The adage is “it’s easier to retain a client than it is to gain a new one”, but the truth is, it’s actually hard to lose a client because consumers aren’t only right, they are lazy. So when a client decides to take his business elsewhere - and follows suit - then the merchant has really gone to great lengths to piss them off.
It’s nice to see billion dollar organizations offer gestures of customer service, especially when they do not have to.
Best Buy will be offering consumers who purchased HD DVD buyers rebates and trade-in’s. This wasn’t a matter of Best Buy rectifying its own error per se, it was Best Buy doing something to create goodwill and win over loyalty. Ultimately, Best Buy was a pawn in the broader HD DVD vs. Blue Ray war.
“The DVD format war has divided our customers in a way we haven’t seen since Betamax took on VHS more than 20 years ago,” said Brian J. Dunn, president and chief operating officer for Best Buy. “At Best Buy, we understood and shared our customers’ frustrations as they were being asked to choose one format or the other. Now that the format war is over, we hope these gift cards will reassure our customers that we will help them make a smooth transition into the right technology for their needs.”
This is going to cost $10M, which frankly, is nothing more than smart marketing. Some companies spend $10M on advertising, Best Buy is planning on spending it on PR, basically. Kudos for them.
I have in the past chronicled Customer Disservice, including experiences with HP, Dell, Seagate and a few others. Ultimately, I get what I want because I am a ball-buster who doesn’t shy away from a fight. But I am in the minority, most customers ultimately don’t bother, they simply go elsewhere.
As a consumer who rarely buys much at Best Buy, I can say that even though I’ve never bought a HD DVD product, I will start buying things from Best Buy.
Too bad I can’t say the same thing about Staples after my Logitech heist. When I say “my heist” I actually mean their robbery. But I won’t get into that (who hates mail-in rebates?). I’ll just stop shopping at Staples and won’t buy Logitech…
Hmm… wonder what other brands of accessories Best Buy stocks in its stores.
Basic marketing 101: it’s easier to retain a client than to win one.
Late last year, Friendfinder sold its adult operations to Penthouse for some $300-500M. The deal size was nothing to sneeze at, but the deal came in at a paltry 1x revenues. One reason for this low multiple had to do with the fact that the owner is looking to IPO and wants to get out of the seedier side of the business.
Another reason was that the online personals space is largely a mature, shrinking business. Online personals - the original ones - were all subscription-based businesses powered on monthly charges.
Plenty of Fish, a Canadian site that offers free online personals, has certainly disrupted the market and become (if not the) largest player in the space. I wrote about my experiences dealing with online personals site and offered 10 tips / lessons here. I wrote that when Spark Networks (folks behind the AmericanSingles property and many private label sites such as TheOnion, etc.) were all early on disrupting the newspaper, magazine and TV personals services. Many of the online personals companies were in fact repositioned companies from old media (Lavalife, for example). But now you are seeing a site like Plenty of Fish disrupt the disrupted.
It’s interesting to examine the main reason for success is not a better user experience, or superior customer service. It boils down to one word: free.
The NY Times rightfully makes the parallel to Craigslist, who also free has disrupted the classifieds industry enormously. But it is very interesting that one of the main pluses of Craigslist (which is customer service) is nowhere to be seen on Plenty of Fish.
This does destroy the myth that CSR is all that valued across the board. I think as the article suggests, because the site is free, people put up with a lot more… maybe this is just one more nail in the coffin for anything paid.
We already know consumers do not want to pay for content, but not for services either?
Blockbuster is the latest analog player to suffer from a digital drubbing. Oddly enough, Blockbuster could have used 1 quarter’s worth of sales and bought Netflix long time ago, instead, like many companies that shall remain nameless in post, they went into denial mode. Look at the stock chart since Netflix went public:
Worst of all, look at the financial tables of the two firms:
This should not have even been close, but yet, Blockbuster lacked vision, and common sense. Mind you, it won’t be long before Netflix faces similar challenges by new players who go one step further…
Pretty nice of this site to offer Apple consumers info on options they have to get some of the $200 back, but why should early adopters be entitled to a refund 2 months after they bought an item?
I’m pretty sure the bakery next to our office is selling today’s bread at a discount tomorrow, you pay standard fare for freshness, then the price drops. Seems pretty straightforward, no?
A tale of two different companies:
According to MacWorld:
In an ongoing alteration of the consumer PC landscape, Apple laptop sales have surged to a new all-time high over the past 90 days - up from 12 per cent in June to 17 per cent currently. Apple desktop sales (7 per cent; down from 8 per cent) have been solid but unspectacular during that same time period.
