Customer Service - Another Winner

15 replies
We talk a lot about customer service and satisfying customers. I think in IM one of the things to watch is how big online businesses handle customer service.

A couple years ago it was normal to wait at least one day - and often 2-3 days to get an answer from a large online company.

I posted some time ago about a great experience with Amazon where a problem was handled quickly and efficiently with minimal wait time. I also recently had a great experience when I called Whirlpool about a purchase through their online outlet.

Just had a similar experience with Netflix. If you log into your Netflix account a number is generated at the bottom of the web page. When you call customer service and give them the number they pull up your account immediately. (None of the "name, address, account # conversation) I was on the phone less than 2 minutes and my problem with completely solved. I was "on hold" about 15 seconds.

When big business is evolving customer service to these levels, we'll have to run fast to catch up. Good thing to keep in mind when you set up a customer service desk.

kay
#customer #service #winner
  • Profile picture of the author WarrenPeterson
    Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

    ...

    Just had a similar experience with Netflix. If you log into your Netflix account a number is generated at the bottom of the web page. When you call customer service and give them the number they pull up your account immediately. (None of the "name, address, account # conversation) I was on the phone less than 2 minutes and my problem with completely solved. I was "on hold" about 15 seconds.

    ...
    That's a good system, I'm not a subscriber, so was unaware of what they do, but I would sure love to see that evolve to more places. I can't stand calling in somewhere and entering my account # over and over, every 'level' of the call.
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  • Profile picture of the author LexiB
    Netflix is awesome! Zappos is another great example of wonderful customer support that we should all try to emulate. Great products and services are very important but I think that when push comes to shove, customer support is what sets the best apart from everyone else.

    I'm willing to pay a little more and wait a few days to get my sneakers from Zappos because I know that if I ever have a problem they won't think twice about fixing it.

    I also think this is the reason we'll be seeing more and more companies going the way of Blockbuster and Borders Books. The Big Boxers like Wal Mart and Target need to really watch out when Amazon perfects the 'same day delivery' thing in the near future.
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    • Originally Posted by LexiB View Post

      Zappos is another great example of wonderful customer support that we should all try to emulate. Great products and services are very important but I think that when push comes to shove, customer support is what sets the best apart from everyone else.

      I'm willing to pay a little more and wait a few days to get my sneakers from Zappos because I know that if I ever have a problem they won't think twice about fixing it.
      A lot of marketers underestimate how great customer service can actually get you more business. A great copy can convert a lead to a sale but great customer service (and great reviews about the service) is often that small push that some people need to convince them to buy your product. And people are often willing to reward companies who offer great customer service.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rod Cortez
    Cooking.com also has excellent customer service. They call theirs "Guest Services". Most of my orders with them have been excellent. When I've had a couple of issues in the past (such as an item showing up broken) they were quick to fix the issue and/or send me a replacement at no extra charge.

    I know the CEO and she came over from Disney Corp. and she is BIG on customer service.

    RoD
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  • Profile picture of the author sanhal
    What bugs me most about internet marketers customer service or support desks is when you wait for an answer only to find that the person replying has obviously not read your message correctly or has not understood it.

    Make sure that if you outsource your customer service the person can understand, speak and write English.

    Sandy
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    • Profile picture of the author Rod Cortez
      Originally Posted by sanhal View Post

      What bugs me most about internet marketers customer service or support desks is when you wait for an answer only to find that the person replying has obviously not read your message correctly or has not understood it.

      Make sure that if you outsource your customer service the person can understand, speak and write English.

      Sandy
      That has been a pretty common experience for me. Another thing I can't stand is when I have to register an account so that I can submit a ticket.

      I understand the WHY behind it, but there are plenty of top notch companies around the world that don't make their customers just through hoops to get quality customer service (within the reason of the price point of course).

      I'm the type of consumer that places a lot of weight on solid customer service and it's a major factor if I'm going to become a repeat buyer. I pay higher prices for certain things because of this.

      A lot of good lessons to be learned in this thread.

