In my humble opinion, this is misguided, and since its my blog, I get to disagree. Instead, I believe companies are simply anti-customer. By anti- customer I don’t mean they don’t want customers- that would just be crazy talk. Without customers we don’t have a business- right? In todays environment its easy to point the blame to the newest channel to the mix- social media. But let’s face it, companies who display this behavior are simply afraid of interacting customers on any level in any channel. The companies who get it, Apple, Nordstrom’s, Zappos, would embrace smoke signal communication channels with their customers if it meant improving their customers experience an ultimately their brand. Don’t blame the channel, instead look at the company and its leadership. Chris Brogan’s article
Check it out!

Until very recently, I had been a picture-perfect ideal Cox Cable customer for over ten years. I do believe I must have been considered very valuable to them. Here’s what I mean by “ideal”: 1) I’ve never paid a bill late, not even once; 2) I never call to complain about anything, even outages (call it laziness); 3) the only times I do call are to purchase UFC fights- increase their wallet share; and 4) all of my services are bundled with them- internet, phone, cable. What more could Cox ask for? Surely there must be some sort of gold star next to my name in their customer database, reminding them how very low-maintenance, reliable and profitable I am.

A few months ago, I started to question some of the charges on the cable portion of the bill, which I had never really looked at in much detail before. The list of charges, surcharges, taxes, and other miscellaneous items went on and on. And on. I called Cox to get an explanation as to what some of this stuff meant. In the course of that conversation, I asked if there was any way, given my history with them and the premium bundle we had with them, to decrease our monthly bill. The agent was very polite and courteous, as they always are at Cox, but the answer was a definite no. She said they have fixed pricing and they do not negotiate or compete with any other providers.

A couple of months later, I gave it another try. We all know that when you call a contact center, 9 times out of 10 you will get a different answer. So, working a system I am well acquainted with, I gave it another shot. This agent, as polite as the first agent I had spoken to, gave me the same response. 

Earlier this week, we switched to Qwest for everything - Direct TV, phone and internet. I called Cox to cancel, once the Qwest stuff was successfully up-and-running, and THIS time when I called and said I was canceling because of their prices, they transfered me to “the department that could help me” (aka Retention). The very nice retention lady looked at my account and said I was such a great, long-time customer and they certainly didn’t want to lose my business. She promptly offered to cut my monthly bill by 25%. So now that I was cancelling, they valued me enough to discount my bill. Did my value with them INCREASE now that I was cancelling?  

Hmmm….if Cox had treated me right while I was STILL their customer, and not when I’d already moved on and checked-out, then I’d be with them today.  

Like most consumers I am looking for companies that make good on their promises - what they say in the sales process better be consistent with my experience as a customer. If they promise me that service and support is accessible, reliable and effective and in the event of problems they will be there for me, then I expect that to happen. When companies don’t fulfill their promises, customers talk about it. And these companies can lose someone’s business, and not even know it, because of what people are saying about them. Take this example:

About a year ago, I was online researching PC’s - in particular there was a Toshiba model I was considering. After only a few minutes of online hunting and pecking, I found a forum dedicated to this exact model that said that it had a really bad flaw. Something was wrong with the operating system that caused it to power down at random times with no warning. After more searching, I quickly found several other forums talking about the same problem. A proliferation – people were all over the web talking about this! They were upset that this problem existed at all, but more significantly, they were frustrated by the way Toshiba was handling the problem. Which was, uh, not at all.

Customers had contacted Toshiba, navigated IVR mazes, waited on-hold forever, got transferred numerous times, and spoke to several people, only to be told that Toshiba did not think there was a problem. Come again? I mean, there were hoards of forums dedicated to this exact issue. So after Toshiba refused to listen, people turned to the all-powerful web to a) ask for help and b) warn others. What did I learn? That this problem had been going on for a while, but Toshiba insisted there was no problem with their PC- it must be user error. Who do you think I believed: the customers or the company? (By the way, it turns out there was a valid problem and some technical geeks who obviously cared more than Toshiba posted the fix online).