But it’s the future that truly represents the change. A total of 28 per cent of respondents who plan to purchase a laptop in the next 90 days say they’ll get a Mac - maintaining the momentum originally observed by ChangeWave’s June survey. An additional 23 per cent say they’ll buy a desktop Mac.
While according to WSJ, over at Dell:
Dell Inc.’s first attempt to rebuild its consumer personal-computer business since founder Michael Dell returned to lead the company is having trouble sticking.
Persistent delays in laptop shipments caused by paint problems and supply constraints have put a crimp in the company’s turnaround efforts. Since late July, it has delayed shipments of some colorful models of its latest notebook computers, the XPS M1330 and its new Inspiron PCs. This latest incident — hitting right in the crucial back-to-school selling season — marks a significant setback in its push to rebuild its brand and business.
Apple is now worth more than Dell… ironically a few years after Michael Dell said Apple was basically better off shutting down.
I apologize about using the R-word here folks, but that’s pretty much the feeling I got when I clicked on a Business Week article.
The instant the window opened, I got not one, not two, but three painstakingly annoying ads, as identified in green. Note the yellow arrow points to the 2 lines (not even) of actual content I got. I don’t know what the article was actually about any more, but I’ll make sure I won’t find out by not returning, either.
Sheesh.
p.s. Business Week, will you still include HipMojo.com in Blogwatching? Yeah, thought so.
The average life span of a cell phone, in America, is just under two years, and in countries like Asia, it’s about 3 months, or so says Jeremy Toeman, who took a few of the Apple boosters to task for their very bullish calls on Apple’s potential grip on the wireless space.
I commented on some of those bullish calls earlier, and frankly, I appreciate reading posts like that more than the “ga ga over iPhone posts I’ve been reading this weekend,” but Toeman reminded me of one of the main factors why Apple’s success in wireless space will probably be immaterial: “The Razr (aka the most successful cell phone of all time) moved 50M units in 4 years. And that’s been THE trendy phone to-date, and you can get them for next-to-nothing already.”
That last part rings loudly: ”Next-to-nothing” is not even the whole story, you can get a lot of phones for free. Sure, not the best ones, but I’m looking at a brochure (yes, they still print those) and the costs for Blackberry’s are a couple hundred dollars, and I’m looking at 5 nice models for $100.
In the end, I’m leaning towards a Blackberry Curve, which weighs in at about $350 with a 3-year plan. The Blackberry Pearl is $200 (with the same kind of contract).
I wonder of the 200M+ phones sold every year, how many are free or sold for next-to-nothing?
Those lineups outside Apple stores were long, impressive and great fodder for advertising folks. But those lines withered away pretty quickly, no?
Will Apple be a player in this market? No doubt about it. Will iPod’s success be duplicated in wireless?
One of the great things about the iPhone, allegedly, is the ability to surf the Web (albeit slowly on the current network). If that’s the case, you might want to note an important lesson learned online: you can’t beat free.
Some companies never cease to amaze me. I’ve had my share of bad customer service experiences with Dell (Apple, Seagate, HP too). You can keep track in the Customer Disservice Category…
So, a day after I see a Dell blog make the Top 50 Business Blogs, I read that Dell asked the Consumerist to take down 22 Confessions of a former Dell Sales Manager.
Now here’s the thing, we have plenty of Dell machines at the office, a bunch of Macs too (damn video editors), the last PC I got was a Compaq as a result of me being tired of Dell. I need to buy a new machine for a new employee today, I was actually considering going Dell, and I still might, but now I’m reconsidering because Dell actually emailed the Consumerist to take the post down.
The Consumerist. That’s Gawker Media. Gawker Media is Nick Denton’s company. Do they know Nick?
This is the same bloke who posted about Steve Case’s Facebook Friend Request…
What were they possibly thinking?
Not only it’s so wrong for Dell to do that, but what’s worst is that upon reading the Confessions, I was more willing to buy Dell. Don’t ask why.
That is utterly asinine.
Here’s Dell’s takedown request. Here’s the 22 Confessions. Here’s Dell blog where they talk direct to the client (note to Michael and company at Dell: that’s the forum you should have used to address the 22 Confessions).
Here’s our history (well, partial anyway) of taking on Corporations and Winning.
Update: To Dell’s credit, see both their lead blogger’s response in the comments below, and their “official blog post” here.
