Really Bad Service Is A Customer Rights Issue

Reviews of Priceline Customer Service

2010-08-10T13:06:00.000-07:00

Back on 4-1-2010, I made airline reservations for 5 people from BOI to MSP and back.

Yesterday, August 9, I came home from work and discovered a voicemail and an email from Priceline telling me that my return flight had been canceled by Frontier.

Since it was too late to call last night, I called the phone number in the email this morning and the Priceline rep told me that I was already booked on a flight a day earlier. What?! I had not approved that, and if anyone from Priceline had spoken with me prior to making that change I would have denied it because I am attending a family wedding and cannot leave a day earlier.

The Priceline rep told me that there's nothing he could do, that I would have to call Frontier.

So I called Frontier and they said that they WOULD HAVE BEEN able to simply book me on a different airline, but since Priceline had already confirmed that change I could not change it again. They referred me back to Priceline.

So, in short, Priceline approved the change and confirmed a new flight (out of several different options) without speaking with me.

I called Priceline back, and the rep (a different one this time) presented two alternative Frontier flight options for me. I asked if they could place me on another airline, and he said no. I asked why Priceline randomly picked one of several flight options and confirmed it for me without my consent. He had no answer for that.

So, is it Priceline policy to confirm flight changes without speaking to the customer? Their rep said it is not their policy, and yet Priceline did exactly that. I asked him to provide some proof of contact with me prior to making the flight change, and he could not....because Priceline did not get my approval to make the change.

Here's what makes me so upset: Priceline either violated their own policy of seeking customer approval prior to confirming a flight change, or it is the policy of Priceline to make such changes without customer consent. Either way, Priceline was negligent and it has caused extreme inconvenience for me.

Adding to the problem is the fact that Frontier would have been willing and able to book me on United, meeting my original schedule, if only Priceline had not confirmed the changes for me.

Since Priceline could not help me, or was unwilling to help me, I again called Frontier and spoke with a customer service agent. I explained my frustration with Priceline, and she immediately booked me on an alternate flight of my choosing. No hassles. No excuses. Please keep in mind that the flight Frontier changed me to is a flight that Priceline had said was not available.

But wait. This story gets even better. In speaking with Frontier, the service agent asked why I had waited so long to call them. So long? I was just notified YESTERDAY that my original flight had been canceled. I had called immediately as soon as their office opened. Well, apparently this flight had actually been canceled in JUNE and Priceline had not bothered to notify me until almost two months had passed!

Is it also the policy of Priceline to wait two months to notify customers of flight changes? Or, alternatively, did Priceline break their own policy of immediate notification when a flight is changed?

So now I am spending more than an hour on the phone, on my day off, trying to fix the schedule changes Priceline approved for me. I can assure you that 100% of my future business will be directed to Priceline's competition. I can also assure you that, when the opportunity arises, I will let others know exactly what I think of Priceline.

How Staples Coupons In Store REALLY Work

2010-04-12T21:44:00.000-07:00

Many of you, like me, have used Staples coupons in store to save money. Well, I hate to say it but it appears that Staples coupons are not all they're cracked up to be.

In my local Staples store the other day I purchased a package of MEMOREX 100PK CD/D SLEEVES for $13.98. The item number on my receipt is 034707019614. I found the exact same item at Office Depot for $4.99 each. I have also purchased the exact same item at Wal-Mart for the same $4.99 price.

The reason why we have pretty much stopped shopping at Staples is because the prices are so high. On this one item Staples is priced more than double the competition, and actually almost 3x the competition! You can look this up yourselves at officedepot.com to price compare.

The only reason I went to Staples at all was the "$10 off $20" coupon Staples sent me in the mail. I do not plan to go back.....I simply cannot afford to pay double or triple the price for basic items.

The moral of the story is that Staples coupons and Staples coupon codes may offer some savings, but certainly not enough to balance out their insanely high prices.

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2009-11-06T23:03:00.000-08:00

Today, for the first time in a very long time, I had to visit my local Staples store to buy some CD labels. I probably wouldn't have gone there, but they keep sending me those darn Staples coupons in the mail! Besides, I still have my Staples Rewards card that gives me back a percentage of what I spend there.

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised to find that every single person in this particular Staples store was friendly and efficient! I was approached by an eager young man, who walked me over to the products I wanted to buy. No pointing and grunting like the proverbial Wal-Mart employee!

