a similar incident with a cable company that sent me a shut off
notice/surrender your cable box form letter. I don't have cable. Never
did. They "fixed it". Checked my credit report to make sure they
didn't ruin my credit. They did. Got exactly what I expected. No
apology so technically, i'm a satisfied customer?

Overall, I would have to say that I win some and I lose some.

Sometimes, I get exactly what I want for less than I thought and a
little bonus too. Sometimes I just get my blood pressure hiked up a
few points.

I have high expectations for customer service, partly because I've
worked in so many jobs where that was a big part of my job. I know
the difference that a smile and an apology can make when something's
gone wrong. I also know the difference that being careless, lazy and
plain rude can make to a customer who's already having an off day or
has never visited your establishment before.

It's funny that I happened on this article today, as I have just
written two letters of praise to companies today, and am about to
write a third.

In general, I am a happy consumer. I don't think this is luck, I think
it comes from bringing a positive attitude to the table when dealing
with service people.

I go on the assumption that every company really intends to provide me
with a great product and/or service, and when this doesn't happen, it
simply means that something has gone awry. So my attitude is one of
"let's solve this problem" rather than "I knew you were going to screw
me!"

Because I've spent so much time on the other side of the counter, so
to speak, I know that most customer service reps really do want to
help you, and all they want in return is to be treated with courtesy
and respect.

When I am calling to inquire about an account for example, I have my
account number and any relevant invoice numbers handy. I say "hello"
and introduce myself before describing my problem. I do not vent my
spleen on whomever answers the phone.

If I do have a problem, I speak up right away, instead of expecting
the service person to intuit what is wrong.

I also focus on my overall experience with a company, and not on the
minor details of one specific incident.

Although I have already written quite the novel here, I wanted to
share a story that I think is relevant here. My sister and I recently
vacationed together, and ironically, although we stayed in the exact
same room at the Disneyland Hotel, we describe our stay in radically
different terms.

As an avid Disney lover, I focused on the adorable theming of the
resort, the proximity to the parks, and the little extras (like the
way our housekeeper would fold our towels into fun shapes, or pose my
children's stuffed animals as if they were reading books or fighting
over the remote).

My sister had different priorities. She felt that the towels were not
plentiful nor plushy enough (fun shapes being entirely irrelevant).
One of the lamps had a burned out light-bulb (something that didn't
even notice over the course of three days!). She felt that the line at
check-in was far too long, I thought it gave me some extra time to
study my park map and guidebook.

Her overall experience was that the Disneyland Hotel was a dated,
overpriced, medium-quality hotel, but I am already planning my next
visit.

I'm not suggesting she's wrong for having the standards that she does
- but I do know that I had a lot more fun on that trip.

Barbara T.

I'm having A LOT of trouble with Verizon right now and overall, their
customer service has been in the top 5 worst I've ever experienced.
But I have to say, I rarely have bad customer service. I certainly
don't have all the problems at restaurants and fastfood places like I
read about here. And I'm generally 99 percent satisfied with my
purchases, whether it be a bottle of coke, a dvd, a blender, a tv or a
car.

OH and yeah, the Marriott brands do rock!

You are going to be so sorry you asked.

I am rarely happy with anything I buy. Nothing works the way I expect
it to or lasts as long as I anticipate. In my case, it's not a matter
of being unlucky, it's more that my expectations are too high, and I
am always disappointed.

Last summer my daughter bought an Ipod with her hard to come by, hard
earned money. It worked for less than one month. She did get a
replacement, but not without a runaround. We bought a window
air-conditioner, never even thinking that it wouldn't work properly.
After it was installed, I realized it was malfunctioning. My husband
uninstalled it, brought it back to the store, exchanged it for another
one, and amazingly it worked exactly the same as the first one. I
bought an expensive Kitchen Aid toaster thinking if I paid more I
would get a well designed, quality product. Wrong. According to a
Kitchen Aid representative, it was not working properly, so they sent
me another one, which worked exactly the same. Even something as small
as a soap dispenser that goes in the kitchen sink worked for a short
time and then just stopped.

Anyone who knows me at all on PFB knows about my appliance fiascos.
My top of the line stove stopped working as soon as the warranty
expired. My refrigerator is so poorly designed that I secretly pray
every day for it to break down so I can justify buying a new one. My
washing maching has been repaired twice, and I now have to call
service again, all for the same problem.

I'm at a point now where I never want to buy, replace or install
anything ever again. It doesn't matter what I buy, how much I spend,
or where I purchase it, I always feel cheated and disappointed in the
end.

Now that I think of it, not only are my expectations too high, but I
guess I am unlucky too.