Most readers of this blog know that I'm a huge Apple fan. So you won't be surprised to learn that in spite of my ongoing battle with AT&T
I was lined up with hundreds of others outside an AT&T store in
Colorado Springs early Friday morning in an attempt to be one of the
first owners of the new iPhone 3G.
As we got closer to the assigned hour (8 a.m.) the store manager kept walking down the line and counting the people. Each time she seemed to be more and more concerned. A rumor started circulating that the store had only 50 iPhones available. Sure that this wasn't the case, I used my Blackberry to email my new friend in AT&T's President's office and received an almost instantaneous response: "I would be shocked and amazed if any store ran out on the first day. My understanding is that all stores including Apple stores, would be fully stocked. Let me know if you find out otherwise." I breathed a sigh of relief and assured those in line around me that the rumor couldn't be true...the highest office at AT&T had told me we'd all be getting phones.
Once the line started moving and the first group of customers were inside the store I decided to go up to the front of the line and talk to a store manager myself. A man who identified himself as the "Market Manager" was standing at the door looking stressed...so I asked him if the rumor was true. He told me that he didn't know how many phones they had and if he did he wouldn't be allowed to share that information. While this didn't make much sense it satisfied me that he hadn't told anyone there were only 50 phones so I went back to my place in line.
Then, at about 8:15, the police cars arrived. Two squad cars sped up
to the front of the store and the officers got out and stood by the
entrance. The store manager, a young women, came out and stood with
the officers beside her. The crowd fell silent as she announced that
they had only 6 phones left. They had started the day with only 40
phones. She told us that any one else in line would be allowed to
place a "direct fulfillment" order and would receive their phones in
7-10 days. Then she dropped the bombshell...she announced that they
were expecting another shipment of phones the next morning and they
would be available on a first come first served basis. She suggested
lining up again on Saturday morning for a chance to get those phones.
I got on the phone to my contact at AT&T's Office of the President and he seemed shocked that any AT&T store had started the day with so few phones. He asked me to hold while he called other AT&T stores in the area to see if he could find a phone for me. He came back on the line after a few minutes and sheepishly admitted that every store he had been able to reach was in the same boat. They had each started the day with less than 50 phones and sold out in less than half an hour. He then offered to check stores in a wider area for me...and found out the same thing...they had sold out as well. He assured me that no one in his office knew that the stores were going to be so short of phones. Then he asked me to hold while he called the Apple Store in Denver for me...he came back on the line and told me that the Apple store had huge lines but the store manager was sure they had plenty of phones for everyone.
So, I decided to drive to Denver. Two hours later when I arrived at the Flat Irons Mall the line to get into the Apple Store was so long that it stretched out of the air conditioned mall and into an outdoor courtyard. As I chatted with those in line a similar pattern emerged. Pretty much everyone in line at this point had been at an AT&T store that had run out of phones...no one was happy with AT&T. But here at Apple, things were different.
The atmosphere in line was almost party like. Even though most of those in line with me had already had a disappointing morning there was a shared anticipation of the payoff to come. Apple store employees came by every half hour or so with status updates and bottled water. They assured us they had plenty of phones and apologized that the line was moving so slowly due to the AT&T activation process. After I'd been in line for an hour an Apple store manager came by with cold Starbucks drinks for everyone. It was really clear that the Apple employees were happy to see us and understood that we were sacrificing our day to be part of their product launch.
I was in line for five hours before I reached the store entrance. As I waited in the short line inside the store one of the managers came up and asked if I was an existing AT&T customer. I told him that I was and briefly explained my unfortunate situation. He asked me if customer service had been able to sort out my problem since he had heard stories from other's in line who had the same issue and AT&T customer service managers had issued them credits. I told him that I had been in contact with the "Office of the President" of AT&T and that they refused to help me. At this point the manager gave me a heartfelt apology. He told me that he was so sorry that AT&T treated customers that way and that it was really unfortunate that Apple's partner for the iPhone didn't value customers in the same way that Apple does. Here's the thing...I believe he really meant it. It wasn't patronizing...it was a heartfelt apology. He then introduced me to another employee and told that employee "look after this guy...he's had long day and he's a really important customer." Ten minutes later I walked out of the Apple Store with two shiny new iPhones.