In this case, what I saw on the web was so powerful that I decided not to buy the Toshiba notebook and, even further, I decided not to buy any Toshiba products ever. I did not even personally experience the problem with Toshiba, and I had made my mind up to never buy from them.

So, what if Toshiba had been right and there really WASN’T a problem with the notebook? What if it was in fact some mass user error? The outcome for me would have been the same. I would have read the forums and I would have believed my fellow consumers and I still wouldn’t have purchased the PC. Fair? Maybe not, but it’s the reality of the situation and companies need to deal with it. Customers are a powerful voice in judging companies and being a promoter or a wet blanket. 

On the flip side, the powerful customer voice can also WIN someone’s business through the same phenomena. Companies cannot control what people are saying, but they can certainly influence it – should take advantage of it even. Word is going to get out either way, so create effective customer experiences and what gets out will be what you want people to hear.   

I own a CPO Volvo S80, yes, its a total Mom car, which is a subject for another blog. When we purchased this car I was 8 months pregnant with our second child- weak moment, needless to say. We lived in Tucson, AZ at the time. The dealer promised me service fit for a queen, pull up, we take care of everything, waiting room that was touted almost as exquisite as a resort.

Yeah, who doesn’t tell the REALLY pregnant women what she wants to hear, just to get her out the door. Well, it was true, no matter the issue, I would call, have my call handled promptly, get an appointment quickly, head over to the dealer. Consistently, I was met at the entry by a smiling person offering coffee or water, a brief wait in the “waiting area”, which, while not a resort was really nice. Always in less than 1 hour later I was back in my car on my way, with a fixed and clean- they wash my car for me, every time! If my wait was longer than an hour, the dealer would offer me a car, and if the car would not start, they would come and get it- no kidding.

Fast forward 1 year, we move back up to Phoenix, kids, dogs, big Dirk’s moving truck and my Volvo all make the trip. I contact my local Volvo dealer, there is 1 here in Phoenix- no lie. First, I get 82 questions about me, my car, my warranty, scrutinizing my situation as if I drove south of the border and stole the car and now wanted service- does this happen? I make my first appointment, off I go, up to Scottsdale to the “Miracle Mile” where all the car dealers are- don’t get me started on the issues with this distinction…..I am again treated as if I am intruding on some sort of Volvo club. Very soon, I realize I didn’t spend my $$ at this particular Volvo dealer, but I paid good $$ for a CPO Volvo with a bumper to bumper warranty, am I not a Volvo customer? or am I a Tucson Volvo customer?

My most recent visit is my favorite, as I am standing under this HUGE sign that says- Volvo Express Service. Curious, in the now 2 years I have been taking my car to the Volvo dealer have I ever received Express Service. I’m not sure what Express Service is to this Volvo dealer, but for me Express is 30 to 60 minutes. On my most recent visit, I waited 1.5 hours to be told, I needed tires for my right swerving car. As a matter of fact, my “tires are so bad, they are like square blocks”, I paused with a vision of the Flintstones in my head, while the ever pleasant service advisor tells me how much new tires, to replace my squares ones, will costs me. She tells me it will take another 2-3 hours, and off I’ll be on my way, again with a big smile.

I jump my laptop (the dealer offers free Wifi- since clearly you can check in, but you can never leave!) and order tires from Discount tire close to my house. I declined the tires, and ask for my car, risking life and limb to drive on my square tires.

It takes ANOTHER 45 minutes to bring my car around? Recap- I waited over 2 hours to be told I have square tires. You want the clincher, my car was in for expensive service, one of those 60k mile “check up/tune up” which costs me almost $500, just 3 months prior to this visit. Nobody mentioned any concerns with my tires….nothing, not a word. Now, I’ll grant you I am not a mechanic, or tire expert, but I am fairly certain my tires did not become square in 3 months, I am confident I would have noticed something amiss, and would avoid risking my life and that of my children driving around for the last 3 months.