My Staples cashier was quick and accurate. Okay, so she accidentally entered my Staples coupon code for $1 instead of $10, but it was no big deal. She apologized, made a joke about it, and corrected her error. Nicely done!

If you've been to a Staples lately, I hope you've experienced the same great level of customer service! (Now, for all you 'conspiracy freaks' out there, let me say that I have no affiliation with Staples at all. I just tell it like it is.)

Microsoft Vista Support Tools Are Too Little, Too Late

2009-09-30T07:58:00.000-07:00

For anyone and everyone who has experienced the poor customer service when using Microsoft Vista support tools, I feel your pain.

Is it just me, or is Vista a joke?

I purchased Vista with my new computer, and I've regretted it every since. My CD drive keeps disappearing for no reason, and my computer freezes up multiple times each day. I'm not the only one, either. Literally everyone I know who has Vista shares the same belief that it's a horrible product that has far too many bugs to work properly. My nephew, after spending countless hours trying to get his DVD drive to reappear, finally took the entire computer back to Best Buy and paid for repairs. My in-laws are constantly fighting Vista, just trying to get it to perform basic daily tasks.

Of course, I've downloaded the Vista Service Pack 2 and all the other Vista gadgets that are recommended by Microsoft. Both Vista SP1 and Vista SP2 failed to fix the problems I've been experiencing.

I'm not sure if Microsoft downloads ever really fix anything for anyone, but I've turned on my automatic updates feature just in case.

Here's what really kills about Vista, though. The level of consumer support offered by Microsoft is laughable. They offer the Microsoft support tools on their site, but none of these tools worked for me. After reading through quite a few of the discussion threads on the site, it appears that many of the Microsoft Vista support options don't work for other people, either.

Do you think I can call someone at Microsoft to get some actual help from a real person? Sure, for $59 to start.

Really? You're going to charge me $59 to fix a faulty product that you sold me? How is that fair?

When you buy a car that's faulty, you return it and it gets fixed. It's called a warranty. Same with a stereo, a dress, or even a cake from the local bakery.

As a matter of fact, I'm finding it difficult to think of ANY other product category where there is no implied warranty at all. This is apparently the case with Microsoft Vista.

About three weeks ago I wrote Microsoft a letter expressing my frustrations. Keeping in line with their customer service philosophy, I received zero response.

So for any of you who haven't yet purchased Microsoft Vista, DON'T. It's a product with countless bugs and no effective product support.

WinCo Stores Strike Again

2009-09-29T08:45:00.000-07:00

Although this experience is not unique to WinCo stores, it is one of my pet peeves. You know what I'm talking about.....you're standing in one of WinCo's famously long checkout lines when a new cashier finally comes up to the front. Instead of taking the next person in line, they just flip on their checkstand light and stand there.

Then it's a mad dash to see who can get there first. It's never the next person in line, because they're blocked in by all the customers in line behind them.

So it's finally our turn to pay for our groceries, and the cashier doesn't acknowledge our presence in any way. Instead, he turns around and complains to the cashier behind him that he hasn't had a break yet.

Now if that doesn't make you feel valued as a customer, what will?

Boy, I sure am sorry that I came into your store to buy things and generate a paycheck for you! Perhaps it would be more convenient for you if I went somewhere else. Then you could take a break. Hey, here's an idea: if enough of us went somewhere else then you could take a permanent break! Wouldn't that be great?

Like I said, this behavior isn't unique to WinCo stores. I see it all the time at Wal-Mart stores too. But that doesn't make it right.

Are Bank of America Locations Better?

2009-07-11T23:14:00.000-07:00

Recently I needed to get some home equity loan information and I decided to get it in person rather than on the web.

My wife and I visited about a half-dozen local banks to compare home equity loan interest rates and make a decision.

Now, if you're looking for advice on who has the best home equity loan vs. line of credit interest rates then you should stop reading. This isn't a financial advice blog, and I'm not Warren Buffett.

What I will tell you without hesitation is that Bank of America locations had BY FAR the best customer service of all the banks we visited. One Bank of America branch even had a designated greeter standing in the lobby! She said hello to everyone who came in, offered assistance, and then directed them to the appropriate employee in the branch. When she sent someone to the teller counter, she even made sure they had the correct slip in their hand (deposit or withdrawal).

Does your bank do that? Mine doesn't. My bank seems to want me to do all my banking online, I suppose so they can hire fewer tellers and minimize labor costs.

