@T: ALWAYS THE TWAIN

Two contrasting events happened this Easter weekend which made me think again about the social contract between a company, its customer(s) and their reciprocity. In this post I’m going to highlight some companies, from personal experience, which get their customer services spot on and I’ll list three simple rules for either side of the company-consumer coin.

SOME HISTORY + SOME LAW

“The customer is always right,” is said to have its origins in the American retail sector — although there was a preceding French version credited to César Ritz (1850-1918), the renowned French hotelier, who extolled, “Le client n’a jamais tort,” (‘The customer is never wrong.”). The phrase’s American counterpart sprang from Marshall Field’s department store in Chicago (now known as “Macys”) and its UK transmittance happened via Harry Gordon Selfridge (1857-1947), the founder of London’s Selfridges store which opened in 1909. Harry Gordon Selfridge had previously worked for Marshall Field from 1879 to 1901.

[Incidentally, Selfridges is my favorite department store in London. They even sell cans of Thai crocodile curry! Plus I lose all track of time when I'm in in the kitchen appliances section; who knew there are so many contraptions for cooking the perfect meal and then serving it!]

Now, as readers are probably aware, all manner of consumer protection laws have been written over the years on both sides of the Atlantic to enforce and protect this edict: “The customer is always right.” Here are some sites where more information on US, UK and EU trading laws can be found:

(1.) US Federal Trade Commission

· http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/consumer.shtm

(2.) US National Consumer Law Center

· http://www.consumerlaw.org/

(3.) US Consumer Product Safety Commission

· http://www.cpsc.gov/

(4.) US versus UK: some consumer law comparisons

· http://www.usa-vs-uk.com/consumerrights.html

(5.) UK Office of Fair Trading

· http://www.oft.gov.uk/oft_at_work/

(6.) UK Trading Standards

· http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/advice/problemswithgoods.cfm

(7.) UK Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform

· http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/consumers/fact-sheets/page38311.html

(8.) UK Businesslink guidance on distance selling and online trading

· http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCES&itemId=1073792574

(9.) European Commission paper on consumers

· http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/strategy/docs/com_staff_wp2009_en.pdf

(10.) World-wide legal directory: consumer section

· http://www.hg.org/consume.html

With these links, consumers can become equipped with enough information to know exactly when a company’s product or service levels aren’t complying with their legal rights, and possible avenues for them to address these — either in the form of a replacement product / service at no additional cost to the consumer, financial compensation for faulty goods that have damaged their health / property / person(s) or even the closure of the business itself.

This, though, is the worst-case scenario.

The majority of companies providing goods and services engage lawfully and try their utmost to comply with the various international consumer laws. However, customer service is about more than being legally compliant and observing legal contracts. It is also about consumer consideration towards the company rather than any one-way relationship where the onus is on the company to conform with the marketing mantra, “The customer is always right,” or where the customer is making a payment and/or time commitment and receiving a low return of satisfaction from the interaction.

COMPANY-CONSUMER RELATIONS: A DOUBLE DUTCH PARADIGM

It’s preferable to think of the company-consumer relationship being akin to Double Dutch skipping: to make it work, both sides have to turn the rope simultaneously and in reciprocity. Here’s the awe-inspiring coordination which can happen when all parties involved are on the same wavelength and skipping to the same beat:

[Yes, as a child, I spent quite a few hours doing Double Dutch. It increases your stamina and visual spatial co-ordination which then translates into other team sports like netball, basketball, badminton, hockey, athletics and baseball/rounders.

Btw, as we can see YouTube is also doing its bit for customer service by now enabling us to customize the colors of the frames around our videos as well as increase the choice of advertising embeds.]

WHAT HAPPENED THIS EASTER WITH ME

Now let me talk specifically about my Easter weekend experiences and then I’ll list some sites and stores I regard as “XLNT” for customer service.