      RoD
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      • Profile picture of the author WillR
        Originally Posted by sanhal View Post

        What bugs me most about internet marketers customer service or support desks is when you wait for an answer only to find that the person replying has obviously not read your message correctly or has not understood it.

        Make sure that if you outsource your customer service the person can understand, speak and write English.

        Sandy
        I also hate that. I also hate it when they prefer to ask more questions than just actually solve the issue. So a ticket that could have been solved by them the first time around ends up being dragged out over days and days.

        Originally Posted by Rod Cortez View Post

        Another thing I can't stand is when I have to register an account so that I can submit a ticket.
        Rod,

        The harder you make it for someone to contact support, the less people you will get contacting support. May have something to do with it. It probably gets rid of a few of the time wasters.
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        • Profile picture of the author Joe Stewart
          Originally Posted by WillR View Post

          I also hate that. I also hate it when they prefer to ask more questions than just actually solve the issue. So a ticket that could have been solved by them the first time around ends up being dragged out over days and days.



          Rod,

          The harder you make it for someone to contact support, the less people you will get contacting support. May have something to do with it. It probably gets rid of a few of the time wasters.
          Yep. I hate those things too.

          Another thing I don't like is having to try to deal with someone that doesn't speak English clearly. I don't care what country they're from, that has nothing to do with it. The point is that if I can't understand what they're saying, they can't help me.

          I had an issue with Dell one time a few years ago where a customer service representative answered from another country and I simply couldn't understand him very well. After a few minutes of this I finally asked him very nicely if it would be possible to speak to someone in the U.S. so I could understand them. He said no problem - that will cost you $189.00 though.

          What?!

          I was on the phone with a company in Florida today during regular business hours trying to get information about becoming a dealer so I could sell their products and this lady's English was horrible! I didn't want to be rude (and wasn't) but it was extremely frustrating!

          You want to be patient and compassionate when it comes to situations like this because decent jobs are hard to come by for some people, but I have to wonder if the CEO's of any of these companies have ever put themselves in the position of their customers? If not, they should, because they could easily be losing customers by trying to take the budget route and hiring people from overseas to handle their customer service.

          I'm happy to hear that some companies are beginning to "see the light". They'll soon separate themselves from their competition.
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          • Profile picture of the author Kay King
            I understand the WHY behind it, but there are plenty of top notch companies around the world that don't make their customers just through hoops to get quality customer service (within the reason of the price point of course).
            The "why" is it works better - and is easier - for them. For a time it was good enough because until the past year or two customer service online was about the same as waiting at a service desk in a store. You waited a long time - explained the problem - and realized you were talking to an idiot who had only canned responses.

            I was very nervous when I bought a high end clothes dryer from the Whirlpool outlet - but the price of $560+ compared to the $1100 for the same model/color/style at Lowe's made me take a chance.

            The customer service was absolutely amazing - from the shipping to the followup. At least 4 of my friends have now purchased major appliances through that site - on my recommendation.

            It's not just pleasing the customer to be a good guy - it increases your business!!!
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  • Profile picture of the author Greg guitar
    Never buy Dell; my worst ever customer service was with them; they shuffled me from one Sri Lankan to another over and over for two days just to make a small change to my order; nobody understood me, and nobody knew where the buck stopped, so I was literally being bounced back and forth repeatedly between the same two departments who each assured me that my problem could be solved by the department that had just transferred me to them. What a nightmare that was! On top of that, the wait times were often 10+ minutes, and they repeatedly dropped the call after long periods of struggling to get some answers.

    On the other hand, I have to agree that some companies today are the opposite; with extraordinary customer support, and I agree that Netflix belongs in that category. Hostgator is another one that almost always blows my mind with excellent support.
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    • Profile picture of the author WillR
      Originally Posted by Greg guitar View Post

      On the other hand, I have to agree that some companies today are the opposite; with extraordinary customer support, and I agree that Netflix belongs in that category. Hostgator is another one that almost always blows my mind with excellent support.
      It's funny that nowadays we have been led to believe that normal customer service is extraordinary or exceptional. The fact is these companies are just providing the type of customer support all businesses should. But because so much customer support is outsourced and lousy these days, it makes even the normal customer support look far superior.
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      • Profile picture of the author Greg guitar
        Originally Posted by WillR View Post

        It's funny that nowadays we have been led to believe that normal customer service is extraordinary or exceptional. The fact is these companies are just providing the type of customer support all businesses should. But because so much customer support is outsourced and lousy these days, it makes even the normal customer support look far superior.
        I didn't give the details as to why I thought the support from those companies was extraordinary. I do agree that many companies have been lowering the bar, particularly with regard to saving money on hiring by using long automated phone menus with recorded FAQs you have to choose from before getting to a human.