Just a few months ago, we put Apple in the Top 10 High Tech/Web Stocks of Past, Present and Future. Today we’re asking, could Apple’s golden era be over?
Let’s see.
Apple’s iPhone lasts a mere 40 minutes?
Apple TV loses out to XBOX 360?
Apple customer service reminiscent of Dell, Seagate, HP customer service? Yep, maybe even worst.
If there’s one thing I know, it’s service. I spent 18 months (and one day!) doing customer service at the nation’s largest credit card issuer. I’ll spare you the war stories, but when I left, my index score was 149. You can always measure a company’s success in the marketplace by how on or off the ball their service is, and how their employees handle themselves.
I’ve never been a Mac guy. I’ve used a PC for basic office use, our editors at WatchMojo.com use Macs, “naturally.” I am even toying with the notion of “upgrading” to a Mac soon. Not so, not anymore.
While Dell and HP know that they create and ship boxes and don’t kid themselves, Apple tries to sell an image, a brand, a feeling, so when their CSRs drop the ball and the company fumbles, it hurts them twice as much, shattering the facade.
It’s one thing for John Dvorak to say that someone told him the iPhone lasts a mere 40 minutes, it’s another thing for an AP writer to say that the Apple TV is no XBOX 360 (Bill Gates just named his next son Sven, so he can shout “Sven, son”). All right, that was lame.
But not as lame as Apple’s CSR.
We ordered an Apple Airport Extreme Base Station. Extremely crap, I might add. When we wanted a more robust router, my colleague - the Mac fiend - suggested Apple’s product.
Frankly, my initial thought was: music players? Ok. Phones? Maybe. TVs? Sure, why not.
But routers that double up as hard drives and quasi-servers? Give me a break. Isn’t Apple stretching itself a little too thin? What happened to Steve Jobs’ razor-sharp focus? Did greed and hubris soften that edge?
I indulged him, we got one, it was a disaster. Judging by the feedback on the Apple site, it’s a hit or miss: people love it or hate it. Judging by the ultimate feedback, I think Apple had some quality issues with a batch, because eventually when I gave my serial number to someone, they acknowledged it was, well, crappy. But more on that later…
After spending some time setting it up, the thing would crash, and when it would not crash, the laptops (PC or Macs) could not read the hard drive. But everyone could print. Yippie!
I’d spare Apple, frankly, but then today came the last straw. A call to customer service to a) replace or b) get a refund.
I made the mistake of calling the number provided on Apple’s invoice. I spoke to &$%^#$%#%^*&. No, that’s not a swear word, I could not make out the agent’s name. I figured, no worry, I am sure Apple will leave me happy as a clam.
But &$%^#$%#%^*& needed a case number, so I was referred to another line. Note that everytime I was transferred, I felt deeper into a shell and the voice on the other line grew weaker and weaker (does something really grow weaker? Yes, Apple, like all companies that suffer from hubris as they expand, but more on that).
From &$%^#$%#%^*& I was transferred to Andrew. Andrew was kind enough to forward me to someone else: Rebecca, who then sent me to Jerri. From Jerri it was Wendy. Wendy sent me to Steven. Steven, or Stephen, or St&$%^#$%#%^*&en told me that I needed a case number… and to get one he would have to - “STOP!” I shouted, adding: “I know, I need a case number, but the good news is that &$%^#$%#%^*& referred me to Andrew, who in turn referred me to Rebecca, who then sent me to see Jerri, then Wendy, now you, so let’s try to make this the last phase of this circus of disservice insanity.”
Steven, to his credit, finally spoke to a member of management, came back to tell me I’d have to wait some more, and then managed to come back telling me that indeed, based on the serial number, they had sold me a crapbox, and that I could send it back in the next couple of days for a refund.
It’s a good thing, cause I would hate to have to say negative things about Apple. Of course, between now and the next 48 hours, a lot of things can happen before they send me an email. Who knows. Hopefully nothing bad will happen.
But what’s the lesson here?
1. When I called, I have every intention of asking for a replacement. But the fact that I was a hot potato and Apple failed at First Call Problem Resolution (something, by the way, I pitched to my bosses in 1998 as a lowly CSR at the nation’s largest financial institution) means that I never want to have anything to do with them. We’ll keep the Macs for editors, but trust me, I’ll find something other than a HP or Dell or Apple to buy next for myself, and for our growing company.