The Bank of America locations I have visited are doing everything right when it comes to customer service. Other banks are not.

And isn't that what it's all about?

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Recent AIG News Is Not A Bonus For Customers

2009-03-15T05:44:00.000-07:00

The recent AIG news is absolutely not a bonus for their customers. On March 14th it was reported that American International Group (AIG) is paying $165 million in bonuses to their executives. Please say it isn't so!

This AIG news update is particularly bad because it is SCREWING three distinct sets of customers: the United States taxpayer, AIG stock owners and AIG insurance policyholders.

The first group of customers that is losing here are the American taxpayers. Remember that AIG has already received $170 BILLION in taxpayer cash. That's your money, and that's my money. In my book, that makes each one of us a customer of AIG even if we don't own one of their insurance policies. When executives take our money as a bonus for bankrupting their company, it is the very definition of inferior customer service!

The second customer that is being taken advantage of by the AIG bailout is the AIG stock holder. When you purchase stock in a company, you are buying a piece of that company. You are an owner. So explain to me why the owners of AIG are being forced to reward the very people that destroyed the company? "The bonuses will be paid to executives at A.I.G.’s financial products division, the unit that wrote trillions of dollars’ worth of credit-default swaps that protected investors from defaults on bonds backed in many cases by subprime mortgages." (New York Times, 3-14-09)

Since when, as a nation, do we work so hard to reward failure? Why is it in our best interest to save bankrupt companies? Why are we paying millions to the executives that ran these businesses into the ground? To quote a line from the movie Wall Street (one of my favorites): "The whole world's off it's rocker!"

Finally, the third group of customers that are losing out in all this are the AIG insurance policy holders. It's obvious that their insuring company is being poorly managed. It's also obvious by the AIG management salaries that the company doesn't care about their customers. Is there a 'retention bonus' being paid to customers who have kept their policy with AIG? Yeah, right.

My recommendation is to write to your Congressman and tell them to stop bailing out companies. Tell them to stop wasting your money. Tell them to stop saving businesses that have failed, only to reward the very people that caused the failure with million-dollar bonuses.

Then I recommend that you vote with your wallet, and switch from AIG to a different insurance company. If you're a current AIG insurance policy holder, do you really think that they care about you? Do you really think that it's going to get better? of course not. Here are a few insurance companies you may want to consider as an alternative to AIG:

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Bailout Package Pork = One Angry Customer

2009-02-25T22:57:00.000-08:00

This blog is about inferior customer service. Not really the place where you'd expect to read about the government bailout package, is it?

On the other hand, the government bailout grants are EXACTLY what I should be writing about!

Why? Because I am a CUSTOMER of the United States!

Yeah. I said it! I am a customer (and you are, too) of the United States government!

Just because we elect (choose) our boss doesn't mean we're not a customer!

Quite frankly, as a customer of my government, I'M ANGRY ABOUT THE INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF BAILOUT PACKAGE PORK THAT IS BEING FORCED ON THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!

As we all know, Congress and Barack Obama have been spending money almost as fast as they can print it. In late 2008 they spent $205 BILLION of our dollars! Check out the details.....

$30 billion Bear Stearns
JP Morgan Chase teamed up with the federal government to bail out Bear Stearns when the financial giant neared collapse. JP Morgan bought Bear Stearns for $236 million and the Federal Reserve provided a $30 billion credit line to ensure the sale could move forward.

$200 billion Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac
The impending collapse of two of the nation's largest housing finance firms was yet another symptom of the subprime mortgage crisis. To prevent further turmoil within the financial market, the U.S. government took control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and guaranteed up to $100 billion for each company to ensure they would not fall into bankruptcy.

$150 billion American International Group (A.I.G.)
When AIG was unable to obtain a private-sector loan, the federal government intervened by taking control of the insurance giant. Less than one month after the initial bailout, the Fed stepped in with an additional $37.8 billion to bolster AIG's securities lending business. In November 2008, with the insurance giant reporting heavy losses, the Feds revised the terms of the bailout and purchased $40 billion in AIG preferred shares.

$25 billion Auto Industry
In September 2008, Congress approved a $630 billion+ spending bill, which included $25 billion in loans to the auto industry. These low-interest loans were intended to aid the industry in its push to build more fuel-efficient, environmentally-friendly vehicles. The Detroit 3 (General Motors, Ford and Chrysler) will be the primary beneficiaries.

Now, I'm no mathematics whiz but I am quite adept at simple problems.

