Is Twitter a good venue for customer service? While I've seen it work, the problem is that if your non-social media customer service sucks, your social media customer service will just suck more. I've written about customer service before and the companies I've called out for poor customer service … [Read more...]
How the Apple Genius Bar sold an iPhone 4S
Regular readers of this blog know I own and love my htc EVO 4G mobile device. I've even written a few posts about how to resolve the one drawback of the device and double its battery life. So why would a devoted Android fan have just pre-ordered an Apple iPhone 4S (which should arrive later today)? … [Read more...]
Social Media Marketing Mix
Achieving a balanced marketing mix in the social media space can be tricky business. Part of the problem is that most social media is completely free to utilize. Just add your time and effort and shazam you have a marketing campaign. As a result, your inclination might be to try and utilize as many … [Read more...]
Email, the most powerful weapon in your online arsenal
Social media tools like Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and even Facebook are pretty powerful weapons in your online arsenal but they haven't got anything on the old standby email. This post isn't even about email marketing and sending bulk emails to lists of folks. Instead, it's a story about how we've … [Read more...]
Customer service is simple count and communication
This post could have easily been a rant about a certain government agency charged with airport security and an airport I fly through frequently. If I'd chosen to go that way however, I'd have missed the customer service lesson in what happened to me and hundreds of other travelers one morning not … [Read more...]
Avis tries harder – really?
Recently, while visiting a client, he offered to have his driver take my rental car out and fill the gas tank so I could spend a few extra minutes with the customer. My client was also kind enough to pay for the gas; not realizing I needed the receipt to avoid Avis' $13.99 gas charge for driving … [Read more...]
Flagrant Acts of Customer Service
Recently I observed two flagrant acts of customer service and was surprised how little each person did, in my opinion, to be amazing. In both cases the service providers did what they did on the fly with no prompting or script. It came from the heart. Free advertising. While listening to an … [Read more...]
Customer Service Automation Should Help All Involved
A self service customer portal should enable both the customer and the service provider to have a better customer service experience. Recently I've written about Time Warner Cable's customer (dis)service (in my opinion) and Sprint's exceptional customer service. Today I want to share my experience … [Read more...]
Customer Service: Let's Solve The Problem Attitude
Last Monday I wrote about Time Warner's "No I Can't" customer service attitude. I didn't name Time Warner then, but after a week of the problem still not being solved I figured it was time. Sprint on the other hand, approached a recent issue I had with a "let's solve the problem" attitude. A happy … [Read more...]
Lack of Customer Service: The No I Can't Attitude
Today I experienced first hand customer service that is the exact opposite of the attitude I discussed in my Small Business 101: Yes I Can! post from a few days ago. In the course of a couple hours I heard more about how the problem couldn't be solved than how it could be. It started simply enough. … [Read more...]