I recently had two opposite experiences that illustrate how important customer service is, especially in this day and age.  Even though it happened more recently, I want to start with Gilt Taste first.

Gilt Taste

I should preface the story with: I recently moved and while I made a list of all the sites and services I needed to update, I clearly was not able to remember or get to them all. A few weeks ago I was doing some Christmas shopping. I found what I wanted on Gilt Taste and felt comfortable ordering from them because of my positive experiences on Gilt.com.  I realized a few days after placing the order that it was being shipped to my old apartment. This was my fault because I had my (old) home address stored in Gilt and as a convenience feature, they offer a fairly quick checkout so there aren’t many layers of checks to slow you down. You can see how this can be a pro as well as a con (you don’t have a chance to catch mistake). Excuses aside, this was totally my fault. I saw that the item would not arrive for at least 5 days, giving plenty of time to correct it.

I emailed them to make the correction and about a day later, I received a response from a customer service rep that said they are not able to help because items are shipped from a supplier and they have no control over it. Also, she added, since the correct address was so close maybe I could figure out a way to pick it up or something.

This surprised me on many levels. First of all, it is not at all unheard of for a shipper to make a correction to or re-route a package. In fact, UPS (the shipper in this case), offers this functionality online. I also was surprised that the CSR gave up so easily. An enterprising one would have contacted the shipper and let them know so they could correct it. At the very least, I expected her to give me the name of the supplier so I could contact them myself.

It’s also possible for the recipient to make a address correction. However, this particular situation is a little bit more complicated. UPS requires that a failed delivery has to be made before any correction could be made. There are currently new tenants in my old apartment and knowing the UPS driver, he was likely to leave the package there. That means the tenants would come home from work and see a package with a stranger’s name on it and probably send it back. Then Gilt Taste would be confused and I would have to probably spend more money getting it re-shipped.

What I finally did to fix all this was find out the name of their supplier. In this case it was JDY Gourmet. It’s listed in small print in the corner of a graphic on the product page. I wasn’t even sure this was really the correct supplier but I Googled the name and came up with a company based on Chicago. I took a gamble I left a message on their web form. I also left messages on Gilt Taste’s Twitter account. The next thing that happened was interesting. JDY did not reply to me at all. Instead, they contacted Gilt and I got a call from a lady the next morning. She immediately agreed to re-route my package and she refunded me the $4 shipping charge. I thought that was really nice of her. Later, I received an email from a different rep basically saying “Oh it looks like this was handled already.” If it’s not clear by now, Gilt Taste really has no sort of customer tracking. They don’t know which rep handled what or when. They also reply in a very slow manner. I would estimate 24 hours which, to me, is too slow.

Now, I didn’t mention I actually placed a second order a bit after the first. It too had the address error. In the same instance when I emailed them about correcting the address for the first order, I informed them about the problem with the second one. Not having seen a reply for order number two, I emailed them again to avoid the same problem. This time a different CSR answered except her response was a cut and paste of the first message. Everything was identical. I couldn’t believe it.

By now it was too late to correct anything on the second order. I had to contact my old landlord and arrange for them to speak to the new clients to retrieve the package for me. Luckily, it worked out. I went on Twitter to rant and Gilt Support apologized through DM and credited my account for my troubles.

The lesson here is you should empower your customer service representatives to think outside the box (sorry for the cliché) and allow them to help the customer. I think we can all look to Zappos, which basically puts no rules on their reps. Who hasn’t heard the story of a customer being sent flowers because she had a hard to returning shoes in due to her mother’s passing? Also, with social media, it’s no longer a secret if you have bad customer service. Everyone can hear about bad customer service and people do pay attention. Why let it get to that point?