According to http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html, we have 105,480,101 households in the United States as of 2007.

If our government were to give each United States household $5,000 today, that would cost our government roughly $527,400,505,000 total.

It's now late-February, 2009, and our government has spent FAR MORE than $5,000 per household!

So, yeah, I'm quite pissed off about this! This is the very definition of inferior customer service!

If our elected leaders would give that $5,000+ to each household instead of giving it to corporations, what do you think would be the end result?

Some people would blow the cash. They would spend it as fast as they got it. That would stimulate the economy.

Some people would pay down their credit card debt. That would help the credit card companies and the banks.

Some people would buy a new or used car. That would help the auto manufacturers.

Some people would either get caught up on their mortgage payments or even pre-pay their mortgage. That would help Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

In other words, paying the PEOPLE who actually own the tax revenue would immediately trigger the same benefits the government is trying to achieve!

Am I the only one who finds the logic in this?

Intead of TAKING money away from the public and giving it to corporations, why aren't we letting the public spend their own money to achieve the same objective?

Is this some kind of sick joke?

Is Arby's 5 For $5.95 Worth The Customer Service?

2009-01-08T21:20:00.000-08:00

Here's my question for today: Is Arby's 5 for $5.95 worth the horrible customer service you're likely to encounter at any Arby's location in the United States?

Back in the day (when I was in college) all Arby's locations offered what was commonly known as the Arby's 5 for 5 deal. We would get 5 of their basic roast beef sandwiches for 5 bucks. It was cheaper than a pizza, and really quite good after a few beers!

Unfortunately, prices have gone up since then.

Now we either have to use Arby's coupons or other Arby's specials to get a good deal there. The Arby's 5 For $5.95 seems like a decent compromise, so I've been going there lately to load up on my favorite selection of Arby's calories.

What I've found is that most Arby's locations have, posted out in plain view, a flag system to show their current level of customer service success. They "fly" a color-coded flag to show how customer-friendly they are. I assume that they're measuring this with some type of Mystery Shopper program.

The local Arby's locations that I frequent have a yellow flag posted for the current quarter. They also have a red flag posted for the prior quarter. I assume that these flags indicate they have received poor customer service ratings for the current quarter, and horrible customer service ratings for the prior quarter.

I don't think the Arby's menu has much to do with these ratings. I do, however, think that their attitude with customers has everything to do with these ratings.

On a recent trip to Arby's I found that one of their two entrance doors was locked. After ordering, I mentioned to the clerk that their door was locked. He acted surprised, and turned to tell the manager on duty. The manager replied that it was snowing outside, the restaurant floors were wet, and that she didn't have enough "Wet Floor" signs to cover two entrances. So, she made a decision to leave one door locked. That way she wouldn't have to worry about customers entering the building without being warned with a "Wet Floor" sign.

Besides the obvious fact that her decision placed this Arby's location in violation of the local fire code, what this manager did not realize is that her decision also created a perfect example of inferior customer service.

I mean, really, when you're preventing customers from entering your business it's not necessarily the best business decision.

We're left to wonder if the "red flag" being flown at this Arby's location is due to the fact that their Mystery Shopper had difficulty entering the restaurant. I know that I did, and I'm a regular cash-paying customer.

So is Arby's 5 for $5.95 worth the inferior customer service you're likely to encounter at any Arby's location in the United States? Please help us decide this important question! If you've received extraordinarily good or bad customer service at an Arby's location lately, please leave a comment and tell us!

Citibank Credit Card Customer Care Is A Joke

2008-11-22T22:15:00.000-08:00

After the events of this week, there can be no doubt that Citibank credit card customer care is floundering like a fish out of water.

Earlier this week it was announced that all Citibank locations will be eliminating a combined 52,000 jobs in early 2009. That's about 15% of the Citibank workforce.

The bottom line for customer service is that everyone who regularly receives a Citibank credit card statement is now experiencing really poor customer service, and it's only going to get worse.

Perhaps the best way to tell you about this issue is to quote an article that appeared in the 11-18-08 issue of USA Today:

You might think that Citi's economic distress would give it more appreciation for the suffering of its customers in tough times. But you'd be wrong. Citi also announced it is jacking up interest rates, by an average of two or three points, on millions of credit card customers because of the 'difficult market environment'.....

