You know the story. You ask for tech support, and they tell you to pay first. OK, that’s fair. You can’t always expect lifetime free service. (You wouldn’t expect Ford to fix your car for free, forever. We have weird expectations about computer products.) Recently, I tried to get help on a disk drive product, […]
Just tell me how it works
March 17, 2012
It seems like I spent half my workday fiddling with chair adjustment levers. Most chairs are like a helicopter control panel. Someone smart at HON finally put the instructions where they should be — on the lever. Some designer there was probably offended that the print messed up her great design aesthetic. But customers are […]
An example of perfect customer service
March 6, 2012
It’s such a pleasure to get great service. Here’s a case study from GoDaddy on how to do it from James Pattison and his team at GoDaddy: 1. Answer the call and fix the problem. Obvious — but this is where most companies stop. 2. Turn off the timer. James stayed on the line while […]
Newsletter #851: The “Find and Fix Problems” Issue
September 22, 2011
[Welcome back to the Damn, I Wish I’d Thought of That! newsletter. This is text of the great issue all of our email subscribers just received. Sign yourself up using the handy form on the right.] In a world where “good enough” isn’t good enough anymore, you can’t afford any slips in quality. Your mission should be […]
It’s OK to say you’re sorry
September 19, 2011
This is a seriously fantastic message from Hotels.com. I’m sure most customers (including me) had no idea that there was an issue. But they stepped up and apologized to everyone. Hotels.com – you’ve got class.
Free help = more customers
August 29, 2011
How do you get new business in a world where everyone pretty much sells the same stuff online? Win with better service. Here’s a great example: CabinetParts.com knows that finding matching hinges is a pain. So they let you email them a picture of your old hinges, and they’ll tell you what you need, for free. […]
Tell me when you’re going to fix it
April 17, 2011
Websites go down. We understand. That’s why I love this courtesy note: “Let us email you when the problem is fixed.” We understand that things go bad. It’s your graceful handling of the situation that makes all the difference.
Don’t make people come to the training — bring the training to them
September 13, 2010
Put a demo video on every section of your website. Check out these mini-lessons on the Central Desktop website. Every time we get to a feature we haven’t used before, there is a little video to show us what it does. The video is the first thing you see on your first visit. We can […]
How to apologize the right way and keep the business
January 20, 2010
An email had just gone to corporate. Someone was unhappy. He was still in the hotel. We had 36 hours to fix the problem before he left unhappy and told everyone. The on-the-scene crash team descended on the situation. The situation: A guest’s package was lost and two separate departments failed to follow up on […]
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