Friday, July 22, 2011

Case Study 1: What’s Negotiable and What’s Not (Part 1)

About a year ago, my fiancé and I were newly moved into our first house and were on the hunt for a new couch. We applied a very organized approach to our hunt and scoured every furniture store within driving distance in search of maximum comfort at minimum price. Everywhere we went it seemed like we were finding the same exact types of couches, none of which seemed particularly appealing to us. After a few weeks of searching, we suddenly came across exactly what we’d been looking for: a Klaussner sectional! The moment we sat down on it in the Value City Furniture showroom we knew we had found “the one”; it was like falling in love, but with a much steeper price tag. As it so happened, the day we found our magical couch happened to be a day before Memorial Day weekend. The store was filled with “SALE” signs and the price tag for this couch indicated that it had been marked down an extra $400 from its original discounted price (50% list price…that part I never pay much attention to, since it seems like everything is at least 50% off of list price).

It seemed like a decent price, but it was still a bit steep compared to the other models we’d been looking at. We talked it over privately and decided that this was definitely the couch for us. But being the frugal consumer that I am, I insisted that I write down the model info and research it online before we bought it at this store. My fiancé agreed and we left the store without purchasing anything. After a few days of intense research, it appeared that Value City really did have the best price for this couch. There were some Internet sites that had it for sale, but at a higher cost and without the free shipping. Even if they had it at the same price, I typically prefer to shop at brick & mortar stores whenever I’m making such a big and expensive purchase (it’s always nice to have a store that you can walk back into and see the manager face-to-face if there are any issues).Finally, after much agonizing and useless pacing, I decided to pull the trigger. My fiancé knew me too well to accompany me on the trip to the store…she knew that I was planning to do some bargaining, and when that happens, she prefers to be somewhere else.

On the way to Value City, I had a momentary hesitation and decided to pay a visit to Jennifer Convertibles. I had remembered reading that Jennifer was a Klaussner dealer, so I figured I’d take one more glance at the competition. Sure enough, Jennifer was selling the same couch in their catalog…but for hundreds of dollars more and without the free delivery! I mentioned to the sales manager the price I had seen at Value City…he told me, “If you can get that price for this couch, go sign right now!” I was taken aback by his refreshing candor…it had reassured me that my decision to buy it at Value City was not a foolish one.

So off I went back to the store. I went over to the Klaussner couch and was quickly approached by a saleswoman. I told her that I was interested in purchasing this couch, but the price was a little higher than my budget. Now some might find this bargaining process to be somewhat dishonest; I personally don’t take that view. My goal is to get this couch for the lowest price that the store is willing to accept for it; if one “story” is more likely to make that happen than another, it’s all part of a legitimate capitalistic negotiation. After all, if the lowest price they’re willing to sell it for is already on the sticker, it shouldn’t matter what story I tell them. I should also point out that I made sure to wear my college t-shirt to the store that day, as a way of illustrating that I was working “on a budget”. In reality, I was willing to pay the price on the sticker for this couch; but why not give bargaining a shot?

The saleswoman said that it was already very discounted and that this was the lowest price she could sell it for. I asked if I could speak to a manager about it, and she was very courteous and got one in a few minutes. The manager repeated the same line; this is when I switched to my second tactic. “Look,” I said to him, “I’d really like to buy this couch but it’s just a little higher than I’m looking to spend. If you could go even a little bit lower, I’d buy it right now.” My hope was that he would see that I was prepared to make the purchase there and then and that would force his hand on the truly lowest price he could sell it for. He still hesitated and proceeded to tell me about their interest-free financing. I quickly stopped him and said I wasn’t really interested in the financing…and then used my third and final tactic, “I’ll buy it on a credit card right now, payment in full, if you can knock it down by even $100!” The manager paused for a moment and thought about it…and then replied, “Okay, $100 off if you pay in full right now.” I got my credit card out and headed to the register with the saleswoman.

I walked away from this experience having learned a few things. First of all, never be afraid to jump on a good deal. Sometimes, I second-guess myself and worry that I’m overpaying and that I should hold out for a bigger sale. But this has often resulted in my actually missing out on the best price.

