Good customer service does still exist

[disneysteve]

We always hear stories about lousy customer service. Here is one about a company getting it right.

I was collecting the Pepsi points off the packages for the online promotion they ran last year. The points could be redeemed for MP3 downloads, CDs, DVDs and other merchandise. The promotion was set to end 12/31/08. I had redeemed most of my points that last week of the year but still had some points remaining in my account on 12/31. I logged on that evening, about 8pm, to use up the last of my points only to be greeted by a screen saying the promotion had ended.

I e-mailed their customer service department saying that I was upset that I couldn't use the balance of my points. I expected that when they said the promo ended on 12/31, that meant it ended at midnight, not earlier in the day.

It is been a month since I contacted them, but I got an e-mail today that said:

"Thank you for allowing us to research the experience you had while trying to access our PepsiStuff.com website on the final day of the promotion.
While the website was operational, we were able to determine that you did experience a unique problem accessing the site prior to the 11:59 pm EST deadline on December 31st.

We are sorry for this inconvenience and would like to make it up to you. We were able to confirm the number of points you had remaining in your PepsiStuff.com account and will be sending you an electronic Amazon.com gift card. The gift card will be comparable to the item value-range your points could have redeemed. Your card can be used towards any merchandise sold on the Amazon.com website."

I think that was very nice of them and truly good customer service.

[creditcardfree]

Very cool! I'm glad it worked out.

[Cassandra]

I think people usually post or talk about times when they receive poor customer service. I almost always get good customer service but rarely mention it because I take it for granted. When I receive less than I expected, I complain-to family/friends, to the business, etc.

I'm glad that Pepsi has such good service. I need to be more vocal and appreciative when I receive good service.

[GREENBACK]

I know a lot of companies do provide decent customer service and some don't. A very good friend of mine works in C/S for a large corporation and I know that the people you correspond with via phone or email are put in a very stressful low paying job.

They are merely reciting company policies in most cases so it pays(literally) to be polite to these folks. Many who have bad experiences are usually the ones who immediately start yelling and cursing as soon as the call is answered.

I can say that by being polite but direct and firm, I've rarely, if ever, had a C/S problem.

[noppenbd]

Here's another good customer service story. 2 years ago I bought a nice mesh-back office chair from Office Depot (paid around $300). I work from home so I sit in it 8 hrs a day and need a good ergonomic setup. The chair was an Office Depot brand. About a month ago I was sitting in it and heard a pop from the back of the chair. One of the bolt heads that was holding the chair back on had broken off. Since there were two bolts I wasn't too worried about it except to say, wow that's bad engineering. Then two days later the other bolt broke, which caused the whole back of the chair to break and fall off. Long story short, after some telephone ping-pong I was able to get ahold of the manufacturer, who just shipped me a brand new chair back and new bolts. The chair back itself is huge and complicated, so this was a fairly large service ticket, but they did not even charge me shipping. The rep Joanna was very friendly and helpful so I have to commend them. The name of the manufacturer was Raynor Group out of West Hempstead, NY.

[neatdesign]

Originally Posted by GREENBACK

I know a lot of companies do provide decent customer service and some don't. A very good friend of mine works in C/S for a large corporation and I know that the people you correspond with via phone or email are put in a very stressful low paying job.

They are merely reciting company policies in most cases so it pays(literally) to be polite to these folks. Many who have bad experiences are usually the ones who immediately start yelling and cursing as soon as the call is answered.

I can say that by being polite but direct and firm, I've rarely, if ever, had a C/S problem.

Having previously worked in a credit card call center, I agree with your friend. Those kinds of jobs are extremely stressful and demoralizing, usually because 1) the customer is already riled up before they even call; 2) it is easy for customers to take their frustrations out on a "faceless" person over the phone; and 3) the customer service representatives have very little control over the company's policies. Most consumers don't realize that being polite to a CS rep goes a LOOOONG way.

I ended up leaving that job due to work-related stress over 3 years ago. Ever since then, if I receive good service when I call my bank or credit card company, I always ask to speak with the representative's supervisor so that I can pass along my compliments for a job well done. This doesn't take much of my time to do, usually not more than 5 extra minutes on the phone.

Not only does my positive feedback go into that representative's personnel file and make their supervisors happy, but I know -- from personal experience -- that it will really brighten that person's day and boost their spirits. In turn, that also encourages them to work harder at providing good service to the next person. Who knows -- maybe that next person will be you.

~ Jenney

[Bluestreak]

I am finding customer service in general to be getting better by the day as the economy continues to worsen. It may just be me yet it seems many businesses are gradually realizing the critical importance of providing excellent customer service if they want to compete successfully today. It's kinda sad as good customer service should always be a priority, but for many businesses, it's simply driven by money and survival.

[GREENBACK]

It's very odd that a lot of companies have customer service people that they underpay and put in a stressful positon as the "face" of the company. When you call the c/s dept. you are talking to the direct representative of that company. Most people have no clue who the CEO is or any other executive. They only know the person on the phone as the voice of that company. If I ran a company with a c/s dept. I would certainly treat these workers well as they are directly corresponding with your customer base

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by GREENBACK

It's very odd that a lot of companies have customer service people that they underpay and put in a stressful positon as the "face" of the company. When you call the c/s dept. you are talking to the direct representative of that company. Most people have no clue who the CEO is or any other executive. They only know the person on the phone as the voice of that company. If I ran a company with a c/s dept. I would certainly treat these workers well as they are directly corresponding with your customer base

Some companies do put an emphasis on good customer service. Disney is renowned for that. In fact, they train EVERY employee to do customer service.

[GREENBACK]

It's amazing that other companies don't get this. Maybe it's an ego thing with the big wigs, or is it pure stupidity from a buisness standpoint? I've certainly lost a great deal of trust in large buisnesses recently due to the behavior of their upper management. It makes me wonder if poor c/s isn't a reflection of poor management. I stated above that c/s is stating company policies and maybe that's where poor customer relations originate.

[Bluestreak]

It's stupidity yet it's mostly greed as the economy was essentially indestructible for so many years with all the credit available. That is all changing though.

I think for many big biz, its not that they just don't get it, they probably started their businesses with the intent of providing good c/s yet greed simply took over with time and growth. They assume they are providing adequate service so long as they are doing xx this and xx that for their customers.

How many small companies start off providing good c/s yet the quality of c/s diminishes as they grow larger? Hewlett Packard is a good example of that. I have not bought an HP product in years since they outsourced their c/s and made it extremely tough to get help effectively on something ridiculous like a printer!!! How they keep dominating the printer industry is a ?? for me. Maybe most people are willing to put up with crappy c/s?

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by Bluestreak

How they keep dominating the printer industry is a ?? for me. Maybe most people are willing to put up with crappy c/s?

I think in that example it is more the fact that most people never have any contact with c/s. I've owned several HP and Epson printers over the years. Not once have I ever had to call c/s for any questions or issues with any of them. You plug them in and they work. If they don't work, you return them. When they die, you replace them. I can't think of anything I would ever call about.

[Bluestreak]

I can't argue with someone who has always had an excellent experience with HP products!!!