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Opining of a Cranky Old Man
It’s Hard to Be Cranky with Quality and Customer
Service On the Rebound
That was the week that was! I'm not even cranky
anymore!
By Bill Kalmar, Retiree
 May
1, 2009 - Most of us I suspect have had a week that we would prefer
relegating to our mental recycle bin. But every now and then we have a
week that is truly remarkable – I recently had such a week that soundly
confirmed my contention that customer service is rebounding and doing so
in large leaps! (Now, if our Detroit Pistons had rebounded better,
perhaps we wouldn’t have been swept in the first round of the playoffs,
but that’s a column for another time!)
But permit me to illustrate how a series of
interactions with various companies in a one-week span left me
exuberated, energized and enthused. (I love alliterations!)
Early in the week I noticed that my OnStar
subscription was expiring after one year of free service on my new Chevy
Impala. (Yes, living in Michigan means we buy American built cars!)
When contacted by the OnStar representative I indicated that there was
some uncertainly on my part about renewing the service.
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On the other hand, the “OnStar Turn by Turn
Navigation System” had bailed me out on numerous occasions when we
became disoriented while driving into unfamiliar areas, so I was
reluctant to be on my own without it. The rep assumed that I needed more
time to cogitate (I love that word!) on the renewal so he offered me
three free months that will carry me through the summer, which is when
we do much of our driving.
So no need to renew till the end of July! And it
will give me ample time to use up the many minutes still remaining on
the in-car phone.
Then I received a call from AT&T. Seems that
because we have a landline phone, cable TV and wireless for our computer
all from AT&T, we qualified for a $15 reduction on our landline phone.
Normally one has to discover these discounts on your own so I found it
interesting that AT&T initiated the call.
The polite young lady also
offered us a free cell phone if we switched to AT&T from Verizon but the
canceling fee of $75 deterred me from doing so. Maybe AT&T will pay for
that also and I will certainly make mention of that when the rep calls
again. In any event, the deal on the landline phone just meant more
money in our pockets and the week had just begun!
We then called AT&T U-Verse to discuss why one of
our TV channels had been eliminated. Seems we have had an HBO comedy
channel since we subscribed to AT&T cable and for whatever reason it was
provided in error.
In order to compensate us for losing a channel we
were not supposed to have in the first place, AT&T stated that they
would give us all the HBO channels for free for three months. And the
rep noticed that my wireless speed could be accelerated so he gave us
three months of a speedier package for free. He then topped it off by
offering to send us a check for $40, which we received days later! (Are
you counting all the money we are saving and the level of customer
service we are encountering?)
Last week it was also time to purchase a new pair
of running shoes so we went to our favorite shop in Lake Orion –
Hanson’s Running Store. The clerk noticed that I was a frequent buyer of
running shoes over the last three years and as such took $35 off the
purchase of a $100 pair of shoes and also gave me a coupon for $25 off
the next pair.
I asked him if the new shoes would guarantee my winning
all my races but that element did not come with the shoes. And once
again the company initiated the discussion of a discount – something
completely unexpected!
A trip to K-Mart to make a purchase gave us our
next windfall. A container of hair spray marked $3.40 rang up as $3.90.
Well, you know the drill – Michigan law states that if the marked price
differs from the register price the customer receives the difference (in
this case .50 cents) along with another $5.
Thus we walked out of K-Mart
with the hairspray and $5.50 in our pocket. (I think you can almost
picture all the money bulging in my wallet and the coins jingling in my
pocket!)
A frequent diner’s club coupon at Uno’s Chicago
Pizza gave us a free meal as did a similar coupon at Andiamo’s Italian
Restaurant. It sure pays to belong to all those frequent diner clubs!
Most of the clubs recognize your birthday by e-mailing discount coupons.
And to wrap up the week we bought a Shark Floor
Steaming machine at Kohl’s that had been reduced by $20 – along with a
$10 coupon we had received in the mail it was almost as if they were
buying it for us. And since the purchase was over $50 we received a
coupon for $10 on our next purchase!
What with the weak economy and companies looking
for ways to attract and retain customers, it came as no surprise to me
that customer service has been ratcheted up significantly.
All the
interactions we had with store personnel either in person or on the
phone was top notch and professional and extremely helpful, a far cry
from what may have been occurring years ago when the economy was
booming. Back then it was a seller’s market but now the tables have
turned and companies and store personnel are looking for ways to
differentiate themselves from the competition.
Each positive experience we have with a merchant
solidifies our relationship with that company. In the case of OnStar it
is highly likely that when the three months expires I will seriously
consider renewing my contract.
Of course I will be returning to Hansons
Running Store because of the $25 coupon I received. And if AT&T really
wants me as a cell phone customer, I suspect that we will come to some
agreement on my cancellation fee from Verizon.
All in all these companies are looking for ways to
shore up their customer base and frankly, I think they are doing an
exceptional job. They certainly have gotten my attention!
So as you can see it was a week to revel in! Now
I’m going to check my Lotto ticket. With the luck we have been having
lately my next column for Senior Journal might just be written from
Bali!
L Bill Kalmar is retired in Lake Orion, Michigan,
and is the former Director of the Michigan Quality Council. He is a
frequent contributor to SeniorJournal.com. His opinions are his own.
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