Secondly, it never hurts to haggle. Many people find it unpleasant to bargain for major purchases, but when it comes to furniture, vehicles, or other high-value items, the sticker price is very often quite negotiable. It’s important to remember that you’re not trying to rip anybody off; the store is in business to make money, and if the salesperson thinks they can get your business with a lower price, they’d rather make the sale at that price than not make it at all. But they’re not going to offer you that lower price out of the kindness of their hearts; it’s your responsibility to assess what you’re willing to pay for an item and whether you think it can be sold for less. The worst thing that can happen is that the store says no to your offer.

Lastly, emotional appeals can sometimes be persuasive. I’ll never know for sure whether my negotiation tactics were really responsible for the deal I got, but I suspect that if I had merely stated to the saleswoman or manager that I wanted to pay $100 less off the bat, I may not have gotten what I wanted. Instead, I slowly worked my way from “my budget” to “a little less expensive” to “$100 off”. By taking this approach, I think I was perceived less as some brat who just wanted a discount and more as a casual buyer who might really be willing to walk away from this sale. The sales staff treated me differently because of this perception, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong or dishonest about using this as a negotiation tactic. After all, if they genuinely didn’t think they were getting a fair deal in the sale, they wouldn’t have offered me the discount at all.

Coming up in the next post is Part 2, where I find out that not quite everything is as negotiable as I had thought…

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Tip 5: Assessing the Hidden Costs

Picture this: you’ve been on hold for about 15 minutes trying to speak to a customer service representative about your airline reservation. As it turns out, you wanted to sit next to your spouse on your flight (why wouldn’t the airline and travel agent assume that when you booked two tickets, you didn’t actually care about them being together). Try as you might, you simply can’t get someone on the phone who can actually help you. When you eventually get through, the representative makes you give him all of your contact info (even though it’s in the booking details), only to then realize that he was typing on the “wrong screen” (any time I hear those words, I always wonder if it’s just my luck or if this actually happens to other people as much as it seems to happen to me). Finally, your seats have been changed. You’ve spent roughly 30 minutes of your time on this process. This was a free fix, of course, but as the saying goes, nothing is ever really free.

We often do ourselves the disservice of undervaluing our time. If we’re paid hourly, we know exactly how much our time is worth to our employer (and if we’re salaried, we can probably do a little math to figure out the average). But when it comes to personal customer service issues, we seem to exclude the cost of our time when figuring out how much to pay for a product or service. Take airline travel for example. With all the competition out there, you’re likely to see incredibly low prices for flights that may have cost much more in the past. Even when factoring in nickel and dime charges for excess baggage and meals, you’re still likely to pay less than even a decade ago. But did you ever take some time to consider whether you’ll be more or less likely to have a hassle-free experience with one airline versus another? Some airlines allow you to choose your seat online when you make your reservation. Had you chosen one of these in the example above, you would have saved yourself 30 minutes. Figure out how much your employer thinks 30 minutes of your time is worth, and then ask yourself if that’s more or less than the difference between this hassle-free airline’s fare and the more cumbersome airline’s fare. If it’s more or even close, ask yourself if you’d be better off by paying more up front to save yourself time and hassle down the road.

There are, of course, a few caveats to this way of thinking. First of all, if you’re like me, maybe you don’t really mind the hassle of dealing with customer service. Maybe you actually enjoy dealing with issues like this, and all you really care about is the bottom line price of doing business. You might feel that your time is really only worth what your employer thinks it’s worth while you’re at work; at home, your time might be less valuable (after all, who doesn’t enjoy a 30-minute customer service call as an after-dinner treat?). Also, you may not always be able to predict which purchase option will actually result in a customer service issue; you may pick the airline you’ve always used without any hassle only to discover that they’ve redone their customer service operation…and it’s gotten much worse. In this case, you might just throw your hands up and pick the cheapest option since you have no way of predicting whether spending extra money will actually result in a better customer service experience.

