The Lost Art of Customer Service

Keen Customer Service

Some of you may remember a rave I wrote a couple of years ago about my first pair of KEEN sandals.  Unfortunately they met a very sad end.  The following letter that I recently sent to Keen Footwear explains it all:

Keen Footwear Headquarters
926 NW 13^th Avenue, Suite 210
Portland, OR 97209

Attn: Customer Service

Dear KEEN Footwear,

I have a sad tale to share with you that I believe you may be able to provide a happy ending to.

I purchased my first pair of KEEN sandals right after they came out.  I wore them every day.  I wore them to work , to play, and even to a wedding.  I blogged about them.  I told my friends about them.  My friends started buying them.  I gave pairs to my friends.  I later added a pair of your clogs to my collection (I needed something a little more formal for weddings and work) and I purchased your hiking shoes the month they came out.  Needless to say I’m pretty keen about my KEENS. 

So, let me get to the sad part of the story.  Earlier this summer I was exploring a field of poison ivy in my sandals (you may be thinking this was not the smartest thing to do, and you’d be right).  As you can imagine I then suffered from a really bad poison ivy breakout.  It took me almost 2 months to recover.  But recover I did.  Several months later I went for a walk in my sandals and the next day I had another poison ivy break out on my right foot, right where the sandal strap lies.  I washed my keens thoroughly by hand and tried again a few weeks later.  Another outbreak of itching hell.  So, I washed my keens in the washing machine, twice.  Alas, they still seem to have enough of the poison ivy oil in them to give me a break out.  Unfortunately, each break out  lasts for over a week, so I’m loathe to try any more cleaning methods, even for my first pair of KEENS with all of their sentimental value.

I’m enclosing guilty pair of sandals in the box from the new pair of Ashland’s that I purchased today at REI.  Here’s my plea.  Would you consider replacing them for me?  I know they are more than two years old and I’m pretty sure that your warranty doesn’t cover poison ivy outbreaks, but I thought I might get some special treatment since I’m one of your best customers (I haven’t worn anything but KEENs for over 2 years).

Sincerely,

Jonathan Dale

P.S. I strongly suggest that you don’t try on the enclosed sandals unless you have a bottle of calamine handy.

P.P.S.  My mailing address is: Jonathan Dale, XXXXXXX, Woodland Park, CO 80863 and a wear size 9.5 to 10 depending on the KEEN model.

And what did I receive in the mail today?

Now that's customer service!!!

The Buck Stops Here

We just ordered Anna some Heelys from Zappos and they arrived with no wheels (kind of defeats the purpose doesn't it?).  Well, no problem, a quick call to Zappos customer service (toll-free number listed on the website and the receipt, take note TARGET.com) and in less than a minute I was talking with a real person, Craig.  Craig was very apologetic and arranged for an overnight shipment of a new pair of shoes (with wheels this time).  He also told me how I could print out a postage paid UPS label in order to return the old pair.

So here's where this gets fun.  I took the box to my local independent shipping store in order to drop off the package.  When I handed the man the box he said to me, "That'll be one dollar."  I said "What?"  He said "Its a package drop off fee."  He then proceeded to explain to me how UPS had changed their policy and no longer paid independent shipping centers like him a buck for accepting these types of postage paid packages.  To protect their bottom line they had decided to pass this cost onto their customers.  I started to walk out the door with my package (there's a UPS store two miles up the street), but then it hit me.  I want this guy to stay in business and he was about to lose me as a customer, forever, over a buck.  So I proceeded to tell him what I thought of his policy.

You see, I send FedEx packages about twice a week.  And whenever its convenient I do it through his store, I know that FedEx pays him a per package fee, and I like supporting local businesses, even if there is a FedEx drop box just down the street from him.  I also make copies and occasionally need last minute office supplies (I live 15 miles from a real office supply store). 

Its not about the dollar that he wasn't going to make from UPS on my "free" shipment, its about all the other business I do there.  I asked him if he knew how often I shipped FedEx from his store and he said "No" (that's a whole other rant there).  I probably spend an average of $100 a month on postage and shipping and another $50-100 on faxing, copying and other convenience services (yes I can do all those from home, but I'm sometimes just lazy).  So that's at least $100 a month in business or $1200 a year.  Or $12,000 over the next decade.  Something tells me he wasn't looking at it that way.  This is the only postage paid UPS package I've sent this year.  However, there's not another store in town that handles FedEx and I use FedEx all the time, and he was about to lose me as a customer.

