I had to call amazon.com tonight about a problem with an order. If you’ve ever tried calling them, they’re not an easy company to get a hold of. They don’t like talking to people. If you’re ever looking for a number for a company like that, www.contacthelp.com is a good resource:
I was able to get what I wanted from amazon, by using the old “I have a blog…” speech. Though my rhetoric lacks the dulcet tones of Martin Luther King, it usually gets me what I want. Coincidentally, Dan sent me the following article tonight. This is what I’ve been saying all along to the companies I write customer services blogs about, and I’m glad someone is finally noticing! Keep up the good fight people. You can almost always get what you want, as I’ve proven time and time again.
Harnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Web
People are connecting with one another in increasing numbers, thanks to blogs, social networking sites like MySpace and countless communities across the Web. Some companies are learning to turn this growing groundswell to their advantage.
Companies are used to being in control. They typically design products, services and marketing messages based on their own particular view of what people want. Keeping up with customers has meant conducting research on their needs and test marketing new products and services. Because the balance of power has favored large corporations with a lock on manufacturing, advertising, distribution and other operations, the term “customercentric” was mostly just a buzzword.
Now, though, many customers are no longer cooperating. Empowered by online social technologies such as blogs, social networking sites like MySpace, user-generated content sites like YouTube and countless communities across the Web, customers are now connecting with and drawing power from one other. They’re defining their own perspective on companies and brands, a view that’s often at odds with the image a company wants to project. This groundswell of people using technologies to get the things they need from one another, rather than from companies, is now tilting the balance of power from company to customer.
To understand the dramatic implications of this shift, consider what happened in 2006 when Brian Finkelstein, a law student, was having trouble with the cable modem in his home. A repairman from Comcast Cable Communications Inc. arrived to fix the problem, but when the technician had to call the home office for a key piece of information, he was put on hold for so long that he fell asleep on Finkelstein’s couch. Outraged and frustrated, Finkelstein made a video of the sleeping technician and posted it on YouTube. The clip became a hit, with more than one million viewings, and to this day the image continues to undermine Comcast’s attempts to improve its reputation for customer service.
account,’ I don’t mean help me figure out how to keep it. I mean cancel the account.” Apparently, the clip struck a nerve as hundreds of people posted comments on the YouTube page, many of them bashing AOL and relaying similar experiences with the company. CNBC even devoted a report to the whole flap. Read More…
As you may remember, I’ve had some similar experiences. Ones where people lost their jobs and ones that made the AOL call look short. I really need to start a customer service blog that’s just devoted to my railing against corporate America and their greed. It would feature some of my favorite rants against, Honda, British Airways, eFax, Safeco, Farmer’s Insurance, Aetna, Dell, United Airlines, Facebook, my Homeowner’s Association, my mortgage company or even Xanga. Until then though, I’ll just keep writing about them here, and smiling when people take note! Power to the people….we shall overcome!
Of course, I like to blog about when I (or my friends) receive good Customer Service too, as Bine did last week from Emirates Airways when her camera got stolen from her luggage in Bangladesh:
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Carey Anthony |
Carey, you should be proud of me
1 message
| From: Bine | Thu, Mar 5, 2009 at 8:01 AM | |
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To: Carey Anthony
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Speaking of crappy companies, have you heard about Sony’s latest offering?
It’s only fair, given the odd hours I keep!)
It has been a crazy weekend, but a lot of fun. It’s after 2 AM and I just have a few minutes to 
post these pictures and then I have to get ready for my trip tomorrow morning (this morning). I still have laundry to do and I have to clean the house as 
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