Theme of the Day

Hello Friends! 

Life here on farm (ha don’t I wish I had a farm!) is going full speed ahead, in a direction other than planned of course!

I want to share a couple of experiences… I had this week which all have a theme.

#1. I have a vacuum cleaner, only 2 years old. As anyone with dogs or kids knows, they occasionally need to have some attention, especially the area of the brush roll. So I settled in to deal with this machine. Thinking like most vacuums I have had, I’ll just take the cover off and clean out the area brush roll/belt area. After removing the screws (9), and a Google search for the how to get the cover off, I finally called the company. First thing the guy says to me is, "if you have removed any screws you have voided your warranty". Big deal, it’s already out of warranty and needs attention. Next he says they don’t make them to come apart. That if you need to replace the brush roll or belt, they sell you a brand new head at $70 plus S/H! How is that good for me? For the landfill? Longevity of a vacuum? Would I recommend this product to friends and family or would I buy another-not a chance. I have a Hoover that is 15 and still works great and I can still buy just the parts I need for it.

#2. I bought a new phone about 4 or 5 weeks ago. Just recently released. It stopped working while charging. Like FROZE to a brick of unresponsiveness. Took it to the store… After more than an hour I came out with my old phone activated (the Sim Cards have gotten even smaller so the Sim Card from the new one would not fit old one, they waived the activation fee) while I wait for the replacement phone to be sent to me. The phone that died was inspected like I had done some damage to it and wanted something for nothing. You would think they might look up our record with the company…. And see that we don’t make complaints and pay the bill on time… We are the ones they want to keep not alienate with distrust and skepticism. We won’t even discuss the skipping me in the que for assistance. 

#3. I also had an issue with some food… coffee, the life blood of early risers. I like a particular brand and I get it from a big box store. For the last 6 months or so, I have asked, complained, suggested, or pointed out (to the powers that be) that the store is having a stock problem… Finally, in our house we were out… not a bean left in the jar, it was time for some coffee. At the store not a single bag of either blends we prefer were on hand. I stopped at Customer (no)Service, for a stock update, shipment expected on the 6^th. I had to come home without coffee, and what is worse make a trip to another store for a bag of ‘make do’ until I figure out a new coffee. As I came in door I spied my computer and though… I wonder if the company knows that this store chain is having a problem, or if it is just my store, since I was getting nothing done from the bottom up… what about the top down. So I called them. It was an amazing conversation. I was promised 2 bags would be sent to me right away, and what is more…. The Operations Manager called later that evening from his personal cell to discuss the difficulty I was having and to try and figure out where the problem might be. He also told me to contact him back if I had any other issues or concerns. 10 days later I sent him a picture of the coffee display, stating that nothing had changed…. And the store was still out of the coffee.

So where was all this going? What is the theme? Do you have a guess? Did you say customer service? What makes a happy customer? Kelly knew and I am going to try to carry on in her tradition. Friendly Customer Service with a SMILE!

More Later- Beth