A couple months ago I wrote a blog about two distinctly different responses from one company’s customer service department (A Tale of Two Phone Calls). The problem I was discussing was that the level of customer service that a person receives from this company was very dependent on which customer service representative answered the phone. Today I want to tell you about another company’s customer service that I recently got the pleasure to experience. Earlier this week I placed an order for some building material from a local Lowe’s Home Improvement Store. I placed the order on Monday morning and they told me that they could deliver it on Tuesday morning. However, Tuesday morning it was going to rain and [...]

I don’t normally complain about customer service. If service is bad, I just don’t tip as well as I normally would, or don’t go back. But recently I have become so irritated by an issue that I have complained twice. And both times I got the same excuse, “…we don’t like it either, but it is corporate policy”. After hearing that excuse for the second time within a couple of months, I was fired-up. I decided I was ready to go on-line and find a number or email address so I could contact the corporate office. It was time I let them know how much their policy is making customers upset. Now, 24 hours later, I am wondering why should [...]

The Kano Model is a tool commonly used in the product development process to help classify customer wants and needs into one of three main categories. The first category is called Basic Needs.  Basic Needs are customer needs that are usually unspoken unless they are violated.  These types of needs don’t add to the overall customer satisfaction of the product, but they can take away from the satisfaction level if they are not met.  An example of a Basic Need in an automobile is its ability to keep water from entering the inside of the car and getting the driver wet.  A car owner never runs over to his neighbor and brags about how well his new car keeps water [...]

While I was pumping my gas the other day, I noticed an advertisement sign sitting on the top of the gas pump.  The sign said that if all Americans would keep their tires inflated to the proper pressure, as recommended by the manufacturer, we could collectively save 700 million gallons of gasoline per year.  The sign was an advertisement for ExxonMobile tire linersthat are intended to help reduce the amount of air lost through the tire.  While I found the concept intriguing, it wasn’t the first thing that popped into my head as I read the sign. There I was, standing outside of my car waiting for the gas to finish pumping.  I read the sign and was suddenly motivated to [...]

In today’s world of blogging, there seems to be much more complaining about poor products and services than there is praising good products and services. I think it’s important for us to recognize great service so we can learn from it just as we do with the more commonly discussed examples of poor service. So, here is a recent experience I had. A few months ago my wife and I went overseas for a European/Middle-eastern vacation lasting over two weeks. This meant that leading up to the trip there was a lot to plan for, which for the most part was fun. We researched a lot on the internet and we figured out what we wanted to see and experience [...]

  I have owned an iPhone 3GS for about nine months now and will be the first to admit that I love using it.  From day one I found it extremely easy to use and understand.  It was as if Apple personally sat with me and figured out exactly how I would want to use the phone and what I wanted it to do for me.  This phone has opened my eyes to the wonderful world of podcasts, audio books, Bluetooth connectivity with my car; not to mention fun activities like WordswithFriends. However, with all of this love that I feel for the iPhone, I HATE using iTunes.  For some reason, all of the user-friendliness, intuitive operation and simple layout [...]

When my family and I go to a restaurant (which is less often with gas prices at $3.50 a gallon) whether it is on the weekend around home or when we are on vacation, we can’t help but observe the service we are receiving like: Do they have what the menu says they have Is the restaurant and restrooms clean Does the waiter know what is on the menu/specials Are they willing to make changes to dishes to accommodate our requests Are they attentive/timely and get our orders right (have you ever had a waiter that does not write down a big order and then gets half of it wrong?) Often we are very pleased when these criteria are met [...]

Over the last couple of weeks I have run into the same issue again and again during my morning commute. The situation goes like this, see if it sounds familiar. I get in the car and pull out of the garage only to realize that I need to stop and get gas. There are three gas stations (two of which are the same brand) to choose from, without going considerably out of my way, so it is not like I have an overabundance of choices. I make a choice of brand, drive in and proceed to pick a pump. I slide my card in the reader at the pump and pump my gas. As usual, I take this opportunity to [...]