So here's my rant:
Is it just me or did AT&T have weeks if not months to prepare for the iPhone launch. The fact that additional phones had already been shipped with a scheduled delivery date the day after the iPhone launch points clearly to a planned shortage. Did AT&T really want all their stores to run out of phones on the morning of the launch? Did they think that "selling out" of the iPhone would be good for publicity? What about the hundred's of customers who spent hours in line only to discover that they were being used as pawns in AT&T's marketing strategy.
As Seth Godin points out in his post yesterday on Scarcity: "The danger [with creating false scarcity] is that you can kill long-term loyalty. You can annoy your best customers. You can spread negative word of mouth. You can train people to hate your scarcity strategy (Apple did all four this weekend)." Unlike Seth I don't blame Apple for what happened. The vast majority of folks in line at the Apple Stores were people who had already tried to purchase an iPhone at an AT&T store. I think the blame lies firmly with AT&T...and that's why the only real problem with the iPhone is AT&T.
The day before the iPhone launch, after hearing my story, the manager of AT&T's "Office of the President" told me that he would love to help me but even he had to follow policy and he refused to issue me a credit. I was hoping that if I was able to reach someone high enough at AT&T that they would do what they all agree is the right thing and fix my problem. However, he proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that at AT&T policies comes before people.
In spite of this, because I love Apple, I took 12 hours out of my day to get my hands on a pair of iPhones.
Was it worth it? Yes, I love the iPhone...its probably the best electronic device I've owned. But after my ongoing challenges with AT&T, unfortunately its bittersweet.
What can we learn from this?
We love Apple because we believe that Apple respects us as customers and as people...we hate AT&T because their actions show they don't.
So, how do your customers feel about you?
The problem is I haven't purchased a classical CD from Barnes & Noble before...for that matter I don't think I've purchased a classical music CD from anyone...ever. I don't think I have one piece of classical music in my iTunes library...and I'm probably not about to start now. My wife on the other hand loves classical music. Perhaps if this email had gone to her...
Now...here's an email I received the same day from Amazon.com:
The main difference...Amazon is actually recommending things to me that I'm interested in. In fact I have four of those books on my shelf by my desk. Sometimes it seems as though Amazon can actually scan my bookshelves and see what I own. Here's the ironic part...two of those books I purchased at my local Barnes & Noble because I picked them up while browsing the store (I didn't have the patience to wait for shipping).
Barnes & Noble's problem is that they don't seem to keep track of what I'm buying and if they do they're not using the information to recommend products I might actually be interested in. The result...I treat B&N email as spam. On the other hand, I love to see what Amazon is going to recommend to me next. Amazon takes full advantage of the permission I've given them...and I order books from them on a weekly basis...often based on their recommendations. Barnes & Noble only wastes my time with the emails they send.
My suggestion to Barnes & Noble...stop charging $20 a year for a B & N Membership (their discount program that offers an in-store discount)...instead give the membership away for free (with the discount) and use the data I allow you to gather to send timely, relevant recommendations that are based on my previous purchases. Sure...send me those printable coupons...but send them for the latest Grisham novel (I bought the last two from you) not a special on classical music.
A year ago I purchased a SimpleHuman trash can for our kitchen from our local Target store. Its a nice looking, well designed piece. A couple of weeks ago one of the kids decided to push really hard on the foot pedal while holding the lid down and managed to break the pedal. I've been dreading the trip down into the Springs (a two hour round trip) to see if Target would help me out. This afternoon I finally took the time to find the SimpleHuman web site and within 2 clicks I had a toll-free customer service number (1-888-988-8880). I called the number and within 15 seconds I was talking with a RealHuman. He walked me through figuring out which trash can model I have and took my address and email (so he could send me a tracking number). 3 minutes later the call was over and I'm getting a redesigned replacement part at no cost to me. Turns out my trash can has a 5 year warranty.
I guess I'm so accustomed to mediocre customer service that a simple interaction like this makes a significant impression. This was really easy for SimpleHuman to do and they've turned a disappointed customer into a raving fan.
A great post from Michael Hyatt's blog From Where I Sit:
One of my favorite marketing gurus, David Ogilvy, once wrote, “Great marketing only makes a bad product fail faster.” How true.
I have argued for years that, “It’s the product, Stupid.” The secret to success in any business is to deliver a great, compelling product. No amount of marketing savvy, salesmanship, or operational excellence can overcome a weak product. This is especially true when it comes to publishing.
The purpose of marketing is to get a book launched—to prime the pump. But if people don’t want to read it and—more importantly—if they won’t recommend it to their friends, you’re hosed. You can’t spend enough money or be creative enough to overcome a lack of word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM).