Result? I drove to Discount Tire, walked in, was greeted quickly, paid for my tires, about $200 less, and was out the door in less than an hour.

This experience has so many customer experience issues, here are just a few to consider. Most companies don’t realize the expectations they set with customers thru their messaging up to and including signs posted- like Express Service. Customer loyalty is more often than not related to the service received, not just the product. I love my Volvo, however, I will NOT ever buy another one, because the service stinks so bad, the quality and value of the product does not have enough of an impact on my loyalty.

On the opposite side, Discount Tire provided really great service, yet their messaging indicates Discount- maybe my expectations were lowered, no matter, I got great service, a good product at a good value, and Discount Tire has a new loyal customer.

Bottom line is be deliberate, think ahead with your messaging, and ensure you can deliver or you should consider adjusting your messaging.

Last, important point is, a customer is a customer of the brand- Volvo, Apple, Safeway, your customers are NOT customers of a particular location, they expect to be treated the same no matter where or how they engage your brand. This is at the core of customer experience management, if you cannot recognize a customer and have all their information and history across your touch points, you risk losing customers- quickly.

In week 8 I contacted the store, and got a message saying they were going out of business- Ugh, now what? I kept calling, no luck, so I drove to the store, and located the manager.  She let me know times were tough, but she would give me a check for what I had paid and then get the bed we wanted at her new store.  Well, this was a bit confusing, was my bed on order or not? Since it takes 8 weeks, had someone already begun working on it? I called Stanley directly, the answer was….no order for me.  Ugh, a few choice words, not suitable for my kids to hear, and a realization that my little one will be celebrating her 3rd birthday with no new bed.  An apology from the store was just not enough, I had been lied to, my $$ held for 8 weeks, and now a big disappointment for my 3 year old.  This experience could have turned out very differently with a few common sense service principles.  Watch for my next blog on how the story finally ends. 

We bought a sofa sectional from the RoomStore. The salesman said that there was a special promo that day- with the purchase of that particular sofa we can pick out a free coffee table. We got talked into buying the “Seven Year Stain & Scratch” warranty. I’ll never make that mistake again. Anyhow…about a year later we noticed a big old scratch on the table. I confidently called the Stain & Scratch people - some company out of Florida who is in cahoots…I mean trusted business partnership…with the RoomStore. I followed their complex and convoluted instructions: making copies of various documents, filling out confusing forms, faxing in everything not once, not twice, but three times. Good times. Only to have them finally say that the table does not qualify for the warranty because it was free.

The next few months of my life were dedicated to one mission and one mission only…well make that one of TWO missions: 1) get Stain & Scratch to do their job and get the scratch out of my table or give me a replacement table as the terms of the warranty stipulate or 2) get the RoomStore to reimburse me for the warranty or replace the table.

It was a hideous experience. Between phone calls to the RoomStore, visits to the RoomStore, phone calls to Stain & Scratch, faxes to Stain & Scratch, accusations, tempers flaring (mainly mine), and finger pointing I turned into another person. I swear, I had serious sociopathic thoughts about the RoomStore. They refused to help us. They refused to acknowledge that their salesman sold us a warranty that was not going to be honored by their partner. They refused to talk to anyone at Stain & Scratch so I could get out of the middle of it. They refused to give us a new table. They never once returned phone calls. One time we went to the store to talk to the manager, who we could see sitting in her office with the door shut, and she made us wait for about an hour.

After 6 months, and only when I faxed a note to the corporate office, saying that I was going to the “5 on your side” or “12 on your side” or whatever the local news station’s vigilante justice program is called- where you basically get really bad press everywhere they broadcast, did I get any iota of customer service. They sent over a new table the next day, hauled away the damaged goods, and not a single word of apology. I have obviously not set foot in a RoomStore to this day. Nor will I ever. And I hope none of my friends do…although I know someone just bought a sofa there yesterday. My only advice to her was: don’t buy the warranty and don’t expect any follow-up service if you have any issues.