I'm Ranting......
I have to admit that I'm kind of worked up right now. I just found out that I have been wasting my time tracking down a small issue because one of our vendors didn't share a critical piece of information. I'm not going to get into details exactly, can't give up trade secrets, but there are some serious business/customer service issues worth discussing.
As I was tracking down the problem it became apparent that the issue was on our end. So after wasting effort and time, I called the vendor that supplies us the particular software.
What the guy said next floored me. "Wait,I think we have a paper about that problem that explains how to fix it."
I fire back, "You knew you had a problem and didn't pro-actively contact me?"
This is the type of stuff that drives me crazy. Had this vendor taken the initiative and contacted us and helped us fix it, it would have saved a lot of time, frustration and heartache. Now that I know that it could have been fixed possible several weeks or months ago, I'm just really disappointed in this company.
On top of this, I had another issue from a different vendor. We had an "upgrade" last week. Well, something is not working now and I called to inquire. They are aware that there is a "bug" in the software and hope to have a fix later this week. Wouldn't an e-mail sent by them notifying me about the "bug" been an easy thing to do? I'd be informed and I'd feel like they are looking out for me and my company. I don't understand why businesses don't get more pro-active in communicating with their customers. Are they afraid to talk when the news isn't all great?
Years ago I bought a suit at a well known department store during a sale. It was in the early '90s when I lived in New Orleans. I went to pick up the suit on the date promised. When I got there, the salesman told me that the suit wasn't ready. I then had a chat with the manager. He told me that they were overwhelmed with the number of suits they sold and it just wasn't ready. He was apologetic, but I wasn't satisfied. Why did I put my name and phone number on the claim check then? I told him that they should have called me and saved me the trip. Had they called, I would have not wasted the gas and the time to make that first trip and I would have felt like they cared about me. I know it would have required some effort, but the goodwill that would have been generated would have been worth it.
I think we all want to feel we're special. When I'm your customer, treat me with respect and you'll have earned my loyalty forever, treat me with disregard and you won't be seeing me again. After all, it's not business, it's personal!
As I was tracking down the problem it became apparent that the issue was on our end. So after wasting effort and time, I called the vendor that supplies us the particular software.
What the guy said next floored me. "Wait,I think we have a paper about that problem that explains how to fix it."
I fire back, "You knew you had a problem and didn't pro-actively contact me?"
This is the type of stuff that drives me crazy. Had this vendor taken the initiative and contacted us and helped us fix it, it would have saved a lot of time, frustration and heartache. Now that I know that it could have been fixed possible several weeks or months ago, I'm just really disappointed in this company.
On top of this, I had another issue from a different vendor. We had an "upgrade" last week. Well, something is not working now and I called to inquire. They are aware that there is a "bug" in the software and hope to have a fix later this week. Wouldn't an e-mail sent by them notifying me about the "bug" been an easy thing to do? I'd be informed and I'd feel like they are looking out for me and my company. I don't understand why businesses don't get more pro-active in communicating with their customers. Are they afraid to talk when the news isn't all great?
Years ago I bought a suit at a well known department store during a sale. It was in the early '90s when I lived in New Orleans. I went to pick up the suit on the date promised. When I got there, the salesman told me that the suit wasn't ready. I then had a chat with the manager. He told me that they were overwhelmed with the number of suits they sold and it just wasn't ready. He was apologetic, but I wasn't satisfied. Why did I put my name and phone number on the claim check then? I told him that they should have called me and saved me the trip. Had they called, I would have not wasted the gas and the time to make that first trip and I would have felt like they cared about me. I know it would have required some effort, but the goodwill that would have been generated would have been worth it.
I think we all want to feel we're special. When I'm your customer, treat me with respect and you'll have earned my loyalty forever, treat me with disregard and you won't be seeing me again. After all, it's not business, it's personal!
posted by Howard Bernstein, 9 Weather Now at
12:51 PM
1 Comments:
I'm with you on this one, Howard. Sometimes businesses fail to recognize that without us customers, they wouldn't survive! Hope you have a better day today.
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