CB2

Previous to the Gilt Taste incident, I placed a sizeable order with CB2. In case you don’t know, CB2 is run by Crate and Barrel and it offers quirkier and usually cheaper stuff. Anyway, I was wondering why it was taking so long for my package to arrive. I tracked it to the FedEx center in Ventura (about 40 miles away from where I live). It was there for six days without any movement. I contacted FedEx and the first person to answer was willing and ready to help. They took down my info and told me they’d contact me. Later, I received a voicemail from a gentleman named Frank from FedEx. He worked in a division called the Ground Trace Department. Can you believe that even exists? Yes, they have a whole division responsible for tracking down packages!

He left a very polite and detailed message basically telling me they couldn’t find the package but they are really looking hard for it. He also left a number and asked if I could call it to provide some extra information about the package and that I should also notify CB2 about the case.

I emailed CB2 (not even a phone call) and in less than a day I received a response that basically went like this: “We are so sorry about this problem. We shipped out your replacement order and you should receive it Friday.” Mind you, this was Wednesday so they sent out my (heavy) replacement order with 2nd day air, on their dime. They also told me to not worry about the missing package and it was no longer my concern. I could not believe it. In the meantime, I still felt bad that CB2 lost a package so I called up FedEx and gave the incredibly friendly woman information about the package. They asked what color the items were, if they had any brands or labeling, what the items were made of etc. You can tell that FedEx really cared about trying to locate the package. They were afraid the box might have broken open and they needed a way to identify it from the contents.

My replacement package arrived on time. It was missing an item (a basket) which I expected because the CB2 representative warned me about it. It too arrived two weeks later and it was also shipped 2nd day air, which was completely unnecessary but appreciated. I emailed CB2 to thank them for making this so painless and in response, they apologized again and sent me a gift card for any inconvenience I suffered.

Can you see how differently these two companies handled the situation? One company empowers their reps to do the right thing while the other, well I feel the other doesn’t really take any ownership or pride in their customer service.

Last week started out with a bang, with what amounted to about a dozen new shows plus the start of the Fall season for all our favorites.

One of the shows that really caught my eye was a comedy starring the adorkable (I stole that from my roommate who was quoting a writer) Zooey Deschanel called New Girl. Now, for those who have seen Zooey act in movies like (500) Days of Summer, it’s hard not to fall in love with her. She has this natural quirky style, yet exudes a suppressed cuteness, She’s All That style.

The new show is about a girl named Jess who moves in with three (or is it four?) guys, living in what can best be described as a bachelor pad. Jess is the quintessential dorky, nerdy, awkward girl. And therein lies the problem.

Rather than having Zooey Deschanel act like the way she is normally which is an adorable and dorky girl, they had her “act” like how they thought a stereotypical, over-the-top geek would act. Imagine they cast you, the reader, as a rocket scientist. You are likely not one so what you end up doing is a lot of snorting and pushing up on the bridge of your horn-rimmed glasses. I mean, after all, that’s what people expect a rocket scientist to be like, right?

I want Zooey to act like Zooey. She’s dorky enough in real life to pull it off. Instead, you get this character, Jess, that tries too hard to be awkward. Instead of being endearing, it’s extremely uncomfortable and unsexy.

The other problem with the show is that it’s clear after just two episodes that it’s going to be highly formulaic. Just like how House follows a clear pattern, so does New Girl. Each episode is about how Jess has some lame problem to deal with and turns it into a disaster. Then the guys, who have lives of their own, give up their day (or date), to rescue her and give her support. It’s an effective storyline because a guy who has better things to do yet giving up his time to help his hopeless female roommate is more dramatic than a regular nice guy doing the same.

I am just waiting for the episode where they remake her into a sexy girl in a tight-fitting red dress. We know it’s coming.

The Mastercard I kept on file on Xbox Live is no longer valid due to some fraudulent activity. This was not an issue because I did not need to buy any Arcade games or DLC. In addition, my Live subscription was valid until August 2012. So, imagine my surprise when Microsoft started spamming nearly daily saying there was a problem with my account. I ignored it after checking that I did not owe them anything and that my Live account was still active and paid for.