        But in some ways, the bar has been wildly raised as a result of technologies and competition. You are younger than me, and maybe don't have my experience of watching the world go from 3-5 channels of mostly garbage entertainment, party lines, (cordless phones and cassette answering machines were revolutionary), towns where most stores, including gas stations closed at 6 or 7pm, etc, to todays instant, 24/7 gratification for just about any service imaginable. I know these aren't all customer service issues, but I would consider the lack of 24 hour convenience to be customer service related. The 7-11 store was life changing; you could buy beer and candy after 6 pm finally; the fact that the store was named after it's hours says a lot.

        I stand by my judgement of exceptional service from Netflix and Hostgator; they have both gone above and beyond what was ever normal in any era including today.

        Hostgator will spend 1/2 an hour or more at a time, sometimes multiple times per night, patiently teaching you how to do technical tasks. There have been months when my $7 account entitled me to several hours of support; to call it above and beyond is an understatement, and a big part of why so many Warriors are fans. Often the support is only indirectly related to their services, such as Wordpress training, Filezilla, etc.

        When my router broke, I called Netflix to see if they could shut off and restart my service until I got a new one. They had no way to do that, so they simply comped me the month without a second thought, and with service still running when the new router was set up.

        When I had a problem setting up my Roku box, Netflix walked me through it at 1 am; hold times typically less than 1 minute, and they always bend over backwards to make sure I'm happy. When I reported damaged discs, they have apologized, and upgraded me to an extra disc or 2 for the month.

        Technology has spoiled us beyond belief; when the internet slows down a bit, we get upset, but I'm older than dirt (very young dirt), and came out of an era when "there's nothing on the tube" was a literal, factual statement after about 2am, and precious little was on before that.

        No company ever asked for customer ratings or feedback, let alone a 24/7 hotline to call and ask why it's been taking longer than a few seconds to load up my choice among thousands of movies and shows. We had a choice of perhaps 2 B-grade television movies on a good Friday or Saturday night. Media companies never once asked for opinions of their meager programming. Lots of companies treated you like a criminal if you brought back an item you claimed was defective when you unpacked it.

        Polite service of course, should be standard; that I agree with, but 24/7 hotlines with virtually no wait times, people ready to do your bidding that always bend over backwards and take as much time as needed to please you? That might be par for the course for you, but not for me, especially when I pay under $10 a month for service (in the case of both Netflix and Hostgator).

        In some ways customer service has declined, but overall, being a consumer today is far less of a hassle, and you get far more service per dollar spent than at any time previously in my experience. And I would never call it normal to get personal attention for when my dollars spent are far less than the wages eaten up serving my whims. I am the first to complain if a company abuses me, but by the same token, the first to sing a company's praises when they spend far more trying to please me than they collect from me.
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      • Profile picture of the author writeaway
        Originally Posted by WillR View Post

        It's funny that nowadays we have been led to believe that normal customer service is extraordinary or exceptional. The fact is these companies are just providing the type of customer support all businesses should. But because so much customer support is outsourced and lousy these days, it makes even the normal customer support look far superior.
        It is not outsourcing per se but subpar providers with low quality training.
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  • Profile picture of the author Carolyn Webb
    I do customer support and one thing I'm always told is to keep the customer happy at all costs.

    If more business would take this type of approach the world would be a better place for us all
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  • Profile picture of the author Jtraits
    big organizations and companies really pay attention to csr ... it's important because if the customer is happy with the customer service, they might stay even if the product is not 100% satisfactory . but if the csr is poor, there is a chance to leave even if they are really happy with the product/service
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