Ok, so here’s an admission: periodically I use eBay to buy items which are disposable, non-perishable and good value. I have a 100% rating as a purchaser because I always pay items I’ve won promptly and I leave fair and relevant feedback. Most recently I bought a few cases and screen protectors for my Apple iPhone. Unfortunately, one order I made from a Hong Kong-based company arrived with all the wrong colors. Prior to shipping, I’d sent them two separate emails with very specific requests about the colors of cases I preferred so I was fairly disappointed when the wrong items showed up. Of course, the nuisance is that the cost of shipping them back to HK to be exchanged is such that I may as well use the money to order them online from another source! This is poor customer service and it means I probably won’t transact with that company again.

Meanwhile, Dreamhost are in my good books. I was trying to transfer a domain name from a European provider over to Dreamhost because they have the following useful features as part of their hosting service:

· one-click installations (WordPress, Moodle, phpforum, plus)

· Google Apps

· additional security

Unfortunately, a glitch arose with the transfer so I contacted my existing provider and Dreamhost to resolve the issue. Interestingly, the European provider has yet to respond — not even acknowledge receipt of my email and they usually take about 3-5 days to respond to queries. Meanwhile, Dreamhost is fairly consistent in observing a turnaround response within 24 hours.

My existing provider I’ve had issues with previously, including:

· spam to email boxes hosted by them

· not particularly helpful UI or support

· additional charges from nowhere to keep my “Who is?” information

Again, these are the types of poor customer service — especially loading on “privilege of usage charges” (my phrase) that haven’t been fore-explained to me as a user — which means they’re highly unlikely to get my repeat business and I’ll proactively seek alternatives like Dreamhost.

Now it should be emphasized that the consumer also has a responsibility to help under-performing companies understand how they can improve their services. This is helpful because even if you no longer wish to spend your money with them, any constructive feedback you provide may help another consumer and “Who knows?” a few months or years down the line you may return to the company for that better consumer experience!

COMPANIES/STORES WHOSE CUSTOMER SERVICE IS TOP BANANAS

Please feel free to click on the images and experience for yourself how great the customer service is. We can even tell from the look and feel of a site whether it has put the customer and their needs at the heart of a company’s strategy.

* APPLE: in-store and online tailored training for product consumers

* BARNES + NOBLE, Union Sq, NY: a bookstore with a customer brain

* CATHAY PACIFIC, HK: on-flight comforts

* LOCANDA LOCATELLI, London: attentive (but not annoyingly so) restaurant staff

* MYDECO, UK: 360^o interior design at consumers’ fingertips

* PUMA UK: Mongolian shoe BBQ

You can design your own shoes which takes customization to another level and it’s fun! Here are my fuschia, purple and scarlet dream Pumas:

* VISION EXPRESS, UK: customer eye healthcare and style is their priority

* Le VOLTAIRE, Paris: coffee at the customer’s leisure

RECIPROCITY RULES

Now let’s try to provide three simple rules on either side of the company-consumer coin which will make the engagement between both more productive, conducive and enjoyable.

COMPANY

(1.) The customer isn’t always right, but it’s always worth taking in what they have or haven’t communicated.

(2.) Even if they seem to be a nuisance, always remember to show patience, consideration and professionalism.

(3.) Always be consistent in your response turnarounds. 24-48 hours is good.

CONSUMERS

(1.) You are not always right. Customer services and support is there to help resolve your issues, professionally — not to listen to any tantrums or irrelevant gripes.

(2.) Even if they don’t seem to grasp your issue, the onus is on the consumer to be specific about where the problem is arising, when it arose and what measures you’ve taken so far to deal with it yourself.

(3.) Always be reasonable with your expectations and give due credit to good customer service.

During my travels I’ve experienced great variations in customer service: on flights; in hotels, stores and restaurants; relative to whatever socio-demographic classification constitutes the door or online policy. In tandem with the legal obligations of complying with consumer rights, companies need to bear in mind that good customer service is an intangible — like goodwill and brand values — which can be converted into a tangible that may repeat itself as revenue in the balance sheets.

It’s about being considerate about a consumer’s feelings and sensibilities as much as about the finer points of law, brand strategy and finance. Reciprocally, the consumer should also take into account the feelings and sensitivities of the company’s representatives: they’re human too!