In Citi's case, there's an extra sting: The hike breaks a public promise. Just 20 months ago, Citi pledged to ditch one of the banking industry's most indefensible practices - raising interest rates 'any time, for any reason'. Vikram Atal, Citi Cards' CEO, told a Senate panel that 'we are giving up that practice. Once a card is issued, we will not voluntarily increase the rates or fees on the account until the card expires'. Citi touted the new policy to customers with a tag line 'A deal is a deal'.

Well, apparently not when the going gets tough. Then, the deal is off. But that wouldn't make much of a tag line.

The Citibank credit card payments aren't coming in as fast as they used to, which is due to the poor economic conditions today. The Citibank credit card applications aren't coming in as fast as they used to either, and we have to wonder if that isn't because of their terrible customer service.

At the end of the day, it's no wonder that Citibank credit card customer care is now seen as nothing more than a joke.

Many credit card applications are now going to other lenders. For example, thousands of people are taking up the offer to Apply for a WorldPerks® Visa® Credit Card today!

Still others are choosing to Get $100 Cash Back Bonus with the Discover® Business Card!

When they see customers leaving for other credit card companies, it should come as no surprise to the Citibank credit card folks. But we have to wonder, if they're so out-of-tune with their customer base already, why would they notice any change now?

Job Layoffs In 2008 Hurt Customer Service

2008-11-12T09:44:00.000-08:00

It will come as no surprise to anyone that the U.S. economy is in bad shape right now. Each day we read and hear that job layoffs in America are hitting new highs, with many industries having to cut their payroll just to make ends meet.

There are lots of people on a job search right now. A 7-Eleven store in California received 100+ applications in less than two weeks for a job paying $8.50 per hour. A FedEx office recently fielded 300+ applications for just five temporary positions.

So what we have here is a combination of job layoffs in 2008 combined with too many applicants for too few positions. It's not likely to get better any time soon, at least in the retail sector. On 11-12-08 the AP reported that "The flood of jobseekers comes even as the retail industry drastically cuts back on holiday hiring because of the drop-off in consumer spending..."

In other words, what we have for the 2008 Christmas season is the 'perfect storm' for customer service. The perfect storm definition here is a highly stressed out salse force in the retail stores because 1) labor has been cut to the bone and 2) employees are being asked to do more (often MUCH more) with less.

The average retail store, with sales declines racking up daily, cannot afford the same amount of staff they had last year. I know of many retailers where the sales force (work hours) have been cut by 20% or more. At the same time, the work still has to be done. That's where customer service starts to get stretched.

Frenzied employees, trying to do the same amount of Christmas preparation with 20% fewer hours, are reluctant to spend quality time with a customer. Retail managers, aware of how much work has to be done with 20% fewer hours, are reluctant to admonish employees for spending less time with customers.

The moral of the story is that whatever you happen to have on your Christmas shopping list this year, the odds are good that decent customer service will be lacking in the stores. Don't necessarly blame the employees, because it's not their fault that they're being required to do the same amount of work with 20% less help. Don't necessarily blame the company either, because they often didn't have any choice but to proceed with job layoffs.

Working customer service jobs during Christmas is also stressful anyway, so keep that in mind as you shop.

But most importantly, when you DO encounter somebody who is providing truly SUPERIOR CUSTOMER SERVICE be sure to recognize that by talking to the manager or sending an email to the company. This year, more than ever, finding such an employee will be rare indeed.

Is CostCo The Cheapest When It Comes To Customer Service?

2008-10-23T00:26:00.000-07:00

I've heard that CostCo locations have the cheapest gas out there, and I've also heard that CostCo even has the cheapest laptops on the market.

But how are they with customer service? I've been thinking about buying a CostCo membership, but before I write them a check I really need to know how CostCo Wholesale compares with my favorite good-service retailers like Safeway and Bed, Bath & Beyond.

Do you have a good CostCo customer service story to share? If so, please leave a comment!

Some Airlines In America Have A Customer Service Problem!

2008-10-15T23:23:00.000-07:00

There's no denying it. Some airlines in America have a customer service problem!

I know that many of you have a story about botched airlines tickets or canceled flights. It's also true that airlines jobs have gotten much more difficult lately, with the company making employees do more with less.

But just let me tell you about my experience trying to get airline tickets with frequent flyer miles that I earned!

Over the years I've accumulated quite a few air miles with Northwest Airlines. I've done this by flying Northwest airlines and also by utilizing their 'free miles' offers at the gate.

