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.

Problem Solving

The oldies have figured out that if there is a problem and if there is a computer and/or a phone in my vicinity, I will try to solve it. I do this with a pure heart -- it gives me great pleasure to solve a problem or save them money.

Don't get me started on how this society preys on old people. You would run screaming. I could spend hours on this topic. Until you've handled an oldie, dealt with health care, social security and other government things, you have no clue. And here's the thing that blows me away -- my oldies are in the lucky category! Veteran's coverage, social security, people who love them, etc.

Today it was a garbled receipt. The mother-in-law needed to enter the amount spent in her checkbook but it was the end of the roll and the bottom was illegible. I could read the bar code and the relevant information, i.e. transaction number, clerk number. When I called the store, the 9-year old I spoke with said I would have to bring the receipt to the store and they would be happy to give me the information. I (calmly) explained that I had the necessary information in front of me and if she had a computer in front of her, there is no reason for me or two 80+ year old people to drive back to the store.

Shocking! I was transferred to a supervisor who managed to complete my request in less than 60 seconds. (Yes, I realize any teenager in the world could do it.)

The mother-in-law thinks it's magic. Hey, I need all the points I can get.