LENOVO Anyone!!!!
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Have you ever felt that new-age Customer Service is all smoke and no substance? All nice things that we read/write/teach in big-fat CRM books comes down to a big ZERO when you ever deal with companies as potential customer.... Super efficient software systems are being manned by completely clueless fellas who can't remove dead fly from a coffee cup? Does it ever feel that instead of serving your needs, companies are busy-at-work figuring how to make you serve their needs first? Recently, one of my old client told me that he wants my help to buy new All-in-one thingie that Lenovo has introduced. Normally, I stay away from hardware purchase but this client is good (always pays-on-time... etc etc ...), so I jotted down his min specs and did some online shopping for him. Went to lenovo website and sure enough by end-of-day, their drones were onto me and I received email flyer with discount coupon codes and with a handy flashy 1-800 number. Email was embedded HTML and its layout looked exactly like the A4 size flyers one usually sees in one's mailboxes every single day; KMart or Walmart variety with photos, prices and all encompassing "Sale" and "Call Now" word Noticed that while website had all flashy things to purchase a comp there was no provision to use coupon code and more importantly, the OS was only mentioned as Windows 8, so I decided to give a call on 800.. This is how the call went Me: Hi, you've got so&so i3 machine on ur site. Site says its got Windows 8 but does not tell whether its regular or professional. CS: Hmmm .... lemme check.... machine config is (reads out the screen that I already see and then goes for a pre-canned properly heated sales pitch): "It comes preloaded with Windows 8, so you just open the box, plug the machine and start working ...." Me: Geee... thanks... but what OS is it. Professional ? CS: Neither! Its Windows 8. Me: Yeah, but thats got to be either Professional or otherwise. CS: This just says Windows 8. Hey!!! wait. It also says 64 bit. Me: Professional or regular? CS: Windows 8 64 bit preinstalled and ready to use. Me: Professional? CS: Look!, I can give you number of Business partner in your city who can help you out with professional needs. Me: So, you work for IBM and you want me to call outsider to buy IBM product? CS: No, I don't work for IBM. I work for Lenovo. Me: Ohhh Ok.... Why would I call someone else when you ppl are manufacturers? CS: We do not manufacture it .... Me: Huh? CS: We just sell it.... Me: Oh gee thanks... Can I
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Have you ever felt that new-age Customer Service is all smoke and no substance? All nice things that we read/write/teach in big-fat CRM books comes down to a big ZERO when you ever deal with companies as potential customer.... Super efficient software systems are being manned by completely clueless fellas who can't remove dead fly from a coffee cup? Does it ever feel that instead of serving your needs, companies are busy-at-work figuring how to make you serve their needs first? Recently, one of my old client told me that he wants my help to buy new All-in-one thingie that Lenovo has introduced. Normally, I stay away from hardware purchase but this client is good (always pays-on-time... etc etc ...), so I jotted down his min specs and did some online shopping for him. Went to lenovo website and sure enough by end-of-day, their drones were onto me and I received email flyer with discount coupon codes and with a handy flashy 1-800 number. Email was embedded HTML and its layout looked exactly like the A4 size flyers one usually sees in one's mailboxes every single day; KMart or Walmart variety with photos, prices and all encompassing "Sale" and "Call Now" word Noticed that while website had all flashy things to purchase a comp there was no provision to use coupon code and more importantly, the OS was only mentioned as Windows 8, so I decided to give a call on 800.. This is how the call went Me: Hi, you've got so&so i3 machine on ur site. Site says its got Windows 8 but does not tell whether its regular or professional. CS: Hmmm .... lemme check.... machine config is (reads out the screen that I already see and then goes for a pre-canned properly heated sales pitch): "It comes preloaded with Windows 8, so you just open the box, plug the machine and start working ...." Me: Geee... thanks... but what OS is it. Professional ? CS: Neither! Its Windows 8. Me: Yeah, but thats got to be either Professional or otherwise. CS: This just says Windows 8. Hey!!! wait. It also says 64 bit. Me: Professional or regular? CS: Windows 8 64 bit preinstalled and ready to use. Me: Professional? CS: Look!, I can give you number of Business partner in your city who can help you out with professional needs. Me: So, you work for IBM and you want me to call outsider to buy IBM product? CS: No, I don't work for IBM. I work for Lenovo. Me: Ohhh Ok.... Why would I call someone else when you ppl are manufacturers? CS: We do not manufacture it .... Me: Huh? CS: We just sell it.... Me: Oh gee thanks... Can I