Ultimately, it all really comes down to the type of person that you think of yourself as. Are you the type of person that doesn’t really mind calling customer service, waiting on hold, and then working through an issue…possibly with multiple people? Or are you the type of person that, upon hearing the same hold music for more than 30 seconds, will immediately get frustrated and miserable and beg your significant other to just take care of this for you. If it’s the latter, picking the hassle-free option may be the way to go. It may cost you a little more up front, but you’ll be avoiding the hidden costs of time wasted and stress added…which, for you, may be far more valuable.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Tip 4: Read the Fine Print

We’re all very familiar with what has become all-too-common in the modern world of business-customer relationships: endless fine print. Just take a look at any credit card application, insurance policy, banking disclosure form; each one is brimming with language that practically begs not to be read. Businesses contend that in a litigious society such as ours, they have no choice but to put an asterisk next to everything and explain in pain-staking detail what the limitations of any service or product might be. In a way, this is actually very helpful and perfectly legitimate; what better way to resolve disputes between parties than by going directly to an agreed-upon written document?

But of course the reality is often much different; most people don’t bother to read all the fine print…until they realize that clause 3(b)3, subsection q, paragraph 4 is precisely where their complaint is addressed. And naturally that fine print is favorable to the company, and unfavorable to the customer. At this point, you’re pretty much out of luck; it may be in the "fine print", but the point is, it’s in print.

There are a few ways to ensure that you don’t fall victim to these footnote technicalities. First and foremost…read the fine print! Yes, it’s annoying and can take some precious time out of your day…but in the long run, it’s worth the trouble. But don’t do it without focusing on what you’re reading; pay particular attention to items that you think might actually affect you. If you’re getting a credit card specifically because of its rewards program, pay extra attention to the reward terms…even if they’re not what most of the fine print is about. You’ll find that most credit card terms gloss over rewards limitations and focus instead on interest rates and fees…but if you’re planning to pay your balance on time each month and are getting this card to get miles or points, take the time to really focus on what the fine print says about those programs.

Secondly, while you’re trudging through this documentation, make sure to take note of anything that may actually be an issue for you…and most importantly, ask about it! Many customers will complain to a business, “How was I supposed to know that that’s what the fine print meant?” That’s because they didn’t bother to ask about items that may have seemed unclear in the fine print. If you can send an email to a company asking about particular points that you find confusing early on, you’ll have documented clarification…which can be very important down the road if there’s a conflict.

In 2007 I bought an iPod Classic from a wholesale club store; they had the best price by $10 and I had always heard about their superior customer service. But when I looked at the warranty documentation, it seemed very vague. It was unclear whether their typical take-anything-back-at-any-time return policy applied to this particular electronics item, or whether it was under the limited return policy. I asked an employee at the checkout line, and they said that the normal return policy would apply. But he seemed a bit hesitant, so I decided to wander over to the customer service desk and ask the manager. She explained that iPods had a 1-year return policy; I pressed her on why that seemed to contradict their special “electronics” return policy in the documentation I had been given with the iPod. I then asked a different manager, who told me that it was actually a 90-day return policy for iPods, unless they had a defect, in which case they could be exchanged within 1 year. But this had not been clearly spelled out in the policy. At this point, I went a step further…I insisted to the first manager that she spell out in writing for me that I could return this iPod within 1 year for any reason. After some back and forth (probably beyond what was actually called for in this situation), she agreed and a few days later faxed me a letter stating as much.  My main reason for requesting this documentation wasn’t as much about my wanting or needing a 1-year return policy…although that was a strong factor in my decision to purchase it there. It was really more about wanting to protect myself for the future…who knows what manager will be working there in a year? And even if it’s the manager I spoke to, she probably won’t even remember me and, even if she does, she has no reason to remember what she told me about this particular purchase. Only by getting this policy in writing could I ensure that I'd be getting the “peace of mind” that the warranty was intended to create in the first place. [Sidenote: this store’s website now explicitly states that iPods have a 90-day return policy.]

