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Costco rocks as it listens to its customers’ calls for help

December 12, 2006 By 16 Comments

Frustrated userI just got back from a Costco run (why can’t I ever get out of there with my wallet intact?), and I overheard part of a conversation while looking at the PCs.  This is what I heard a Costco floor rep telling a customer: “…and the tech support is done by experts, it is available 7 days a week, and you will always be connected to someone based in the US.  Oh, and it is free!”  As the floor rep was pulled aside to answer someone else’s question, I asked the customer which computer company the rep had been discussing.  Turns out, it was Costco.

Costco is a membership-based warehouse club chain with stores throughout the United States.  Costco has been listening to the frustrations of their members and has entered the realm of providing technical support to help ease their pain.  According to a store supervisor that I spoke with, Costco will provide free technical support for televisions, cameras and camcorders, as well as desktop and notebook computers.  The service has been available for about one week now in the Southern California area.  It is part of their existing Concierge Services, which Costco started testing for high-tech TV installs this past summer.

Why is this a big deal?  The point that stood out to me was their sign about the services, the first line of which assures members that they will be able to speak with someone in the US.  All you consumer tech support companies, this is your wake-up call.  Customers are tired of calling in for help and trying to carry on a conversation with someone who doesn’t speak English well.   When companies with tech support departments really listen to their customers, and prioritize keeping existing customers, they will start to make choices that make customer experiences better.  Today, many customer experiences with tech support are simply frustrating.

With the popularity of and the reasonable prices at Costco warehouses, this could easily increase the number of electronics that Costco is already selling, as the service is a great value-add.  Especially since it’s free (unlike Best Buy’s Geek Squad).  And for the life of the product (most tech support is only for 6 months to one year).

More and more of us are beginning to interact with tech support as electronics become more entangled in our lives.  Do you know any companies that do tech support really well?  Tell me about it, and I will share the stories.

Filed Under: Customer experience, Technical support

Customer service sucks – is it the holidays?

December 11, 2006 By 1 Comment

QueueAnyone who has been interacting with a customer service rep or in-store clerk since Thanksgiving may be wondering this very thing!   Many shoppers dread this time of year.  According to USA Today, more than half of shoppers say the experience is a bore or a chore.  It is indeed a chore when retailers can’t put their best foot forward at a time of year that brings in a large percentage of their annual sales.  What is the answer when  a customer thinks, ”Is this always how it goes at (fill in the blank) store, or is this just because of the holidays?”  They might even be tempted to ask that question out loud.  I did, and the response was not good.

 I was at an office supplies store last week during a weekday, which I thought would be an improvement over weekend crowds.  ”They sure do get a lot of disgruntled customers,” I thought, so I smiled as I approached the cashier.  As I handed him the slip for retrieval of the digital camera I was purchasing (hope my kids don’t see this!), he grunted and gave it to the “runner” who would go and get my purchase.  So far, he hadn’t said a word to me.  So I ask “the question”.  His sullen response, “No, it’s always like this.”  End of conversation.  I felt like I was inconveniencing him, so I didn’t say anything else, took my purchase, and left.  I don’t think I will be shopping there in the future.

The same experience is taking place all over malls, websites, and call centers.  Temporary holiday help has been hired to ease customer wait times, but are they really ready to be part of your “face to the customer”?  Every touch point is a critical part of the customer experience.  Yes, easing customer wait times is very important, but so too is making sure the customer experience doesn’t come crashing down as a result of too much holiday spirit!

A sincere smile and a “thank you very much for choosing to shop with us today” works wonders!  Even if we are the ones who have to do the smiling.

Filed Under: Customer experience, Customer service

Who is rewarded with loyalty programs?

December 8, 2006 By 1 Comment

The bells you hear ringing may not all be jingle bells; they may be the sound of points racking up on your loyalty cards! money-and-smiley.jpg

Loyalty programs started out as a great idea.  Customers were rewarded for being frequent visitors and purchasers, and in turn customers did more shopping with those companies to whom they felt loyal.  Now, if I look in my wallet, I have a plethora of loyalty membership cards, with the opportunity to get more nearly everywhere I go!  The grocery store (of course – who would shop without one and pay full price?), the office supplies store, the shoe store, the hairdresser, the coffee house, the pet supplies store; really, too many to keep track of.  Somewhere along the lines, as I am sure you will agree, the idea of loyalty programs got off track.

 Retailers have recognized this and are starting to focus a little bit differently with more emphasis on their “most valuable” customers.  For many retailers, these are their credit card customers.  Often, the store-branded card customers see additional discounts above and beyond those offered to non-card customers.  This article yesterday in the Washington Post highlighted the benefits for retailers: targeted marketing and advertising, as well as lower credit card rates.  Most importantly, retailers can analyze the information to understand what customers are purchasing, and thus tailor their communications.

What is in it for the customers?  Greater discounts – and something else.  In the article, it was mentioned that Target reviewed shopping patterns of customers using its branded Visa card to see if they were shopping at competitors, then offering enticements to use Target instead.  This, it seems to me, is pushing the envelope.  Does a customer signing up for a card want to have their shopping life analyzed in this way?  It is fine if a customer is aware of this and open to the idea, but how many customers are?

Finally, what happens to customer trust?  A large element of customer loyalty to a brand is based on trust.  When a customer feels a company has violated that trust, through privacy breaches, misuse of information, or simply too much junk email, the level of customer satisfaction goes down, followed by cracks in the loyalty wall.  I don’t believe this is the intention of most loyalty programs!

Next week I will present tips to keep in mind before starting any kind of customer loyalty or retention program.  In the meantime, good luck with the weekend holiday shopping, and keep track of those loyalty cards!

(Photo credit: T. Carroll)

Filed Under: Customer experience, Customer loyalty

Companies where customers rock

December 7, 2006 By 6 Comments

Harley tattooOne of the areas this blog will be exploring is those companies who have a “customers rock!” attitude. Harley-Davidson is one of them, and they are considered legendary in the areas of customer advocacy and loyalty. In my recent talk at the DM Day for the British Columbia Association of Interactive Marketers on customer experience, I shared that one of the key areas where Harley-Davidson is unique is how they break up their marketing spend. The motorcycle company has diverted 80% of their advertising, PR, and promotions budget to focus on current customers. These budgets are not spent on traditional focus groups and marketing research.  Rather, Harley-Davidson management spends time with their customers – at events, rides, and rallies. A great example of this can be found in an interview on Mack Collier’s post for MarketingProfs, where he shares that even the grandson of the founder of the company participates!

We have moved beyond the day when we can only think about our customer demographics and psychographics in order to figure out how to market products or services. A customer’s needs take on many flavors, depending on which “role” they are playing at the moment. I may be a high tech executive by day, a soccer coach on the weekends, and a gamer at night. In other words, the needs and drivers which are motivating me at any given moment may be drastically different from each other! The majority of marketers are not yet set up to understand these customer nuances. They continue to look at customers as “segments” rather than as individuals.

I believe that when companies begin to interact with their customers as individuals, they will begin to acquire the knowledge that will enable them to have a “customers rock!” attitude.

What are the best companies where “customers rock!”? Join in the conversation and let us know!

Filed Under: Customer experience

Let’s Rock!

December 7, 2006 By 3 Comments

This post marks the beginning of Customers Rock! Here you will find my musings about things related to a focus on customers: customer experience, customer-company mishaps, why-don’t-they-do-this writings, customer strategy thoughts, customer service and support stories, marketing, and other topics I haven’t considered yet.

Feel free to engage in the conversation – all viewpoints welcome!

Filed Under: Customer experience, Customer service, Customer strategy
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