Sometimes, when a flight is overbooked, the gate will announce that they are looking for volunteers to take a later fight. In return, they say, they will give you a voucher good for a free flight. Having a flexible schedule, I did this twice. IT'S A COMPLETE JOKE. Sure, they give you the voucher but it's IMPOSSIBLE to redeem!

I tried and tried to redeem my free flight vouchers, but when I asked about any particular flight I was consistently told that 'no seats qualified for my voucher'. Basically, Northwest Airlines made it impossible for me to redeem these vouchers! I got to the point where I asked the Northwest airlines people if there was ANYWHERE I could fly ANYTIME with my vouchers. They had no answer for that.

To make a long story short, I ended up ripping my free flight vouchers in half and mailing them to Northwest airlines with a note that said THANKS FOR NOTHING.

Regarding my frequent flyer miles that I earned by flying Northwest, the story is about the same. It's almost IMPOSSIBLE to use any of these miles because Northwest will not offer you a seat on any plane.

So, in a last-ditch effort to get SOMETHING for all my Northwest airline miles, I went to their website to check out their non-airfare rewards. I was quite pleased to see that I could trade my miles for a gift card to a major national retailer! FINALLY, something I could actually use!

I selected the gift card(s) I wanted, only to find that MY FREQUENT FLYER MILES DON'T QUALIFY FOR THIS PROMOTION!

Are you kidding me?!?!?!?!

So, the moral of the story is that my frequent flyer miles with Northwest Airlines are completely worthless.

Poor customer service like that makes me declare that the Northwest Airlines flight status is DEAD ON ARRIVAL DUE TO INFERIOR CUSTOMER SERVICE.

My best recommendation is to AVOID NORTHWEST AIRLINES altogether. If you insist on using Northwest for your travel, then I recommend that you get their credit card which will help you Earn up to 20,000-mile Enrollment Bonus by applying for a WorldPerks Visa® card today!

Miles earned with an airline credit card may be more valuable than miles earned by giving up your seat on an overbooked flight. But with Northwest, who knows?

US Banks In Trouble With Customer Service

2008-10-11T06:20:00.000-07:00

For the last six years we've had several business bank accounts with US Bank. Since they're a typical bank, I automatically expect a Jekyll and Hyde customer service experience. In other words, in some ways their service is GREAT but in other ways their service is horrible.

For example, in most US Bank locations I've found that the customer service is exceptional. They really do a nice job of consistently making the customer feel valued. On the other hand, I have also found that US Bank is often sneaky with their changes to banking terms and other rules. That's not the best customer service.

Anyway, recently we decided to close and cancel one of our business bank accounts and open a different one. In the process, we wanted to change the US Bank credit card processing system we had in place. We also asked to cancel the check processing service we had with US Bank.

Any idea how many months, phone calls and personal branch visits it took them to actually cancel and close this one business bank account, cancel our check processing service, and alter our credit card processing service?

I am not kidding when I say that it took about FOUR MONTHS for US Bank to change the credit card processing service we had with them. As for the check processing service, they were still billing us for that THREE MONTHS after we had cancelled it!

US Bank has what I would call exceptional customer service representatives in their branches, but their processes and banking terms are not very impressive. They certainly have not made the account changes I've requested in a timely manner.

Instead of using US Bank for our business credit cards, right now we're looking at using the Discover® Business Card

Based on the difficulty we had with making changes to our US Bank credit card processing service, in the future we may change providers. We're looking at Electronic Transfer as a good possibility because they let you Accept Credit Cards - Free Credit Card Processing Set Up

So which bank is the best at customer relationship management? Which bank has the highest customer satisfaction rating? Which bank offers the most and best customer services both in the branch and in their banking terms?

Please leave a comment if you have a recommendation or a good story about inferior customer service!

Wii Games Customer Service Review

2008-09-17T22:53:00.000-07:00

We purchased a Wii console about ten months ago (yep, for Christmas) and we've recently had a customer service experience that's been interesting.

After working perfectly for quite a while, some of our Wii games suddenly quit working. For example, Wii Sports has always worked well but Dance Dance Revolution for the Wii quit working altogether. Since my family loves Wii play this has been a real issue for us.

At first we thought it was the Wii games that were malfunctioning. So we took Wii DDR back to Fred Meyer where we had purchased it. They gladly exchanged it for a new copy, which didn't work either.

At that point we figured out that it was our Wii console that wasn't working properly, so we then attempted to exchange that (again at Fred Meyer). We were told that the store did not exchange Wii accessories or consoles, and the clerk had no advice for us.