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Have you ever felt that new-age Customer Service is all smoke and no substance? All nice things that we read/write/teach in big-fat CRM books comes down to a big ZERO when you ever deal with companies as potential customer.... Super efficient software systems are being manned by completely clueless fellas who can't remove dead fly from a coffee cup? Does it ever feel that instead of serving your needs, companies are busy-at-work figuring how to make you serve their needs first? Recently, one of my old client told me that he wants my help to buy new All-in-one thingie that Lenovo has introduced. Normally, I stay away from hardware purchase but this client is good (always pays-on-time... etc etc ...), so I jotted down his min specs and did some online shopping for him. Went to lenovo website and sure enough by end-of-day, their drones were onto me and I received email flyer with discount coupon codes and with a handy flashy 1-800 number. Email was embedded HTML and its layout looked exactly like the A4 size flyers one usually sees in one's mailboxes every single day; KMart or Walmart variety with photos, prices and all encompassing "Sale" and "Call Now" word Noticed that while website had all flashy things to purchase a comp there was no provision to use coupon code and more importantly, the OS was only mentioned as Windows 8, so I decided to give a call on 800.. This is how the call went Me: Hi, you've got so&so i3 machine on ur site. Site says its got Windows 8 but does not tell whether its regular or professional. CS: Hmmm .... lemme check.... machine config is (reads out the screen that I already see and then goes for a pre-canned properly heated sales pitch): "It comes preloaded with Windows 8, so you just open the box, plug the machine and start working ...." Me: Geee... thanks... but what OS is it. Professional ? CS: Neither! Its Windows 8. Me: Yeah, but thats got to be either Professional or otherwise. CS: This just says Windows 8. Hey!!! wait. It also says 64 bit. Me: Professional or regular? CS: Windows 8 64 bit preinstalled and ready to use. Me: Professional? CS: Look!, I can give you number of Business partner in your city who can help you out with professional needs. Me: So, you work for IBM and you want me to call outsider to buy IBM product? CS: No, I don't work for IBM. I work for Lenovo. Me: Ohhh Ok.... Why would I call someone else when you ppl are manufacturers? CS: We do not manufacture it .... Me: Huh? CS: We just sell it.... Me: Oh gee thanks... Can I
What always gets me is that the cost of producing and maintaining professional-quality, useful documentation is a tiny fraction of what it costs to have people who are unable to answer questions that three minutes with a good document will answer.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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Have you ever felt that new-age Customer Service is all smoke and no substance? All nice things that we read/write/teach in big-fat CRM books comes down to a big ZERO when you ever deal with companies as potential customer.... Super efficient software systems are being manned by completely clueless fellas who can't remove dead fly from a coffee cup? Does it ever feel that instead of serving your needs, companies are busy-at-work figuring how to make you serve their needs first? Recently, one of my old client told me that he wants my help to buy new All-in-one thingie that Lenovo has introduced. Normally, I stay away from hardware purchase but this client is good (always pays-on-time... etc etc ...), so I jotted down his min specs and did some online shopping for him. Went to lenovo website and sure enough by end-of-day, their drones were onto me and I received email flyer with discount coupon codes and with a handy flashy 1-800 number. Email was embedded HTML and its layout looked exactly like the A4 size flyers one usually sees in one's mailboxes every single day; KMart or Walmart variety with photos, prices and all encompassing "Sale" and "Call Now" word Noticed that while website had all flashy things to purchase a comp there was no provision to use coupon code and more importantly, the OS was only mentioned as Windows 8, so I decided to give a call on 800.. This is how the call went Me: Hi, you've got so&so i3 machine on ur site. Site says its got Windows 8 but does not tell whether its regular or professional. CS: Hmmm .... lemme check.... machine config is (reads out the screen that I already see and then goes for a pre-canned properly heated sales pitch): "It comes preloaded with Windows 8, so you just open the box, plug the machine and start working ...." Me: Geee... thanks... but what OS is it. Professional ? CS: Neither! Its Windows 8. Me: Yeah, but thats got to be either Professional or otherwise. CS: This just says Windows 8. Hey!!! wait. It also says 64 bit. Me: Professional or regular? CS: Windows 8 64 bit preinstalled and ready to use. Me: Professional? CS: Look!, I can give you number of Business partner in your city who can help you out with professional needs. Me: So, you work for IBM and you want me to call outsider to buy IBM product? CS: No, I don't work for IBM. I work for Lenovo. Me: Ohhh Ok.... Why would I call someone else when you ppl are manufacturers? CS: We do not manufacture it .... Me: Huh? CS: We just sell it.... Me: Oh gee thanks... Can I
Greetings, your Excellence, Like everyone else I've been through Kafkaesque conversations with front-line tech support, and information/sales, organizations. While there may be no excuse for a company driving away potential customers, or convincing current customers to never buy their products again, when it comes to the reality of the working lives of the people who are employed in front-line support: it's most often a shyte job with low-pay, quota demands, and no potential for future advancement. imho, why it's like that is simple: economic$, and ... greed. As a jaded realist, I spend very little time thinking about that. bill
Google CEO, Erich Schmidt: "I keep asking for a product called Serendipity. This product would have access to everything ever written or recorded, know everything the user ever worked on and saved to his or her personal hard drive, and know a whole lot about the user's tastes, friends and predilections." 2004, USA Today interview