Customer Service Archives

Michael Prospero over at Fast Company points to a "must read" for anyone who's ever had to deal with the language barriers and interminable holds faced by Dell computer customer service.

Like Michael, I'm not a fan of suing someone to get results, but having experienced the challenges with Dell's customer service many times (we have 6 laptops and one desktop -- all Dell -- in the immediate family), I sympathize with the disgruntled customer on this one.

What could Dell have done differently?

For the sake of good customer service and favorable PR, both of which directly impact the bottom line of any business, the more appropriate, not to mention econonmical, response would have been to simply replace the customer's lost laptop (with a brand new laptop, not some refurbishment) and honor the balance of the extended warranty for which he paid. At the very least, it would have been much cheaper than a high-priced law firm in New Jersey.

Your customers are your greatest asset; without them, you have no business. The old service principle "the customer is always right" might not always be the case, but if you want to keep customers, you should at least give them the benefit of the doubt. Remember, a happy customer may tell a friend or two, but an unhappy customer will tell everyone!

Josh Hallett points to an article in which he was quoted in the Florida Times Union over the weekend. The article underscores the power a disgruntled customer can have to affect, positively or negatively, a company's reputation.

Dissatisfied with the response from Shands Hospital to his concern over a post-surgical infection, a patient set up a "Sucks" website and has encouraged other disgruntled patients to post their stories. A Shands VP's "no comment" response to the reporter doesn't do much to enhance the hospital's image in this story.

Most people tend to read "no comment" as "we have something to hide." A better response may have been "Unfortunately, the patient privacy laws prohibit us from discussing individual cases, but I can say that we are dedicated to patient care, as U.S. News and World Report continually recognizes by identifying Shands as one of the best hospitals in the nation."

On a side note, I was pleasantly surprised to see Jonathan Bernstein also quoted throughout the article. Jonathan and I belong to a PR discussion group and he always offers keen insight and valuable advice.

What does your correspondence say about you? Does it say you are knowledgeable, professional and detail-oriented or does it imply you are mediocre, sloppy, and inattentive?

How you present yourself in written form says a lot about you.

I just received a shocking (and sad) marketing pitch letter from the CEO of a company with whom I regularly do business. It was shocking because it is full of typos and grammatical errors, including sentence fragments in random places and bold highlighting used to emphasize almost one-half the letter. It was sad because it was obviously a mass-blast snail mail letter, which means it not only went to all the CEO's colleagues and current clients but probably prospective clients as well. It is a very poor representation of the CEO's abilities and the company's capabilities.

If this were my first contact with the company, I would be unimpressed and toss it out. It was obviously thrown together in a hurry without much thought as to whether the points were coherent or the context made sense. If they are this careless with their own work, how careless might they be with mine? Now, I happen to know the team is extremely conscientious and they produce top quality work. But unfortunately, those prospective clients may never give them a chance.

Here are a few tips for making sure your correspondence accurately reflects your capability and that of your company:

1. Develop a theme and stick to it.
Determine your main point then stay focused on it. If you absolutely must include multiple points, separate them into different paragraphs. Order the paragraphs with the most important point first and provide good transitions between paragraphs so they flow smoothly.

2. When in doubt, check it out!
If you aren't sure how to spell a word, DON'T GUESS! If you don't have a dictionary close by, use an online version.

3. Don't rely on SpellCheck.
I once had a woman apply for a public relations position. Her use of SpellCheck had her applying for a position in a more nefarious field (remove the "l" in public and you get the idea). At least SpellCheck is consistent: her cover letter, resume, and application all had the same mistake. She didn't get the job.

4. Use emphasis sparingly.
If you want to capture your reader's attention, bold and italic formatting are certainly options, but use them judiciously. If you have multiple points you want to emphasize, consider putting them into a bulleted or numbered list. Highlight the point, then include your supporting or explanatory statement(s) as I have done in this list.

5. Use real words.
I've mentioned it before but it bears repeating: irregardless is not a word. And while we're on the subject, "nother" is not a word or a contraction either. "Whole 'nother" is an incorrect phrase. "Whole other" or "another" is correct when talking about something separate or additional.

6. Mix it up.
If you must use the same word more than once in your communication piece, consider synonyms. If you can't think of one, try an online thesaurus.

Additional online resources:

Purdue University's online writing lab has several basic primers, including one on business writing.

Oregon State University also offers Business Writing Help online.

Washington State University has a great list of common errors in English.

One of the joys in owning your own business is the ability to choose the people with whom you will work and the work that you will do. This ability translates into a huge benefit for both you and the client. You get to work with people you enjoy and they get a professional genuinely excited about the work.

On a rare occasion however, you may have a client who turns out to be a total nightmare and you're left pulling your hair out. You've exhausted all options and there's nothing else you can do. It's time to fire the client.

Todd Defren shares his views on firing clients on the PR Squared blog (I was amused to see his thoughts were posted on Valentine's Day.

Kevin Airgid offers some good solutions for "Managing the Monster" over at Creative Behavior.

Fortunately, I've only had to fire a few clients since launching Elizabeth Charles & Associates nearly ten years ago. The first time was a bit scary as I was still getting my business up and running, but years later, I count it as one of the best business decisions I made in those early years. The amount of time and effort saved during the first week after parting company gave me a chance to breathe. Without the unnecessary stress, I was able to think more clearly and focus more attention on my own business. It paid off - I landed two new clients in less than two weeks!

So how do you recognize the signs of a potential client from hell? I'll talk about that next time.

Our air conditioner died last night. We kept it on life support longer than most would survive (or most people would try) but even with our nurture, care, and "please hold out until we sell the house next year" pleas, when it's time to go, it's time to go. Suffice it to say it's gotten very warm in here.

We've used the same a/c company for years but have been very disappointed with their service lately, so it's no surprise the message I left at 7:25 a.m. has yet to be returned.

Fortunately, I called Marquis Air (recommended by a friend) at 7:40 a.m., told them I had a meeting from 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. and would be home at 11:30. At 11:35 a.m., Art, the owner -- the owner of the company -- called to say they were on their way. This guy understands customer service!

Sure enough, the owner arrived with his key tech. They assessed the situation, ordered the new system (yep, we have to replace the entire system), and will be back tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. to get started. The owner even called this evening to let me know they had loaded the new system on their truck tonight so they could pull right out tomorrow. I like these guys already!

UPDATE 7/15/05 5:00 p.m.: It's slowly beginning to cool off in here. The guys from Marquis Air had the new unit unloaded and were pulling the old unit off the cement slab when I opened the garage door at 6:50 this morning. They finished the job shortly after Noon, which is what they had estimate yesterday, so I was able to make it to the Chamber luncheon. We have a new a/c company! And I'm a walking, talking marketing machine around the neighborhood for them now, too.

I was tempted to write a response "sharing" my problem: companies that totally disregard their long-term clients. I could give him a "generous discount" on my services but wait...I don't discount my fees because I don't discount my service level. Maybe I'll just offer a free consultation from Common Business Sense 101: "Revamp your customer service program. The cost of gaining a new client is a heavy multiple of the cost of retaining a good client."