So we then stopped by Game Crazy, where we were advised to visit Nintendo.com for repair information.

So, has anyone else had issues with their Wii system? Please leave a comment with your advice! In the meantime, we'll keep you posted on our Wii repair experience!

2008-09-17T22:50:00.000-07:00

Went To WinCo Stores Today.....

2008-09-09T22:07:00.000-07:00

I went to WinCo stores today for a short shopping trip. I had about twenty items to purchase, so it wasn't a big stock-up trip.

The only thing I'm sure of is that WinCo Foods is not really into customer service at any level.

As I shopped, I passed by at least five employees. Not one of them greeted me in any way. Not one! It's almost as if the customer is invisible in WinCo grocery stores or maybe they can see me, but they just don't care that I'm in their store.

Judging by the length of lines at the checkout, it's also obvious that WinCo Inc. doesn't care about how long the customer waits to pay for their purchases. I waited for a minimum of five minutes before I could give WinCo some money.

Someone remind me exactly why WinCo is so hesitant to take money from a customer. I just don't get it!

Sure, the prices at WinCo stores are decent. The prices there are even good.

The problem is that WinCo stores seems to be copying Wal-Mart when it comes to customer service. In other words, they are relying on pricing alone to guarantee that their customer base will remain loyal.

What I simply don't understand is how WinCo continues to miss the customer service angle. Requiring employees to SMILE and SAY HELLO doesn't cost a penny, and it doesn't take any extra time. So why don't they make this effort?

Really, there are only two possibilities as to why WinCo stores (or any retailer, for that matter) ignore customer service. They either:
1) Don't realize that making the customer feel welcome will be good for their business
or
2) Don't care.

If WinCo is guilty of option #1, which is to say that they don't realize the value of customer service, then we have no choice but to conclude that WinCo grocery stores have idiots as managers.

If, however, WinCo is guilty of option #2 then we have no choice but to conclude that WinCo Inc. is short-sighted at best. In other words, the management team at WinCo stores does not have the basic ability to understand the needs of their customer base.

Simple logic dictates that providing some level of customer service, which takes zero extra time or money, is good for business. When a company either doesn't realize that, or simply doesn't care, it leads us to believe that they are IDIOTS.

2008-09-09T21:57:00.000-07:00

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Do All Insurance Companies Suck?

2008-08-28T23:49:00.000-07:00

So here's a really good question for everyone out there: do ALL insurance companies suck? Honestly, I have NEVER encountered an industry that so consistently attempts to SCREW the customer out of their money! I really think that the people they hire for these insurance jobs have had an ethical bypass at birth.

Regular readers of this blog know that I put up a post a while back on this issue. Guess what? The problem is still not resolved.

Blue Cross Blue Shield are my insurance groups and their customer service is horrible. There's no other way to say it.

Sure, they give out insurance quotes all day long and pay insurance brokers big bucks to push their company. However, when a paying member actually visits a doctor the inferior customer service begins!

Actually, maybe it's true that not ALL insurance companies suck. I've heard that AIGDirect is a pretty good company, but I'm limited to the insurance company that's offered by my employer. If anybody wants to check out AIGDirect you can do so here: Save money and get a FREE quote from AIGDirect.com by clicking HERE

So here's the story in a nutshell: My wife went to the insurance-approved in-network doctor back in early June. The doctor submitted the bill to Blue Cross Blue Shield immediately. Remember, this was in early June, almost three months ago.

Blue Cross Blue Shield has not paid a dime of this bill. First they denied it, saying we had gone to an out-of-network physician. Not true. After a quick phone call, they admitted that and promised to pay. The next thing they tried was telling us that they had never received a bill from the doctor. Again, not true.

Seriously, is this one of the things they teach at some insurance institute somewhere? Does the industry put out a newspaper called the Insurance Times to keep all insurance groups up to date on how to best deny claims?

My personal opinion is that they're just playing a numbers game. I think they regularly deny claims as a standard practice, knowing that a certain percentage of customers will just pay the full amount and not dispute the denial.

That's not giving the customer what they're paying for, and that's not good customer service. As a matter of fact, that's downright INFERIOR customer service!

If you're like me, and you're looking for an insurance comparison so you can hopefully find an insurance company that doesn't suck, then you might want to check out these possibilities:
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American Dental Plan

Of course, if you want to really compare insurance companies you'll need to check out their customer service levels. Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield finally just paid the local doctor for a visit we made back on 1-9-08. Yes, they actually took NINE MONTHS to pay a bill they obviously owed!

