Here is the link.

http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/health-minute-insurers-focus-on-customer-service-2010-06-18/3050F011-5D51-4DFE-9B90-D5DD1D335F3E

To my surprise the book they sent me was used, and not a particularly well-loved used book either.  How could they get my order for a new book confused with a used one? I waited a couple days and then notified the company that there was a problem and that I wanted to exchange the book.  Amazon, as one might expect, has a good process for managing exchanges and refunds but they were somewhat confused by my request to exchange a book. A company rep sent me a polite note that they wanted to clarify what I wanted and asked that I notify them when they could call. I indicated that I was available and sent the email, and my phone rang within five seconds. Explaining my concern the customer service rep not only replaced my used copy with a new book, he also arranged to send it free of postage despite sending it via second-day delivery, even though I didn’t request that service.

I wonder now if there was some way I got my wires crossed. But Amazon was unconcerned with who was a fault, just keeping me a happy customer.  Is there anyone else that does it better than Amazon?

While I am not a fan of this airline I fly them regularly out of convenience and because they are the preferred airline for my company. Joe flies with them often out of necessity, but I think he also enjoys every opportunity to raise hell with them over their poor customer service. Here is a list of the things Joe told me he has done against American:

• Joe know the name and background of every member of American’s Board of Directors and he has written or called all of them to complain on multiple occasions. It sounded like those conversations were usually confrontations.
• He talked of numerous conversations with American’s head of Public Relations, complaining that the person was incompetent and refused to acknowledge any issues by the airline.
• He has attended numerous Shareholder meetings in an attempt to disrupt management’s speeches and point out their terrible record on numerous airline performance measures. He said he bought 100,000 shares of the company’s stock so they would not be able to keep him from attending these meetings or flying their airline.
• Perhaps the most outrageous, and my personal favorite, after sitting too long on the runway with a longer wait expected before takeoff, he asked the flight attendant to tell the captain to return to the gate so he could change airlines.  When the attendant told him that request could not be honored he told her that he felt like he was having a heart attack and needed immediate medical attention. Both he and the flight attendant know that he was not having a heart attack but the pilot had no choice but to return to the gate. Once there he said he felt better, refused medical treatment, and bought a ticket with another airline.

Are Joe’s actions appropriate steps by a reasonable but frustrated passenger, or over-reactive tactics by a nutcase? We can each decide for ourselves if Joe took inappropriate steps to voice his complaints. My opinion is he has gone too far and treated people disrespectfully in his zealous mission to create havoc. But I also believe that bad customer service is epidemic in this country and most consumers have come to expect it and accept it.  We grumble but we don’t invest our time and energy trying to force change.

Maybe we should all be a little more like Joe.

Verizon’s reputation with consumers is already poor with rampant rumors of bogus charges added to users bills with no explanation.  Partnering with Microsoft will draw further scrutiny to Verizon.

Let us know if you have had any notable experiences with Radio Shack.

We may need to keep those phone books after all.  A member recently reported booking a hotel at a national chain for a weekend visit to wine country in California.  She went online and saw a price she assumed was the best available price. However, before she registered she called the hotel to determine which sections of the hotel had recently been remodeled.

While getting her question answered she inquired about the price for her preferred room and received a price much lower than the quote on the company’s website.  Fully 20% lower!

With price being more important than ever it can pay to place a call to make sure management doesn’t have better deals than the ones posted online.

In recently published revised guidelines covering how the FTC Act will be interpreted, the FTC wrote that “material connections” such as payments or free products between advertisers and endorsers must be disclosed. This rule includes bloggers who are often viewed as independent writers recommending products when, in reality, some are being compensated with money or free products by the product’s manufacturers. (Note: We at ConsumerConnection.com have never succumbed to this temptation because we mainly bitch about products and services that we feel need to be fixed.  Oh, and we didn’t know we could get free stuff if we endorsed it.)

The revised guidelines also indicate celebrity endorsers, as well as advertisers, can be held liable for fraudulent and misleading claims. We sure hope Eva Longoria doesn’t get sent to the big house for not actually using hair color from a box!

I certainly have no insight into the negotiations between Apple and the wireless companies it considered before selecting AT&T. I do not fault Apple for negotiating a deal with a wireless company that gave it the best financial returns.  However, I do believe Apple owes it to its customers to select a wireless partner that has the capability of servicing the iPhones Apple is selling.

As I write this I have been attempting to get a line for over 90 minutes. They never seem to mention this in the ads for iPhones or AT&T.

American’s Customer Service department wrote me a nice letter apologizing for the inconvenience they caused when they dumped us in Syracuse. Even better, they reimbursed me for the costs my wife and I incurred when we had to rent a car and drive to New York City – about $186 if I recall correctly.  They also tactfully advised me that they have changed their policy so that they generally no longer reimburse passengers who are stranded due to inclement weather or other problems beyond their control.

So what did I do to motivate American to make this right?  I asked them to.  I told them over the phone and then I wrote them a letter detailing the problems they caused me and itemizing the costs I incurred. I also provided originals of the receipts. It probably helped that I am a frequent flyer with American Airlines and they may have been more motivated to make me happy than some passengers.  Then again, they might have done this for anyone who asked.

So if you are not happy with the service provided by a business, ask for a refund or some other action the company could take to make you happy.  Afterall, if you bought a product that was defective you would certainly return it.  Asking for a refund, or some other step you want the company to take to keep you coming back, is just as appropriate. Be articulate aboute what happened, its impact on you, and what you want the company to do for you.  You might be pleasantly surprised.

Now if American could just work on getting more flights to land on time…