They can get away with it. You can’t. I had to drop a package off at the post office this morning. Made a big sale on eBay, $6! I’m one of those rare people in the millennial generation who actually owns a printer, so I print my labels at home and get to skip the line. This always gets me lots of dirty looks as I walk past everyone impatiently waiting, set my package on Read more…
When you do things right, people won’t be sure you’ve done anything at all… I answered an interesting question today on video. Why do we only remember bad customer service experiences? (You can watch the video below) As I’m sure you already know, bad customer service stands out because of 2 things… It’s unique It’s emotionally charged. You ask a question about your account and the guy tells you to fornicate with farm animals, starts Read more…
Most get this backwards… The US stock market is extremely complex. Add in things like private companies, real estate, cryptocurrency, commodities, bonds, currency markets, and collectibles and it gets even worse. And each of these things, each company, each stock, each piece of data, is influenced by more factors than anyone could ever quantify. Even the most advanced computers don’t come close Investor behavior is also impacted by human psychology and social cues, and not Read more…
Your worst customers make themselves known with one question… “What’s your refund policy?” The REALLY bad ones ask follow up questions from there. “Can I cancel renewals as soon as I sign up?” “What happens if I cancel on the 364th day? Do I get a prorated refund?” “Do I get to keep (bonuses) when I cancel?” Anecdotally we all know these people tend to come back to bite us in the ass (hopefully not Read more…
And yes, people WILL return used underwear… There’s a lot of talk about refund policies. Should you offer one at all? How long? Most people, being average, settle somewhere in the middle. 30 or 60 days are common. Some keep it short. Some, especially on monthly continuity products, don’t allow refunds at all. But today, let’s look at the other extreme. Companies that offer seemingly crazy, unlimited refund periods. The biggest example here is Costco. Read more…
What good is a phone call if you are unable to speak? There are a lot of ridiculous names people have been giving their customer service agents lately… Customer success, customer happiness, support heroes (complete with capes), even ninjas. And at some level I get it. They’re trying to make an otherwise crappy, low paying, unrewarding job seem exciting. If they hire stupid enough people it might even work. But let’s go back to the Read more…
Last year, a woman in Georgia needed some toilet paper. A lot of toilet paper. 3 whole cases of the stuff. Not for horrible bowel problems (that we know of), but for an office building she managed. So, like most people who need… anything, she went on Amazon and placed the order. $88 for the toilet paper, 2 day shipping. She apparently didn’t read the fine print on the checkout page. Prime members don’t have Read more…
How good intentions could be hurting your customer service… My wife and I have some friends, a couple, who moved here from Australia. Over beers one time, we were talking about some of the differences between the US and Australia. People like to think of the US as very achievement and success oriented. Striving to get ahead, we want to be the best. But apparently in Australia, it’s not always like that. They have something Read more…
Getting the right balance between humans and systems… In customer service, we tend to think we always know best. Sure, there’s that old saying “the customer is always right,” but nobody really believes that, right? I’ve talked about that before, and I won’t rehash it here. But I’m talking about how we deal with our employees. We tend to think we can “systematize” everything. Take fallible human decision making out of the equation. Create a Read more…
It’s easier (and more profitable) than you think… Today is April Fools’ Day, but this is no joke. Actually it started that way. I read a Tweet of (intentionally) bad advice for business. One thing stood out to me… “Ignore Customer Service.” It stood out for two reasons. Because so many small online businesses actually DO seem to ignore customer service (to their peril.) Because if they did a few simple things right, they actually Read more…