Tag Archives: Customer retention

February 25, 2013 · 10:39 am

FailOS

The telephone went out at my brother’s house the other day. This hasn’t been an unusual occurrence and is usually resolved by a call to the folks at Verizon, his telephone provider. One pole in his area seems to have an issue and service will just go out for no apparent reason. When his line failed the other day, I called Verizon to let them know. That’s when things took an interesting turn that is a great example of what businesses can’t do if they want to survive.

1980s Dodge Ram Van Verizon

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“It’s because you have copper wire” the customer service rep informed me.  “You need to upgrade to fiber optic – have you heard of FiOS?”  Yes I have, but that wasn’t solving the issue since repair couldn’t come anyway.  Since no one is in the house most of the time, we’d have to call to schedule an appointment when someone was going to be there.

Fast forward a couple of days.  I was going to be in the house so I called Verizon.  Of course, the numbers listed on their website were not correct – I was instructed to call another number (why can’t a PHONE company switch you –  strike one).  When I got the rep on the phone and said I’d like to get a repair person to the house I was told the rep could “see your house is on old copper wire.  We need to upgrade you to fiber optic cable.”  I told him I was fully aware of FiOS and just wanted the telephone service I already had to be fixed.  Not internet.  Not TV.  Land line telephone.  After a few more minutes of him telling me all about the virtues of a service I didn’t want or need, he gave me the number for repair.  I stopped him and asked if he could just switch me over?  “”No, we’re a call center (which means he’s probably off shore) and I can’t do that.”  In other words, I called the repair number and was sent to a sales center to sell me FiOS.

Land lines are an endangered species.  It’s a once-ubiquitous business that’s declining rapidly.  Rather than selling the service on the merits – clearer voice, much better reliability in an emergency such as a storm – and providing excellent customer service to those still paying for the service, Verizon seems interested only in pushing FiOS.

This is what no business that wants to be successful can do – ignore the voice of the customer.  It’s not about what you’re selling – it’s about what I need when I interact with you.  There is no chance you’re selling me additional services when you demonstrate that you won’t service the ones I have.  Many businesses still put themselves above the consumer.  We can see it in their messaging, paricularly in social media.  It’s all about the brand, it’s all about the sale.  Sorry, guys.  Not anymore.

I fixed the telephone line myself – it turns out there was a short in the alarm box that connected to the telephone line.  It took about 3 minutes to figure it out and to fix it.  We’re in the process of selling the house and I want to be the one to call Verizon to turn off the service.  I suspect if this is how they treat all their customers that I’m not alone in wanting to make that call.

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November 6, 2012 · 9:59 am

Consumer Supression

Happy Election Day! I hope all of you here in the U.S. have voted or will do so before the day’s end. While I’ve often stated we don’t do politics in this space, I’m going to make an exception today and talk about something that’s been going in the political world that I find repugnant. I can hear you all wondering which of the hundred of things from which one can choose I’ll mention!

I’m doing so because today a business point makes the political one (usually it’s the other way around here) and they’re both instructive   Think about your business and businesses in general for a minute.  I know of very few that discourage customers.  Some country clubs and co-op apartment complexes won’t do business with consumers wanting in.  Some professionals in the service sector – doctors, some consultants – are picky about accepting new clients.  That’s about it.  I’m not talking about an overbooked hotel or a full restaurant – they’ll take your money but they don’t have room.  Even when business is going well we all need new customers to keep it going.  We’re not in the business of doing anything that suppresses consumers from becoming customers.  Turning people away in good times discourages them from ever coming back, particularly when we need them the most.

Government’s consumers are voters.  Part of what each citizen receives for their tax dollars along with roads, schools, and protection is the right to vote.  The ability to influence everything else that the government does.  The more citizens that participate in the voting process the more likely it is that those who are elected will reflect the majority will of the people, which is a good thing in my mind.

That’s why the efforts by some to suppress the vote is not only repugnant, but short-sighted.  Government needs customers – voters – just as any business does.  Curtailing voting hours, sending out misinformation about polling places, and positioning poll-watchers to intimidate voters discourage customers.  No business can succeed doing that and maybe that’s why government is failing in many ways.

There is another truth here.  No business can succeed by cheating.   Neither can a political party.  Voter suppression, which seems to be perpetrated by one party almost exclusively – is cheating.  Suppressing the votes in areas that historically have not voted to support your candidates is wrong, and writing it off as “politics” is worse.  When a business sells you something using bait and switch tactics they’re cheating and we all get angry when that deception is discovered.  Maybe this kind of behavior is part of why many people feel disconnected and angry at government?

There are many ways to give feedback to a business these days and many people do so via online reviews and social media.  If you’re being smart about your business you’re listening carefully to it.  You’re certainly not telling customers to go away.  Today is the day when all of us as customers of government have the chance to offer feedback.  I’m intending to offer mine.  I hope you all do the same.  Let’s hope they’re listening.  What do you think?

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April 27, 2012 · 11:01 am

Free Business Idea!

This week’s Foodie topic has to do with my home away from home, the supermarket (head faked you there – it’s not the golf course!).  I don’t know about you but I seem to spend more time dodging folks yakking on their cell phones than I do perusing the specials as I’m pushing my cart around.  While it’s an almost infinite source of comedic relief, it also can be frustrating when items I need are blocked by someone checking their email or confirming a recipe with home base.  Of course, to me that’s a missed opportunity.  Let’s see what you think.

The interior of a T & T store

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I rarely go to the market with a menu in mind.  As my wife is sick of hearing, my philosophy is “let’s see what looks good” and building around that.  Once I’ve sorted out the best looking proteins and produce, I will often fire up a favorite recipe app to find inspiration and a bit of guidance (and yes, I stand off to the side and not in an aisle).  What’s missing in this app is the free business idea but it also points to something we all might consider as we’re developing new products.

None of the recipe apps I’ve found are integrated with their locations, meaning the store.  Wouldn’t it be great if the store’s price, inventory, and aisle data (where in the store the product is) could come up as part of the shopping list generated by the recipe?  I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to settle on an idea and then find out the store doesn’t have a key ingredient or they’re out of stock or it’s very expensive or I just can’t find it.

I can hear you telling me about the obvious problem:  all the various food companies and supermarket chains would have to cooperate to produce a common set of data, and why would they do that?  Why should Stop & Shop let Shop Rite see their pricing and inventory (as if it was a secret)?   Because it’s the right thing to do for the customer, and that’s the business point we always must consider.  The reality is that these chains don’t compete that much on regular pricing – a lot of it is on location and specials.  Moreover, if the app is designed to help the customer already in the store, so the cooperation is unlikely to cost much.

If you know of such an app, that integrates recipes with store information, please let me know.  Some smart chain will produce one that’s chain specific; we’d all be better off if there was something universal.  Who’s going to step up and take the free idea?

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