Too Much Customer Service

Many companies are upping the standards of customer service. When it's done well, it's welcome and refreshing. I've been in marketing long enough to know that customer service can affect everything from brand loyalty to pricing.

When companies get overly exuberant with their customer service efforts, it crosses a line to annoyance. Of course, this line is different for you than it is for me.

I spend an obscene amount of time on the phone. I try to carve out chunks of time to talk to clients and vendors. I try to be available to my parents and friends. Big Daddy often asks me to track down information for him. That's more time on the phone. Then, I try to find quiet time to write. I do not want to talk on the phone. I definitely don't want to do a survey by phone.

That doesn't stop those crafty customer service people. I recently traded cars and received three phone calls about my purchase experience. Then, I received a fax and two emails. There's a paper survey coming in the mail. The sale was flawless but the unending interruptions to discuss it are irritating. After I explained that I would be happy to fill out the mail survey, the representative had the nerve to suggest that I check "excellent" on the form.

Please don't tell me how to vote.

The Belle was the opposite. She loved buying things and became giddy when someone telephoned to poll her on the experience. She trapped that poor person and told them about her boys, her grandchildren, her family history and Hangdog. She bought make-up at Nordstrom's but that representative got more information than was needed for the survey.

I was just grateful that she was tying up the phone.