If you haven’t heard about this yet, it’s worth checking out… Adobe has released a “cross-operating system runtime that lets developers combine HTML, Ajax, Adobe Flash®, and Flex technologies to deploy rich Internet applications (RIAs) on the desktop” (more info). In other words, web developers can use the same web tools like Dreamweaver and Flash to develop feature-rich desktop applications.
The Japanese term “Kaizen,” which translates as “Improvement,” is part business management system and part deeply-rooted philosophy in Japanese culture. Popularized by Toyota, Kaizen stresses that continuous, incremental improvement is at least as critical for a business as periodic, large-scale innovation. Full Story →
Organizing your Time: The ProblemI was working with a client recently who was having some problems synchronizing schedules internally. My client is a small consulting company with about ten employees who evaluate EPA and OSHA compliance for their clients.
Employees of this company regularly travel to visit with clients nationwide, and each employee tracked his or her own travel schedule individually using Outlook’s calendar. As a result, any time the company needed to schedule something that required the attendence of all employees, they had to ask each employee for a list of dates that would work. Full Story →
I just saw Will Smith’s The Pursuit of Happyness for the second time this week, and I had forgotten what a powerful movie it was. Or maybe I just wasn’t in a position to truly appreciate it when it first came out. It’s like studying Shakespeare in high school: at the age of fourteen you can’t even begin to appreciate the language or relate to the feelings in his plays (years later, that hasn’t improved much). But with time comes perspective, and I saw this movie in a completely different light.
Hey. Don’t ever let somebody tell you… You can’t do something. Not even me. All right? You got a dream… You gotta protect it. People can’t do somethin’ themselves, they wanna tell you you can’t do it. If you want somethin’, go get it. Period. - Chris Gardner, The Pursuit of Happyness
I’ve been fairly outspoken in the past about my disdain for the level of customer “service” provided by large companies, particularly in the computer industry. Dell’s customer service, for instance, has been lovingly nicknamed “Dell Hell” by some of its customers. The internet is full of stories from unsatisfied Dell customers, but my experience with the company today was a glimmer of hope.
For a couple of months now my laptop had been warning me that my battery was slowly dying. A few weeks back it finally died, and gave me the following message:
A normal characteristic of a rechargable battery is that its operating duration decreases over time. The battery may eventually need to be replaced. Based on this characteristic, consumed batteries may not be covered under warranty.
So today I finally decided to talk to Dell, something I had been avoiding because I didn’t want the headache that generally comes with it. Needless to say I was surprised when a rep was immediately available via their online chat support. We were walking through the troubleshooting process when my internet died, because the internet only goes out when I have important things to do. Now, imagine my surprise when that same Dell rep called me on my cell phone to finish the conversation. In a few minutes’ time, he told me I’d be receiving my brand new battery free of charge within four business days. Wow, what a pleasant surprise.
I know Dell and many other companies have developed some terrible reputations in the customer service arena, but my experience today gave me hope that maybe they’re actually turning things around. I had made up my mind that if Tech Support screwed me today I’d never buy a Dell product again, so that simple phone call may have saved their company from thousands of dollars in lost future sales.
Others have noted that Dell is working on improving their tech support too. Many major companies like Starbucks and Dell are creating websites to give customers a place to voice their opinions freely. For instance, Dell recently launched IdeaStorm and the Direct2Dell blog to reach out to their customers and solicit ideas and feedback.
What surprised me most was a Direct2Dell blog post about the future of customer service. What I found most interesting is that the comments were in no way censored to paint Dell in a positive light. Here are a few excerpts from this post:
“North american customers want to be supported by North American techs. “
“When calling IBM for service, the entire thing is short & sweet. I’m not left on the phone on hold while the tech does ‘paperwork’. Whatever Dell techs are required to do is apparently many times that of what is required for the IBM techs.
Why is IBM so much more efficient than Dell at handling these things???”
“If the off-shore support staff is incapable of addressing a issue with a FORMER customer (I certainly won’t ever purchase another Dell product and will encourage my sons,high school and college graduates, to puchase other-than-Dell products) they should be taught to transfer the issue to someone capable of handling the small issue - instead of abruptly HANGING UP!”
Rather than censor the communication, Dell representatives posted responses to each of these complaints in an attempt to solve, or at least address, these problems.
Evidently Dell is tapping into social media even further. They now have several customer service reps searching social sites like Twitter for complaints and swiftly contacting those people and addressing the problems.