Yesterday, I guess they decided they were not satisfied so they cut off my Live account. To fix it, I had to jump through some hoops, three or four different webpages. I had to add a new card (which took a few tries before they accepted it), before I could remove the invalid one.

Why does Microsoft care if I have a (valid) card on file? So they can auto-charge me when they feel like it? It’s a terrible policy. If your customer doesn’t have a card on file, then he can’t buy products and services. It’s his problem. It’s his prerogative.

Update: I tweeted the question to @XboxSupport and they said that for recurring subscriptions they require a valid credit card on file, even if the recurring charge isn’t going to happen for a long time.

@sygyzy When you have an auto-renewing membership you need to have a card on file for the renewal. ^PS

September 26, 2011 2:34 pm via Elite Tweet FleetReplyRetweetFavorite

@XboxSupport

Xbox Support

Here’s my next great idea.

First a little background: I have DirecTV and the built-in DVR service. I can schedule on the web or with my phone or directly on the box itself. Since I record shows, I am not concerned with when a show airs originally (for the most part). What this means is I don’t care if there’s a new episode of “How I Met Your Mother” Mondays at 8PM. I just come home and see what shows have been recorded for me and I watch them. Of course I don’t want to watch shows a week late or anything but 1-2 days is ok. What is most important to me is that all my shows get recorded. My DirecTV can record two shows simultaneously.

The issue I am looking to solve is we (my roommates and I) have so many shows being recorded that it’s impossible to figure out what’s the best way to schedule them in order to not receive conflicts. For DirecTV, you can tell it to record a show “if possible”. You can also rank shows in terms of priority or importance. For example: If Colbert Report, Amazing Race, and Top Chef were all scheduled to record at 7:30 PM on a Wednesday, but Top Chef was ranked lower than the other two, it would never get recorded. The way around this is if you are willing to watch Colbert Report later in the day (most shows have multiple reruns, sometimes just later the same night), you can get all three shows that day. You just need to tell it to record the Colbert Report (series) at the 11PM time slot instead.

Currently there’s no easy way to do this. I could make a Google Calendar or spreadsheet and work it all out but that’s very difficult and time consuming, especially when I add a new show. This data is readily available (DirecTV, TV Guide, etc) so I don’t see why a web app couldn’t handle it automatically. I just put in all the shows I want and it creates a recommended recording schedule with priority listing.

How many phone numbers do you memorize? You can definitely rattle off your own and maybe your parents’. Significant other? What about your best friend or co-worker? Boss? Doubt it. If you’re like me, you have them all stored in your cell phone, and consequently, possibly, backed up in the cloud (Google Contacts), or locally (Outlook, iTunes, etc.).

What happens if you are in a situation where you don’t have your phone and you need to call someone? This is presumably not just a case of I left my phone downstairs but something more serious like someone dropped you off at soccer practice and you left your phone and wallet in your gym bag in the back seat.

If you had internet access, you may be able to remote access your computer at home, if it’s on. Chances are your best option and only option is to borrow a phone from someone. But now you are stuck because you have no one to call. That’s where my idea comes in.

There should be a service that is basically a server hooked up to a toll-free number. Something really easy to remember. You call the number and there’s an IVR that prompts you to login. What’s your login? Your primary phone number of course. And for security, a PIN. Once you login, you either speak a name to the computer or you type in the first few letters of their first name. For example, Elizabeth would be 3-5-4-9 for ELIZ. Once the system confirms the name, it will spit out the person’s phone number and offer to connect you.

How will you get the numbers into the system? Well, I use Google pretty extensively so my contacts are already in the cloud. It’s sync’d with my Android phone and I can access my contacts in all Google apps including Gmail and Voice. It would be trivial to extend this to my help hotline.