If that's not inferior customer service, then I don't know what is!

2008-08-28T23:46:00.000-07:00

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Do Home Depot Jobs Involve Customer Service Training?

2008-08-03T00:52:00.000-07:00

If you live in the United States, there's a good chance that you have a Home Depot center near you. After all, there are Home Depot locations all over the country and almost everybody has been in one of their stores.

So here's my question: do Home Depot jobs require any customer service training?

Since I am somewhat conflicted about the customer service at Home Depot, this is a real question!

A while back we had a Home Depot center open near our home. We already had a Lowe's nearby, having opened a few months prior.

The problem I have with Home Depot was with their self-checkout locations. You'd assume that a new store, in a new town, would do whatever necesary to make sure that customer service was excellent. This was not the case with this Home Depot location.

During the first few weeks of their opening, this Home Depot center had lines upon lines at their self-checkout registers. The wait was so long that I personally witnessed several customers abandon their carts and walk out the door!

Perhaps one elderly man standing near me said it best when he stated "This is the best advertisement for Lowe's I've ever seen".

This Home Depot location finally did get the checkout lines under control, and everything appears to be fine now. But a first impression is a lasting one, and perhaps my first impression had a lasting impact.

After all, I didn't apply for a Home Depot credit card but I have one from Lowe's instead.

Perhaps Home Depot needs to evaluate their customer service information before, during and after their grand openings.

In the meantime, I continue to shop at Lowe's Home Improvement based solely upon that first grand opening experience.

2008-08-03T00:45:00.000-07:00

Have Starbucks Locations Dropped The Customer Service Ball?

2008-07-26T01:38:00.000-07:00

The Starbucks closing list recently released to the news media has revealed that Starbucks coffee will be closing about 600 stores in the near future.

How is it that a company as successful as Starbucks can admit defeat in such a breathtaking way?

Can you imagine how many Starbucks jobs will be lost as a result of these store closures?

The media has been all over this story, speculating as to how Starbucks could fall so far so fast. They've talked about everything from coffee makers to coffee beans to coffee house design in an attempt to explain away the problems of the Starbucks brand. Make no mistake about it, the media matters because they continually dig and dig until they find answers.

Although a lot of gibberish has been written about the Starbucks coffee house franchise lately, I do think that at least one media source has it right. I think that Starbucks is experiencing closures because they took their eye off the customer service ball.

Kevin Stirtz of the American Chronicle wrote a great article on this. So good, in fact, that I have nothing to add. You need to check it out yourself here: http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/69547

Once you read the article, you'll see why the Starbucks coffee house is closing 600 locations.

Yes, it's true. Customer service really does matter.

2008-07-26T01:36:00.000-07:00

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US Bank of America Is Charging High Fees!

2008-07-18T23:09:00.000-07:00

Has anyone else noticed that banking fees are getting completely out of control?

Years ago, when I was in college, I had an account with First Security Bank. Then in the late 80's (I think) First Security Bank was purchased by US Bank of America. That's how long I've had an account, or more than one account, with US Bank.

During the last 5+ years I've had two or three business accounts with US Bank of America and also between two and four personal accounts with US Bank. I have been what most would consider to be a valued customer.

While there have always been fees associated with banks, it's been my experience that lately the fees are getting completely out of control!

For example, on one of our business accounts the monthly "low balance" fee has been $12 and unfortunately we've paid that for quite a while. Keep in mind that "low balance" here means anything less than $3,000 total. So today I stopped in and visited the bank, only to find that they do indeed have a less expensive account option where I would NOT be charged $12 per month for a balance less than $3,000.

Okay, so why didn't anyone at US Bank tell me that when I opened the account?!?!?!

We've also used US Bank for our business credit/debit card processing through a service that they call NOVA. The fees have accumulated here, as well. I've seen our monthly fees climb and climb since we first started this service. Never once have they called me to discuss these fees or suggest a way that I could reduce them.

So, really, all I'm looking for is some fee help from US Bank of America. I don't expect them to waive their fees or to give me any special treatment. But seriously, don't they realize that they could generate some serious CUSTOMER LOYALTY by discussing fees with me and perhaps even suggesting different account options that could impact my banking fees?

What's next? Are they going to start charging fees for banking on line or perhaps even for mailing me my monthly statement?