At the very least, I appreciate the fact that Dell is making an effort to listen to their customers. How do you solicit feedback from your customers? Do you have a means of measuring customer satisfaction? Leave a note and share your thoughts, and subscribe while you’re at it.
Update:
I just received my new battery from Dell, less than 24 hours after making the initial complaint. Color me impressed.
As a small business owner who loves to travel (both for business and for pleasure), one of my biggest challenges has been ensuring that I’m still easily accessible to my clients and partners. Over the years I’ve found a number of tools that have made life on the go easier. Here are some of my favorites: Full Story →
My last post about customer service got me thinking about other experiences I’ve had as a consumer recently. A few months ago I was having some issues with the company that hosts my website (IPowerWeb.com). I called them and spent an hour on hold before finally reaching someone. He assured me that the problem would be taken care of within 24 hours and I would be informed as things progressed. A week later I called again, waited an hour again, and got the same explanation. He said they’d give it “top priority.” Several weeks later the problem still wasn’t resolved. I spoke with someone via their online chat support, and they finally pushed me over the edge:
Clem: Hi Kyle. I apologize for the wait time. My name is Clement, how are you today?
Kyle: i’m doing fine thanks, how are you?
Clem: I am great.
Clem: We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Currently, our internal tools are not functioning. Hence, I am unable to check your account. Could you please contact us after few minutes, so that we can assist you in a better way? Our internal tools will work fine after few hours.
Kyle: I just spent 45 minutes on hold on both the phone and this chat. And this was after receiving no response to emails I have been sending for two weeks. Am I going to have to wait on hold again in a few hours?
Clem: We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Currently, our internal tools are not functioning. Hence, I am unable to check your account. Could you please contact us after few minutes, so that we can assist you in a better way? Our internal tools will work fine after few hours.
Kyle: I’m really not impressed with the service I’ve received in the last few weeks. I just waited in line 45 minutes to be told to call back later so I can wait in line again?
Clem: Did you receive my last message?
Kyle: I did, did you receive mine?
Clem: I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you.
Clem: We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Currently, our internal tools are not functioning. Hence, I am unable to check your account. Could you please contact us after few minutes, so that we can assist you in a better way? Our internal tools will work fine after few hours.
Kyle: Can someone from support get in contact with me when the tools are functioning again? I’ve had very little luck contacting you, and I can guarantee I won’t put you on hold
Clem: Unfortunately, we will not contact you. Please make sure to contact after 15 minutes.
Clem: I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you.
Kyle: Can you at least tell me why my last three emails to tech support have gone completely unanswered?
Clem: I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you.
Clem: We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Currently, our internal tools are not functioning. Hence, I am unable to check your account. Could you please contact us after few minutes, so that we can assist you in a better way? Our internal tools will work fine after few hours.
Kyle: I understood the message the first 3 times
Chat session has been terminated by the site operator.
Needless to say, I terminated our contract with them, and took all of my clients’ accounts with me. I was livid after this conversation, which was just the cherry on top of several weeks of abysmal service. Not only did I take my business elsewhere, but I’ve instructed everyone I know to steer clear of IPowerWeb.
I mentioned in my last post that if you can make a customer say “Wow! What great service!” they’ll be Customers For Life. On the other hand, if you treat customers poorly it could come back to haunt you. You will almost certainly lose their business, but the cost could be even higher…
Take this blogger, for instance, who had horrible experiences with Sprint/Nextel.
Or this one, which talks about Dell’s plummeting customer service ratings.
Which reminds me… I’ve had my own run-ins with Dell. A few months back I plugged in my nearly-brand-new laptop and got an unbelievable electrical shock from it that left my arm numb the rest of the day. It fried the computer too, which I was actually far more concerned about. I called Dell, unhappy but civil, and explained what happened. His response? “We apologize that our product caused you this pain, and suggest that you put some ointment on the shocked area, then carefully unplug the computer.” Ointment? Really? Thanks Dell.
A recent study by the University of Colorado indicates that Customer Service scores in service businesses are dependent upon five main factors:
It’s not brain surgery. Respond to customer needs quickly, completely, and courteously and they’ll be happy! If I spend an hour on hold, it won’t matter if the service I receive is stellar. I wasted an hour listening to your crappy elevator music on hold.
Your customers are too important to your business to leave these things to chance. Document your standard operating procedures (the “How-To” guide to running your business) and make sure they’re followed. Make sure everyone in your organization is focused on delivering the best possible experience to your customers. Maybe one day the rest of the world will catch on and I won’t have any customer service horror stories to tell. We can dream, right?
What an inspiration! Go Kyle Go! Buckets and buckets of blessings on your...
