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The magazine Fast Company just announced awards for companies that excel at providing exceptional customer experience. There are few surprises in the group: Cabelas, USAA, Netflix. As a group they commit to focusing on the customer and creating relevant, personalized service. I would disagree, however, with BestBuy being in this group, though it’s mainly the result of several subpar experiences I’ve had at their stores.

And the companies that struck out with customers? Leading the list were Wal-Mart, Cingular, and Sprint PCS (maybe they didn’t review SBC).

When I was a kid, I was the one who would dismantle mom’s new blender to see how it worked…  Sometimes, I would even put it back together again.  Then, I grew up and became a computer geek. No surprise there, but the point is: I am proud of knowing how electronic equipment works and for being able to assemble anything on my own. So, when I call some 1-800 number for technical support (especially Comcast’s), I really believe I have narrowed down all possibilities on my side of the line.

Unfortunately, there is where my trial by fire begins. Call Center people always talk as if I’d never seen a TV or a cable box before. Then they start to spit their meticulously scripted sentences to me from the beginning. Even if it is the fifth time I am calling that day! That’s when I get the feeling of being some kind of robotized, standardized, and minimalized audience.  Not at all special, or worst: not any different from anyone else.

I can understand that they prepare themselves to deal with people that are even afraid of touching the TV, but 1-800 numbers should be able to identify the customer’s profile and offer different strokes for different folks.  At least, they should be able to verify that it is not the first time someone is calling for the same reason and drop some lines off the script.  A simple attitude change probably would be enough to gather the customer’s appreciation, a more effective support, and less time spent on the line for both sides.

"Not all customers are equal".  Everyone should already know that. I just hope it doesn’t take to long now, because I am still waiting on the line.

As you may have noticed, Vox has a new website up. A bunch of visitors are taking our survey asking about which companies get you really steamed in terms of cruddy customer experience. Wow. Phone companies are not coming out well. And it seems like nobody has a good thing to say about SBC. Check it out.

Got back from the ABA conference this past Friday. There was some good information in many of the sessions, and we met some interesting folks. And the Mojitos were tasty.
But something about the conference has been bugging me. I think it was the lack controversy. I’m not one who could be described as confrontational, but I was itching for an argument by the end of the week. At talk after talk, I heard a whole lot of conventional wisdom. But think about the times you felt you really learned something, gained some insight. Was it by listening to some authority telling you things that already made sense, or was it hearing a "rebel" come at a subject out of left field, with a new perspective?
I want to be challenged. And we want to challenge the accepted school of thought in customer experience.
Otherwise, where’s the spice?

Tomorrow, a couple of us head down to sunny Miami (where it’s supposed to rain, but that’s why I never pay attention to the weather) for the American Bankers Association Marketing Conference. The focus this year is on improving customer relationships, so we’re looking forward to some fruitful discussions.

In my view, if there is an industry that has huge opportunities to improve customer experience - and in turn improve retention and revenue - it’s banking. We’ll be networking, so if you’re there keep your eyes open for our vice president, Jeannie Walters, or me. We’re interested to hear about the issues and ideas you have. And if it means we have to drink a Mojito with you, so be it!

I wasn’t sure if this was a good forum to mention the catastrophe down in Lousiana, but it’s one of those things that transcends business and society, so I feel the need to at least acknowledge it, and share that we feel greatly for those unfortunate enough to be caught in the hurricane and its aftermath.

The images of devastation and suffering from Hurricane Katrina have shaken many of us in really fundamental ways. It seems surreal, as one sees the almost third-world pictures of people struggling to survive in - lets’ face it - an apocolyptic landscape. Frankly I’m at a loss to grasp the full magnitude of the disaster.

No doubt everybody feels the pull to help out in some way, even if it seems like a comically small gesture in the face of the catastophe.  At Vox, we have made donations to several different charities that are there on the ground. It certainly doesn’t seem like enough.