Who Else Rocks?
I’ve been on a bit of a customer service tangent this week, so why stop now. After my Pizza Hut fiasco, I’ve heard from a few of you on your various successes and failures on the customer service front, which got me thinking; who else gets it? What other companies make a concerted effort to get it right and when they don’t, they apologize and fix it. I focused primarily on retailers with an online presence and those I’ve used recently, so it’s by no means an exhaustive list
So here’s a partial list of companies I’ve dealt with in the last six months or so that get it:
- Amazon.com -great website, and a low threshhold for free shipping. My order is always right and returns are a breeze. To me they are the leader on web based commerce.
- American Eagle -If you don’t know them, they’re a cooler version of the Gap. Great website, free shipping over $100 and returns can be done online or via one of their stores. If their shipping was a little faster I’d really love them.
- The Gap -If you like the Gap, their online experience is great. Free shipping thresholds can vary, but usually around $100 and returns can be done in the store or online.
- Gymboree -great store for babies and toddlers, but not inexpensive. They do offer good sales and coupons based on order value. No free shipping, but otherwise easy to use. With a 19month old, we use them frequently online which is much easier than dragging my daughter to the mall.
- Dicks Sporting Goods -both online and traditional stores. Both offer the same stuff, but with online you know they have your size before you drive to the store. Low free shipping threshold is also nice and of course in store returns.
- Circuit City -for a big box retailer you could do worse. I like the online store, which usually provides free shipping and in store returns. I also like that I can order products online and then pick them up in the store.
So these are the ones that work best for me. What about you? Anyone you want to nominate for the online retailer hall of fame?
Until next time…
Pizza Hut Does NOT Rock
Yesterday I shared my recent encounters with American Express and how much they totally hooked a brother up. Sadly my recent experience with Pizza Hut didn’t fare as well. I do not heart them, or is it that I blackheart them, I don’t know. What I do know is that sometimes pan pizza sounds really freaking good. Last nite was such a time in the Williamson household. We had my Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football, I had fridge stocked with Kiltlifter, one of my favorite local brews. I definitely heart Kiltlifter. So I fired up my laptop, jumped online and ordered our pizza; half cheese, half pepperoni/black olive if you must know. I got my confirmation email with an estimated delivery time, so far so good. Sadly this is where everything went south.
Some quick history, if you know me or read this blog, you know I travel quite a bit and I order Pizza Hut frequently when on the road, especially since my company isn’t really down with $50 room service tabs. When I’m on the road, I usually cut Pizza Hut some slack especially around delivery times. On the whole they do a decent job.
On the home front however, I hold them to a higher standard, 45-60 minute delivery times don’t cut when my daughter wants her ‘za-za’ now. When I ordered last night, my confirmation email estimated delivery at 30 minutes. At 40 minutes my wife called our local store to check on our order, while I re-assured my daughter that ‘za-za’ was only moments away. After calling our local store and speaking to the order taker and manager, we were told that they had no record of our order and they ‘didn’t know anything about internet orders’. Great! We told them we had an email with confirmation number, but were told that they couldn’t do anything with a confirmation number. Which of course begs the question; what’s the confirmation number for?
At this point, we chalked up the experience as a bad one and began focusing on what to feed our 19 month old. 20 minutes later there was a knock on the door. Guess who? If you said Pizza Hut you’ve been paying attention. Our exasperated delivery driver explained our order got routed to the wrong store and apologized for the delay. What he didn’t do was discount the warm, not hot pizza. So at the end of the day we learned a couple of things; 1. don’t order Pizza Hut online and 2. don’t talk about ‘za-za’ with your 19 month old until you see the whites of the delivery person’s eyes.
Until next time…
American Express Rocks!
In today’s world finding a company that understands good customer service has become a bit of a novelty. Finding one that actually practices it, it almost unheard of. You can add American Express to list of companies who get it and practice it.
Several months ago, when I was planning our summer vacation I made a hotel reservation in the city where we were going to be staying. Later we ended up renting a house for the week instead. A few weeks after we got home, I got my American Express bill from that period and discovered that I’d been charged $225 for one night at the hotel we didn’t stay in. I was fairly sure I had canceled the reservation, but couldn’t prove it. I called American Express and told them what happened. They took the information, issued an immediate credit and told me not worry that they would take care of it. I wasn’t sold, but I was optimistic. Several weeks after that I received a letter from American Express notifying me that they had closed the case and that the credit would stand. Now I was impressed.
Last week my wife called me to tell me that her sunglasses that we had purchased while on that same trip had broken in her purse. More than anything she was bummed because she loved the sunglasses, but also because they were expensive. I tend to go a little crazy on vacation it seems, but I digress. As you may know American Express offers buyer protection should your purchases be damaged or stolen. With some hesitation I again called American Express and told them what happened. The woman in claims couldn’t have been more helpful and understanding. In less than five minutes I was off the phone with word that American Express would issue a full refund in the next 2-4 days. 3 hours later, I received an email confirmation that the claim was settled and a credit would be issued to my card.
Long story short, not only did American Express save me over $400 in vacation expenses, they did so in a professional courteous manner that builds customer loyalty. Needless to say I heart Amex!
Until next time…
