Don't Go with iGo

Man am I ever disappointed!

I recently had some very positive customer service experiences that I shared here. I was thinking when I wrote that blog that when someone WOW's me, I need to share that with others. But now, the exact opposite has happened and I wanted to share that as well - hopefully with the thought I might save you from the same fate.

Our personal laptop went south on us, transformer/charger the best I could tell since the light no longer came on and the computer wouldn't charge. So, while in a mall with a Radio Shack I thought why not stop in and purchase a new one.

The district manager happened to be in the store that day, and was the person who provided the help. I described the problem, and he quickly pointed me to the solution: an iGo charger unit. Of course the model he points me too is a rather expensive unit (from my perspective, but there was an even more expensive unit next to it) but I listened to all the advantages the model had so I purchased it. Prior to payment, I again mentioned my laptop make/model to confirm this was in fact the proper model (I had even brought the bad charger with me so I would have all the proper numbers).

So - back at home, install everything and...it's back to business!

But two weeks later, problems again. And, almost exact same problem.

This time, I load everything up and take it to my local computer guy, Tom Reeves of UpTime Computer Services, who quickly discovered the problem: "Power charger not outputting the proper voltage". The unit was rated properly, but it was not putting that amount out. Tom suggested I get it replaced since it was new and still under 30 day warranty.

Our communications with Radio Shack produced no resolve ("Contact the manufacturer" was there advice). Once they found out we hadn't saved the box...TWO WEEKS LATER (and who does that??)...they didn't want to provide us any help, or any suggestions. Unbelievable!!! So, first lesson for me: Never shop at Radio Shack again.

Then, we started contacting iGo. This was an even worse experience!

iGo offers a "contact us for repair" page, which includes in-warranty repair and out-of-warranty repair options. To make a very long story short; after multiple attempts (almost daily in fact) request at these links (yes, I even tried the "out-of-warranty" link) as well as links to them on other pages, the company never once contacted me to resolve the problem. NOT ONCE!

I would provide prior e-mail message notes and dates and to what e-mail address I'd used, as well as asking if I'm contacting the incorrect department to at the least point me in the right direction. Even with all this, I never received any communications from them.

So, a month-and-a-half later, I give up. I'm stuck with a defective laptop charger from a company that provides NO CUSTOMER SERVICE and then had to purchase another charger on top of all this (Tom did find me a great deal on one. Second lesson: I should have gone to him to start with versus trying all this on my own.). But, the laptop is up and running fine since returning from Tom's shop. Final lesson: I'll never shop with or recommend iGo to anyone, ever.

I'm pondering on how these two seemingly huge companies can completely ignore a customer and provide absolutely no customer service. And on top of all that, how they think in today's economy and with even a small voice like mine that can share with an audience (regardless of size), that the Voice of the Customer (VoC) isn't important.

I've very disappointed.

My question: What company have you elected to not do business with anymore because of a customer experience you had?


[Note: photo from http://blogs.microsoft.co.il/]

“Your Success Is My Business.”™

pondering - "to think about : reflect on"

Please share with others:

Kudos - Surefire and CRKT

I wanted to publicly give kudos to two companies that I recently had some repair service done with:

First and foremost - Columbia River Knife & Tool (CRKT). I've owned a "Ryan" folder from them for several years now. Some time back, I snapped the pocket clip off when exiting my vehicle when it got tangled with the seat belt. I had let this go for some time, but recently became anxious to correct the problem. I sent CRKT an e-mail asking for information on how to purchase the replacement clip (and of course mentioned how much I enjoy all their products) and they promptly replied with a request for my mailing address so they could, FREE OF CHARGE, send me a replacement clip along with the associated set-screws. INCREDIBLE! Now that's what I call great customer service and something, even though small, that will keep me coming back to do business with them again in the future!

The other is - Surefire. If you want blinding white light for personal defense, few companies are better than Surefire. This is another case where I've owned one of their products (Z3 Combat Light) for some time and then experienced a major malfunction (tail-cap on/off switch freeze) that required replacement. So, I contacted Surefire (but note it took three attempts) and they too requested my mailing address and will ship me, FREE OF CHARGE, a replacement tail-cap which will resolve my problems. AWESOME!

So, with such great customer service and a positive customer experience, I thought I was share the news about these companies with you.

THANKS!


“Your Success Is My Business.”™

The Positives About Negatives

"I hate customer complaints."
"Why are our customers always complaining?"
"Why would we want to have a social media page that allows customers to post negative comments about us?"

I'm heard this (and more) over & over from businesses all over America. I'm sure you have as well. All of these comments are with a negative thought process & with pessimistic vision for the future of that business.

But I on the other hand see huge positives in all these comments! How?

When your customer is calling you and complaining, all they're doing is begging for help. They want to do business with you, they want to give you their hard-earned money, all they want from you is to help them resolve their problem!

If a customer uses your social media page to post a complaint, here's your opportunity to show the world what great customer service you provide.

And if the customer has a legitimate problem with your business, don't you want to know where you're failing so you can correct it, regardless of how the message is delivered?

Negative comments & complaints are a gold mine for you to refine your company and move it to the next higher level of customer service and the customer experience. Don't miss the opportunites!

Until next time, remember “Your Success Is My Business.” ™

[Note: photo from http://www.all-about-forensic-science.com/]

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The "Squeaky Wheel" Philosophy

What if your customers never had to say "I won't stop because I'm the squeaky wheel" because you're delivering such legendary service they're always WOW'd? How is your customer service department stacking up?

Customer service is harder to deliver now more than any time in history. With the advent of the internet, social media, and the new "4-second rule" (hey, it was only recently that it was the 8-second rule) we've self-created a hyper-drive customer service society.

Regardless of the size of your company, customers expect a LEGENDARY CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE (including service) regardless of how THEY elect to connect with you. Whether they communicate with you via face-to-face 'walk in' business, via the phone, via e-message, via website self-service, via social media, via whatever method THEY elect, they are expecting your immediate attention to their requests. And when you don't deliver to their expectations, this is when they become "the squeaky wheel".

The days of your business electing to provide one or two customer interaction paths are a thing of the past. Customers will seek out the businesses that provide them the method in which they want to do business. Are you providing all the paths your customers want?

I'd like to hear any success stories you've had with implementing new customer service options for your customers.

THANKS! And until next time, remember “Your Success Is My Business.” ™

[Note: photo from http://www.businessalone.com/]

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Customer Experience - Red Carpet Treatment

Isn't the customer experience the responsibility of the entire company? Shouldn't everyone employed at a business consider themselves part of the customer experience team? Isn't the customer experience the main long-term focus of all businesses? All these questions are things I constantly ponder on and discuss with the business leaders/owners I interact with.

I recently read a statement that asked (rhetorically I'm hoping) 'when did the customer experience become the responsibility of only one group of a company?'

How true.

If your business isn't rolling out the red carpet to everyone the comes into contact with your company - whether face-to-face, via e-mail, phone call, social media, or whatever touch point you provide your customers - are you assuming that your competition isn't either?

I truly believe that most businesses are working on how to WOW! their customers and that there's nothing wrong with a customer experience team to create and deliver those processes. It's unfortunate, though, that there are businesses out there that don't take the time to focus on this. I read an article recently about how a well established business, with known problems in the past, continues to let people down in their customer experience.

How does your business focus on the customer experience? How do you hold yourself personally accountable for the customer experience, regardless of your company's process? What local company (preferably not some national chain) that you do business with is the best at the "customer experience"?

THANKS for reading! Until next time, remember “Your Success Is My Business.” ™

[Note: photos from http://3rdi.ie/]

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