Your Customers Matter...Don't They?

Tech Support Excellence At Comcast

You always know it’s going to be a long day when you boot up your computer and your internet access isn’t working.  I tried for a couple of hours this morning to troubleshoot the problem myself before I finally threw in the towel and called Comcast.

After a short wait on hold I was connected with Dennis.  Dennis was one of the best service providers I’ve talked with in a very long time.  For an hour he put my system (and me) through all kinds of maneuvers trying to get to the source of the problem.  He was smart, patient, personable, and committed to help me get to the bottom of the problem.

As it turned out, he concluded that it was a router issue.  He didn’t just “dump me” and tell me to call Linksys.  First he coached me on what to say so I got the “language” right.  Then he called them with me and promised he’d stay on the line until the issue was resolved. 

On the first try we waited on hold for some time, so he ended the call and kept me with him on the line.  In the meantime, he contacted the Linsys online live support.  They gave him another telephone number to try.  If a few short minutes he was dialing them again.  Somewhere in the Linksys call transfer process, Dennis dropped off the line.

I never got to thank him, so Dennis, if you see this, Thank You!  You were excellent.  I appreciate your patience and your willingness to help me!  You are an outstanding example of someone who gives great customer service.

The story doesn’t end there, because Lisa at Linksys “dumped me” at her first opportunity.  She was very quick to diagnose a modem problem and told me to go back to Comcast.

A couple of hours ago I made another call to Comcast.  This time I reached Brandon.  I asked if he could get me to Dennis, since Dennis was already familiar with the problem.  He cheerfully offered to check Dennis’ extension.  He came back and told me Dennis was with another customer.  Then he gave me options. Dennis could call me back, or he (Brandon) could help me.

Mind you, I didn’t want to start all over again with Brandon, but there was something in his voice that convinced me it would be ok.  Brandon quickly reviewed Dennis’ notes.  I briefly brought him up to date and within a couple of minutes Brandon had some ideas about a few different things we could try.

Brandon was like a Dennis clone.  He was friendly, patient, knowledgeable, and committed to doing every thing he could to help me.  Once again, after 30 – 45 minutes, we had narrowed it back down to a router problem.

By that time, I was beginning to wonder if I needed a new router.  I asked Brandon if he’d mind sharing his personal opinion on router models, life expectancy, recommendations, etc.  Once again, he was extremely helpful.

THANK YOU Dennis, Brandon and Comcast!  Your commitment to great service made a difficult situation a little easier for a very grateful customer.

One Secret Most Businesses Could Learn From Meijer Inc.

In case you don’t live in the Midwest, Meijer is locally owned and operated chain of grocery stores.  Over the years they’ve expanded their product line to match their “One Stop Shopping” slogan.

I’ve written in the past about how they’ve struggled over the last few years to position themselves to better compete with Walmart’s superstores.

One of their latest secret weapons beats Walmart hands down.  In fact, it’s one that most businesses could learn a thing or two from.  And the best part of all, it’s simple, yet amazingly powerful.

It’s called “customer feedback”! 

Like many businesses, Meijer’s website has almost always had a feedback section.  But a couple of months ago someone finally came up with the idea to fine tune it and actively encourage customers to share their opinions.

On the bottom of every sales receipt there’s a (large print) message that goes like this, “Rate Your Shopping Experience and You May Win a $1000 Meijer Gift Card!”  Customers get the option to phone in or use the web-based system. 

Unique user ID’s and passwords are printed right on the sales receipt.  Instead of assigning the user ID and password to identify customers, it appears as though they identify the store, the checkout clerk, time/date of sale, purchases, etc.

The 6 or 7 survey questions are simple, quick, and painless.  At the end they provide a free flow text area (on the web based system) so you can add comments, suggestions, or feedback.  If you’d like to be entered into the gift card drawing you simply fill in the customer contact information at the tail end of the survey.

Why do I think this is so brilliant? Three simple reasons:

1. Because so few businesses care enough to ask
2. Because in essence, they’ve turned their entire customer base into an army of mystery shoppers
3. Because they take it one step further and give customers an incentive to participate

It all seems so simple, yet it’s beyond me why every single business owner doesn’t use the same strategy.  Why wouldn’t you want to know what your customers are thinking?

Who are the other businesses out there that are actively encouraging customer feedback?  Post them here.  Let’s start a collection.