I wouldn't have minded if he had explained the situation to me and even if he'd had a suggested donation or a tip jar or something.  But to alienate his customers with an unexpected fee is ridiculous.  And, by his own admission, I'm not the only customer who has been pissed off by this.  The difference is, I may be the only one who stopped and told him what I really think, most would just leave pissed and never come back. 

The owner kept telling me how they had been screwed by UPS and how UPS wanted to put them out of business.  What I don't understand is why that had to become my problem.  What if instead of worrying about the dollar he wasn't getting from UPS he gave every customer that dropped off a UPS package a dollar off coupon for anything in the store.  Why couldn't he provide free UPS drop off as a service to his customers and figure out a way to make money from the free traffic that UPS is bringing into his store.

Now, to his credit, the proprietor, listened politely, assured me he'd discuss it with his wife (who he says is the real decision maker) and offered to take my package for free.  I left him with the package, a dollar (for listening to my rant) and a lot to think about.  The other customer and the FedEx delivery driver standing in the store gave me delighted smiles as I left the store.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think this business owner was trying to lose me as a customer, its just that the solution they come up with to deal with the loss of payment from UPS was a bad one.  While I'm picking on him, I wonder why they've never taken the time to ask me what services would be beneficial to me as a local business owner (I've got lots of ideas).  Interestingly enough, one of the two times I've been to the local UPS Store (on the other side of town), the owner Sue took the time to get my name, find out what I do and set me up with an monthly billing account.  She even asked me what other services they could offer that would benefit me.  Even with all of that great customer service, I still go to the place thats three minutes closer to my house.  You see, my business, was the closer places to lose, and they almost did.

The Lost Art of Customer Service

Look for this to be a regular feature at jondale.com. Levi and I are collecting research for a new book, The Lost Art of Customer Service, which will help companies understand the importance of looking after their customers. We'd love you stories and feedback about both good and bad customer service experiences.

So here goes:

Sure, whatever!

I'll be honest, the verdict is still out on Sprint at this point. Let's just say I've had a lot of problems. It amazes me that a company that I pay over $2500 a year to (over the next decade that's $25,000) can't figure out how to bill me correctly for Internet service on my phone.

Yesterday, I spent over 2 hours talking to "customer service" trying to resolve billing problem. Thanks to number portability, we now all have a choice. You see they (the cell phone providers) used to have us by the balls because if we moved to another provider, we lost our phone number. Not so any more. You can move between providers and from a land line to a wireless phone and keep your old number.

To make a long story short, I finally told them I was writing about customer service and suddenly they put me through to a very friendly supervisor who apologized for all the problems and promised to have someone in the Customer Relations (maybe the should call it the PLEASE DON'T LEAVE, PRETTY PLEASE) Department call me to resolve the problem. If they haven't called me by Wednesday, I'm switching to AT&T. Ah, the power of choice :) I guess we'll see what happens.

Have you had a good or bad experience with Sprint or another wireless provider. Make a comment!

Look for this to be a regular feature at jondale.com. Levi and I are collecting research for a new book, The Lost Art of Customer Service, which will help companies understand the importance of looking after their customers. We'd love you stories and feedback about both good and bad customer service experiences.

So here goes:

Sure, whatever!

I'll be honest, the verdict is still out on Sprint at this point. Let's just say I've had a lot of problems. It amazes me that a company that I pay over $2500 a year to (over the next decade that's $25,000) can't figure out how to bill me correctly for Internet service on my phone.

Yesterday, I spent over 2 hours talking to "customer service" trying to resolve billing problem. Thanks to number portability, we now all have a choice. You see they (the cell phone providers) used to have us by the balls because if we moved to another provider, we lost our phone number. Not so any more. You can move between providers and from a land line to a wireless phone and keep your old number.

To make a long story short, I finally told them I was writing about customer service and suddenly they put me through to a very friendly supervisor who apologized for all the problems and promised to have someone in the Customer Relations (maybe the should call it the PLEASE DON'T LEAVE, PRETTY PLEASE) Department call me to resolve the problem. If they haven't called me by Wednesday, I'm switching to AT&T. Ah, the power of choice :) I guess we'll see what happens.

Have you had a good or bad experience with Sprint or another wireless provider. Make a comment!