What about security? Well there’s the pin. And even if someone were to steal your pin, how would they benefit? At best they might be able to find out the number of one or two of your friends. There are probably better, and easier, and less creepy ways for your buddy John to find out your hot friend Heather’s number. The system can also be programmed to limit the number of searches or force a wait time between each query. That way it could further undermine and malicious data mining attempts.

Who should make this? Definitely Google. They already have expertise with combining data and voice. See Google Voice or their recent Call Santa programs, for example. This would cost them practically nothing to run. They would just need to hook up the Google Address book with a phone number and an IVR.

It’s simple. Even if you used it once a year, you’d be glad it was there.

| Image courtesy of ashleeappendicitus on Flickr |

Sometimes I don’t even know what my way is!

I think Burger King started it all with their “have it your way” campaign but now everyone is following suit. It is almost expected now for companies to offer at least five color variations or a minimum three types of cheese for every dish. I appreciate that they are allowing this customizability but with all these options, the paralysis of choice creeps in. Case in point, my trip to Subway last week.

I have not been to Subway in over five years. I don’t like fast food sub shops and if I do eat at one, I prefer Quiznos. However, I recently saw commercials on TV advertising their new pastrami sandwich. I love pastrami so I knew I had to try it. I recruited my friend Sudip to go with me. He’s a regular there. Here’s how things went down

Me: Hi, I’d like to try your new pastrami sub

Subway Manager (SM): We don’t have pastrami.

Me: What?

Three huge signs in the window and two more inside advertising this new sub that just came out 3-5 days ago.

SM: We don’t have any pastrami.

At this point I am really confused. I haven’t been to Subway in a very long time so it’s not like I had a fallback plan. I don’t know what the “Big Mac” or “iced vanilla latte” of Subway is. People behind me are getting annoyed as is the Manager. He’s not used to people taking this long.

Me: How about your Chicken & Bacon Ranch. 6 inch please.

SM: What type of bread?

Wait, what? Ok here’s the weird part. Subway has a real menu; an actual listing of sandwiches they invented and gave names to. Items that their corporate chefs have invented that have specific ingredients. But this doesn’t mean anything because they want to give you choices. So now I am really confused because I don’t know what should go on a Chicken & Bacon Ranch. I squinted to make out more detail from the picture

Me: Italian roll please

SM: Cheese?

Wait, what?

Me: Are you asking if I want cheese or what type of cheese?

SM: What type of cheese.

Me: I have no idea. What cheese is supposed to come with it? What are my choices?

The Manager is not happy with me right now because I am the only customer who didn’t memorize their six types of cheese. He points to the sticker on the glass

Me: Umm I guess the Swiss?

Now I get passed off to one of the other workers down the assembly line

Worker: Lettuce? Tomatoes?

Me: Yeah, I guess

Worker: Anything else?

Anything else? What the? You tell me. What else is supposed to on this sandwich. I have no idea, so to play it safe

Me: No that’s it

I am ready to pay now and while the cashier is fumbling with the register, I look over to see what else I could have added. Six different condiment choices!

Let’s see what really goes into a Chicken & Bacon Ranch:

A toasted sub with all-white meat chicken breast strips, melted Monterey Cheddar cheese, crispy bacon, ranch dressing, lettuce, tomato, onions, green peppers and black olives served hot on freshly baked bread.

The sandwich I ended up with was a weak representation of this. I am afraid of going back.

| Photo by Will Lion via Flickr |

With all the hoorah and branding overload these days, I am really digging this nice contrast. Antrepo, a consultancy, has produced mockups taking popular products and cleaning them up. What do you think?

| Via Antrepo |

A crazy and impressive art installation by Chinese artists Ai Weiwei at the Tate Modern in London. It took two-and-a-half years to fabricate 100 million of the ceramic seeds, forming them and painting them each by hand. They were made in a small town and it took 1600 townspeople to make it.

| Via Complex |

From his forthcoming album Lasers dropping March 8th. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Lupe’s saving hip-hop.