A Tale of Customer Service

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We all want it – service, usually at any cost which is why some people tend to take it out on the innocent Customer Service Representative — whether it’s over the phone, or in person at the retail outlet.

HINT: Yelling doesn’t help get your problem resolved any quicker.

Here is a tale of four issues that I had and how they were resolved.

Issue #1 – The Tale of Worn Out and Tired Shoes

stacy99z logoI purchased several pairs of shoes from a local retailer, the shoes were manufactured by Stacy Adams. Two years (yes TWO YEARS) in both pairs fell apart, now I figured it’s just wear and tear but went back to the retailer as I had to buy some other items and mentioned this to them. They were willing to take them back but I felt a bit guilty, so they suggested contacting Stacey Adams. What have I got to lose?

Contacted them and they over delivered. They said “pick out what you’d like from our website”. So I did. They replaced them.

Who provides a warranty on shoes? Apparently Stacy Adams. They want their customers to be happy. Guess who I buy my shoes from now? @StacyAdams. Why would I even consider anyone else?

Issue #2 – The Tale of Headphones That Just Don’t Work

b436aa94-1c6e-482c-884d-6c98f6889265.png._V326648485_My son plays Minecraft and it feels I’m always buying something better or the latest.  He needed new headphones, so we did some research and Turtle Beach looked like a good choice. I bought him their $60.00 headphones (X12) given that everyone I spoke to highly recommended them and the research indicated this was the way to go.

About a year in and they failed – a lot of hissing, and just not usable. So I contacted Turtle Beach and they suggested a few things, but in the end they said “too bad, so sad. PFO” (OK, PFO is my interpretation of how they handled my issue).

I agree that the headphones were out of warranty but so were my shoes (in fact as I said, who warranties shoes?).

What could Turtle Beach have done? Replaced them. They were only $60.00.

Won’t be buying @TurtleBeach again.

Issue #3 – The Tale of Another Pair of Headphones That Just Don’t Work

logitech_logoAt the same time I bought the Turtle Beach headphones, I also bought a pair of Logitech headphones.

Around the same time the Logitech failed.

I contacted Logitech. They suggested some remedies but quickly followed up with “actually they are still under warranty, we’ll just send you another pair”.

Done.

Guess whose headphones I’ll be buying forever and ever. Yup – Logitech. In fact just bought an $80.00 mouse from @Logitech. Who offers a 3-year, no questions asked warranty on headphones or mouse? Logitech does. @TurtleBeach – maybe you ought to learn a thing or two from @Logitech.

Issue #4 – The Tale of the Mouse That Ran Away and Died

Razer_Snake_Logo.svgBought a Razer Naga 2014 from Razer less than a year ago. The mouse shuts down my laptop and desktop (yes, I know – a mouse should not do that, I’ve been building PC’s for 20+ years so know what I’m doing and talking about).

I tried everything: updated drivers, downgraded drivers, removed drivers, updated the laptop chipset drivers, tested every possible combination I could think of.

There was a bit of back and forth with Razer but in the end, Razer stood by their product (probably because it was under warranty – though I’d like to have seen what they would have done had it not been under warranty) and will replace the product. Thank you @Razer for making the warranty execution flawless (well, so far). Though I just bought @Logitech mouse, I also bought the Razer DeathAdder Chroma… what can I say? I’m impressed by bright, flashy and shiny. 😉

Some companies (@TurtleBeach) have a long way to go to help their customers, given that one person (me or anyone else for that matter) will simply go to social media and complain about the product. It’s also not limited to just social media – hit the gaming forums and complain there and then you’re getting to the heart of the users that use some of these products – hardcore gamers that expect the products that they purchase will last.

If good customer service policies are not part of your organization, and you are not monitoring social media and responding accordingly – you are in trouble.