I didn’t say it, Chris Brogan did - because he’s a smart guy. Actually what he said was this: “Customer service isn’t a chore. It’s the new PR” and it’s the truth, the public face of your company - which most likely is your customer service/customer care department is as important and as key to your survival as your PR.

So why do so many companies get it wrong?

Zappos.com is a well known example of a company that puts customer service before everything.  Our Vice President of Product Development, Cale Bruckner, could point you to a fly fishing company, Elkhorn Rod and Reel and how they made him happy about a question he had on his brand new reel. Or how about one of the most famous stories of them all- The Nordstrom’s “Tire return” story.

Good customer service doesn’t necessarily mean out of pocket. You don’t have to offer free shipping,  send free products or accept a return on a product you don’t even sell. Sometimes good customer service is remembering your repeat customers by name, it’s letting them know the shirt they are contemplating on buying will be going on sale the very next day, and sometimes it’s just a smile and a have a nice day.

Whatever it is, it’s noticed, and that person will become an evangelist and that evangelist will tell his fellow evangelists and you can see where I’m going from here.

‘Chelle Parmele
Social Media Marketing Manager
Palo Alto Software

Tags: customer service
Posted on December 1st, 2008 | No Comments »

We work really hard, here at Palo Alto Software, to make sure our software works right - not just on one operating system or setup, but on all the possible configurations we support. We’ve got two full-time testers sitting right next to the developers who write the code, gleefully pointing out any bugs they find. You know, just to keep the programmers on their toes.

But even the best products can have problems, whether it’s a package that gets broken in delivery, or a design flaw that makes your knees hit the steering wheel on that new-fangled bike.

The good news is, these frustrated customers can become your best word of mouth.

How? Great customer service should be an opportunity to market your company.

Read our latest Global Entrepreneurship Week article on Bplans.com discussing customer service as a flaw or opportunity.

Tags: customer service, Marketing, service
Posted on November 18th, 2008 | 1 Comment »

If you have a question or a technical issue with a product that Palo Alto Software produces, you can call us. It’s true. You can pick up the phone and dial 800-229-7526 and get right to a real live person. You can talk to any of our sales or technical support team. We don’t have a complicated phone tree. We don’t have you press a series of buttons to direct you to the right department, you call in and you’ll talk to a person who can direct you to the right department in a matter of moments.

Don’t want to talk to us directly? That’s ok. You can chat with us. You can go on our website and click on the Live Chat button and get a live person answering your questions. If the chat isn’t open, because we go home to our families at night, then an email with your question is sent and the next morning it has first priority to be answered.

These people work right here, in the Palo Alto Software office, within shouting reach of the developers, marketing department and upper management. There’s never a single moment that the team isn’t overheard by the entire company. Yeah, we’re that involved in the happiness of our customers.

So, still not interested in chat or phoning? That’s ok, you can email us. We use our own dogfood here, Email Center Pro. It’s the best way to make sure every email coming into our company is handled quickly and competently. Every email is answered within a 24 business hour turn around, but more than likely you’ll get an answer by the end of that work day. You might even get an answer from one of the team after hours or on the weekend. Not because it’s required, but because the team has a commitment to making sure people looking for help are answered.

Let me say that again. They have a commitment to making sure any customer reaching out to us is heard and responded to.

I’m telling you this because when I run into a company that literally makes me go around in circles to find technical support answers and tells me that sure I can call them for help if I give them $30 dollars to get the phone number first… I get frustrated.

And I have to tell you, a frustrated customer is a customer that won’t evangelize your product. They won’t return to get the newest version either. At least this customer won’t.

I know this isn’t a new subject here on the BIG blog, but I feel I have the responsibility to point it out when I see it. Good customer service isn’t hard to give. It’s actually a lot easier than you might think. And it’s vital. It’s so important. It’s the difference between success and the “going out of business” sign.

Good customer service is customer retention. It’s repeat business.

It’s your reputation.

Make sure it’s a priority in your business.

‘Chelle Parmele
Social Media Marketing Manager
Palo Alto Software

Pssst. Have you signed up for the Back to the Fundamentals webinar? Time’s running out, don’t miss your chance.
November 17th, 2008 at 9 a.m. PST

Tags: customer service, grow your business, palo alto software
Posted on November 13th, 2008 | 2 Comments »

A few weeks ago I blogged about customer service and I relayed an experience I had at the Eugene Track and Field Olympic Finals with Bank Of America. They were a sponsor and had a booth, and apparently were treating non-customers better than customers. Much to my amazement, on Friday I got a call from a customer service rep who had found my blog post and wanted to apologize for my bad experience. Can you believe it? It has given me a new-found respect for a large institutionalized bank. What a nice touch to personally reach out to me and apologize. I did not even contact them. Who knew that my blog posts would serve to help me get better served as a customer?

I want to commend Bank of America for spending time understanding new media, and reaching out to customers through this medium. Now I am wondering whether someone at BofA will begin following me on Twitter? I think that would just be too much!

Sabrina Parsons aka Mommy CEO

www.emailcenterpro.com

Tags: customer service
Posted on July 15th, 2008 | No Comments »

Here are another two stories about the importance of good customer service.

I’m heading back to Illinois to move the last of my mother’s furniture from her newly sold house to her new place in Ohio.

We were searching online for moving van/truck rentals and price estimates. One place we looked was Penske.com. The next day we received an email from Penske, following up on our inquiry and asking why we hadn’t booked with them. The email gave us a toll-free phone number and a promise of a discount.

I called them back and the customer care rep helped me make the reservation. Gave me the discount from the email, and a Web discount, checked on the return location, confirmed times and the whole lot. In all we saved over $175 over the competitor’s best rate.

Now, compare this with the tale of my Physical Therapist. She went to the local Eugene Honda dealer to buy a new hybrid sedan. She was a loyal Honda customer coming back for another car. The salesman she was dealing with showed her the car. The color was not even close to the one she’d ordered. After badgering her a bit he walked off to do some other business.

While she waited, thinking he was going to return, another salesman harangued her with “You’re only buying the hybrid for the gas mileage. What does it matter what color it is?”

Hey, even the car company founded by Henry Ford (of “you can have any color you want as long as it is black” fame) realized early on that customers wanted cars with colored paint, and they wanted the color they liked.

Well, my Physical Therapist was so angry at her treatment that she chose to drive an hour to Salem to a different Honda dealership to buy a car in a color she liked.

Here we see again the difference that customer service can make to your business. In one case we have a good program that followed up a contact, and with a friendly and knowledgeable phone representative, clinched a sale for the company.

In the second case the badgering, condescending, and dismissive sales staff lost what started out as a sure deal of $25,000+. Now, maybe $25K is a throwaway deal to these guys, but many businesses can’t afford to cavalierly lose returning customers.

Steve Lange
Palo Alto Software, Inc.

Tags: customer care, customer service, lost sales, sales
Posted on May 7th, 2008 | 1 Comment »