Customer Service..
I wanted to relate an experience I had recently because it was so out of the ordinary..
Over the weekend I decided there was sufficient reason to order an Apple TV, despite it's cool-factor, I had downloaded all 19 episodes of Battlestar Galactica Season 3 through iTunes and now needed a way to watch them on the Plasma.
Obviously, the first place to go if you want an Apple product of any kind is the Apple Store, the second -- Apple.com. But I recently discovered that if I log in to my Marriott Rewards account and link to any of the websites they list, I can get Marriott Points for my purchases. So I hopped on the site, found a familiar online store and clicked through.
The website was JR.com (J&R Music World). Now I've ordered once from them before and I DID get the item, and J&R's prices are really quite good. They are a New York store though which worries me because many of those online stores you find with low prices are big time scams.
Anyway, despite showing as "Out of Stock" I ordered it anyway. Price was the same as Apple.com (expected for something that only recently came out) but no tax and free shipping. I placed the order Friday night.
Yesterday (Monday) I figured I'd call them and try to find out when they might be getting them in. Here's the good part...
Phil answered the phone with his New York accent and I told him that I ordered an out-of-stock item and wanted to make sure there was no huge problem with that, and see if any might be coming "in-stock" soon. With my order number he checked and found that 50 had arrived that morning, THEN without me asking.. he checked how many people had ordered them.. 15 so I definitely will be getting mine. In an attempt to set some expectations he explained that it would ship no later than Wednesday. Adding up the 2 days plus 5 days for shipping, I asked about changing the ship method. Next Day for $30, 2nd Day for $15. 2nd day seemed adequate. Phil even verified my ship location to ensure that I even needed to bother with 2day (if I was close to New York, Ground might only take that long anyway) but being on the other coast it made sense. Again... Phil surprised me by offering to put in a note that I needed the item by Wednesday the 4th (2 days) and then told me that he'd call me by the end of the day (6PM ET) to let me know if it shipped or not. And guess what... HE FREAKIN CALLED. Told me it shipped UPS 2nd Day and I'd be getting it Wednesday, and that I'll have a shipping confirmation email in the evening. That also happened.
So here's the thing... Good customer service has been waning for a while now, especially as consumers buy more from online stores, getting the cheapest prices they can to save a few bucks. Retail store employees are generally uninformed and rarely enthusiastic. Online stores are usually only available by email and it takes a day to get a response. J&R is not only CLEARLY on top of things, have a huge inventory, but they maintain low prices, don't gouge for shipping, and have exceptional customer service. I filled out their online survey after the call, unfortunately they didn't have Phil's name in the list of reps to choose from.
Over the weekend I decided there was sufficient reason to order an Apple TV, despite it's cool-factor, I had downloaded all 19 episodes of Battlestar Galactica Season 3 through iTunes and now needed a way to watch them on the Plasma.
Obviously, the first place to go if you want an Apple product of any kind is the Apple Store, the second -- Apple.com. But I recently discovered that if I log in to my Marriott Rewards account and link to any of the websites they list, I can get Marriott Points for my purchases. So I hopped on the site, found a familiar online store and clicked through.
The website was JR.com (J&R Music World). Now I've ordered once from them before and I DID get the item, and J&R's prices are really quite good. They are a New York store though which worries me because many of those online stores you find with low prices are big time scams.
Anyway, despite showing as "Out of Stock" I ordered it anyway. Price was the same as Apple.com (expected for something that only recently came out) but no tax and free shipping. I placed the order Friday night.
Yesterday (Monday) I figured I'd call them and try to find out when they might be getting them in. Here's the good part...
Phil answered the phone with his New York accent and I told him that I ordered an out-of-stock item and wanted to make sure there was no huge problem with that, and see if any might be coming "in-stock" soon. With my order number he checked and found that 50 had arrived that morning, THEN without me asking.. he checked how many people had ordered them.. 15 so I definitely will be getting mine. In an attempt to set some expectations he explained that it would ship no later than Wednesday. Adding up the 2 days plus 5 days for shipping, I asked about changing the ship method. Next Day for $30, 2nd Day for $15. 2nd day seemed adequate. Phil even verified my ship location to ensure that I even needed to bother with 2day (if I was close to New York, Ground might only take that long anyway) but being on the other coast it made sense. Again... Phil surprised me by offering to put in a note that I needed the item by Wednesday the 4th (2 days) and then told me that he'd call me by the end of the day (6PM ET) to let me know if it shipped or not. And guess what... HE FREAKIN CALLED. Told me it shipped UPS 2nd Day and I'd be getting it Wednesday, and that I'll have a shipping confirmation email in the evening. That also happened.
So here's the thing... Good customer service has been waning for a while now, especially as consumers buy more from online stores, getting the cheapest prices they can to save a few bucks. Retail store employees are generally uninformed and rarely enthusiastic. Online stores are usually only available by email and it takes a day to get a response. J&R is not only CLEARLY on top of things, have a huge inventory, but they maintain low prices, don't gouge for shipping, and have exceptional customer service. I filled out their online survey after the call, unfortunately they didn't have Phil's name in the list of reps to choose from.