2. Apple has begun its long delayed descent. It’s nothing personal. It’s just the way that it is. Apple’s stock says a lot:
December, 2000: $8.50
April, 2003: $7.10
February, 2005: $45
April, 2007: $94
In other words, in 7 years, the company’s stock has grown tenfold on the strength of their computer sales and their digital music players, the wildly successful iPods. But much the same way that MSFT had Windows and Office (two trick pony), Google had search and advertising (two trick pony) I think that deep down inside, the real and fake Steve Jobs know full well that it will take a massive hit to keep that stock rolling.
MSFT could not do it. Google, it does not look like, could do it. Both are monopolies to varying degrees (let’s toss in “allegedly” to make our lawyers happy).
I don’t think Apple will be able to do it. John Dvorak and Peter Svensson say that they won’t do it. I don’t really know or care if they are right, but what I do know is that due to Apple’s hubris and thinking that they can launch any product in any market and win any client, they put out a clunker and then added insult to injury by refusing to help me ship back their crapbox… translation: no Apple TV or iPhone for me, and going forward, no Mac or iPod.
Judging by the tone and handling by their service team, I’d assume I’m not alone. The shield has been broken. Apple is on the descent.
How you like them Apples, Steve?
Slowly but surely, our office is converting to Macs. We edit quite a lot of video at WatchMojo.com, and Macs are the way to go, I am told.
Anyway, when I set up the office, I went with Dell. I figured at least the business side of the operation could count on Dell.
I just called Dell to buy more RAM memory for one of my colleagues’ desktops.
Me: Hi, I’d like to buy some RAM for a desktop I ordered from you guys.
Dell: Is this for an office or home?
Me: Well, I bought it myself as a person, but it was for an office.
Dell: Allow me to refer you to the right department.
I then go through an option: a) desktops, b) printers (I think) and c) software and peripherals.
All to say, nothing on memory. I’m basically shaving in the dark here folks.
So I picked c) software and peripherals.
I then get forwarded to a freaking answering machine of someone who tells me that he’s either not available or serving someone else.
What a freaking joke.
Worst off, since it’s RAM for a Dell machine, then I need to call them back.
Michael Dell and Kevin Rollins, if that’s your strategy going forward, before calling Dell back to place my order for the RAM memory I’m calling my broker to short your stock.
[Note: This is for entertainment purposes only, I have no position - Long or Short - on Dell and won’t].
UPDATE 1: I just called back, got through to someone, was placed on hold, and got hung up on. Man, this is freaking unreal.
Must.Try.Again. Unfortunately.
UPDATE 2: These people have balls. I just got referred a few times, then got a voice mail. Do these people understand how sales works, or rather should work.
The choice now: buy RAM for Dell or simply get rid of Dell crapbox and buy another desktop altogether. Or rather, laptop from someone else.
Estimated time since I started trying to buy a stick of memory: 1 hour, at least.
Let’s call again, unfortunately.
UPDATE 3: Called back. Told them I wanted to file a complain. I was asked why… I recapped the scenario.
Dell: Is this for an office or person?
Me: Wherever I will find a life form.
I think I was forwarded to business, I did not get a complaint person, but rather a sales person. Since I need the stupid memory stick, I put in the order. Nice to see that I had to threaten to file a complaint.
I did, between Update 2 and 3 email the powers that be at Dell:
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Ashkan Karbasfrooshan
Date: Jan 5, 2007 2:40 PM
Subject: Your service and sales is worrisome, thought you might want to know
To: michael_farello@dell.com
Cc: michael_dell@dell.com, kevin_rollins@dell.comMichael,We had spoken in the past.You might be interested in this:Read by these folks.CheersAsh
–
Ashkan Karbasfrooshan
President and Founder
Mojo Supreme
Ash@MojoSupreme.com
http://www.WatchMojo.com
I guessed Mr. Dell and Rollins’ emails. Incidentally, I guess Mr. Farello, Dell’s VP, US Consumer Electronics and Accessories (with whom I had some exchanges back in the day) is gone:
Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently:
michael_farello@dell.com
Technical details of permanent failure:
PERM_FAILURE: SMTP Error (state 9): 501 #5.1.1 bad address michael_farello@dell.com
But, by the looks of it, the emails to Mr. Dell and Rollins did not bounce… I guess their receptionists’ got them. I’m sure they’ll care aplenty.
Oh, if you’re keeping track: $240 for 1 Gig of Ram for a desktop. That was the last Dell product I ever bought. Ever.
PLAY