Lastly, don’t be shy about using the fine print in your favor during a customer service issue. If you’ve done your due diligence, you can approach your issue with written documentation supporting your case. I’m not saying that your first point has to emphasize that you read the agreement very clearly and this one sentence means you’re right and the rep is wrong; if you begin that way, it’ll make the whole process far more difficult. Rather, be prepared to point out where in the terms you found a statement that backs up your case, and politely point it out if the rep disagrees with your original request. If you’re dealing with a good company that knows its own terms and conditions, you’ll never even need to get to this point. But since you’ve already gone to the trouble of actually reading the fine print, you might as well be ready to use it to your advantage.

Tip 3: Help Them Help You

When you think about what actually happens during a customer service inquiry, you start to realize that essentially it all boils down to one party that needs something from the other. I’ve found over the years that one of my biggest mistakes has been taking the position that the customer service operation is there to serve me, the customer…even though this assumption is essentially true in theory. But, I think you’ll find that it rarely seems to play out in practice. This is because when you’re making a customer service call, you’re asking another human being to put your interests first and do something for you. And a lot of times it's something they have been trained not to do, despite the fact that happy customers are more likely to return. So a better way to deal with customer service representatives is to think of it as a negotiation…what is the best way that I can get this person to do something that I want or need? I find the best way to do this is often to offer a solution. It also helps to say things to convince the representative that the two of you are on the same team.  

For instance, if I get to a point in a call where I think that my request is beyond the typical policy of the business I’m dealing with, I will start to quickly think of ways that helping me can be beneficial to the customer service rep. For a better explanation of what I mean, see the classic “Help Me, Help You” clip below from my old buddy Jerry Maguire:





Think of yourself as Jerry in this scene…you are not just fighting for your own interests, but you’re actually trying to help the rep deal with this issue. You are empathizing with his desire to get this issue off his plate…if he’s a supervisor or manager who has had this issue escalated to him, your willingness to help him get it resolved in the fastest and easiest way possible will be even more appreciated. Even if it’s not entirely true (let’s face it, we don’t exactly have the strongest empathy for certain businesses or their customer service reps), you have to appreciate that the voice on the other end of the line is just like you…he wants to scratch something off of his list, and you’re trying to help him with that.

One way you can achieve this is by saying something like, “I know you’ve got a lot of other, much more pressing issues to deal with, so I’m sure getting this small problem resolved would save us both a lot of time and hassle.” If he’s a supervisor or higher, he’ll appreciate that you value his time. You can also say, “I understand that you’re a business, and you have certain rules; but right now, the rules are actually hurting your business. If you help me out with this issue, you’ll end up with a much happier, more loyal customer who will be sure to recommend you to his friends and family.” How successful is a line like this? Probably about 50/50. It’s all about sensing the tone; is this a very business-oriented individual who is thinking about his company’s long-term success? Or is this a bottom-line focused manager who doesn’t want to rock the boat and risk getting in trouble for letting you go outside the company’s typical policies? If it’s the latter, you need a different approach which will be covered in later posts. But if it’s the former, you can appeal to the supervisor’s sense of customer relationship-building: “You know, I’ve spent a lot of money with your company [even if you haven’t…he probably won’t check], and I definitely want to keep doing business with you in the future. But without this issue being fixed, I don’t really think I can do that.”

Illustrate for the rep that by not fixing your issue, he or she is actually costing his company money. Let’s say you’re asking for a refund for something that typically wouldn’t be refunded (i.e. shipping costs for something you decided not to keep). If I were having this issue, the conversation would go something like this:

Me: I know you guys typically don’t refund the shipping costs for Item X. But I’ve done a lot of business with your company and I’d really appreciate it if you could do me the courtesy of refunding me for this one charge. [“courtesy” is the key word, because supervisors are often empowered to refund certain charges as a “courtesy” adjustment for customers]
Rep: I’d really like to help you, sir, but our policy doesn’t really allow us to refund the shipping cost.
Me: I totally understand that; but I think if you were kind enough to do that for me, I would definitely be buying something else from your store with the money, so you’d actually end up making money in the long run. In fact, maybe I could get the shipping refunded as a store credit, since I’m planning to buy from you again.

If you’re saying this to a Level 1 rep (who you probably shouldn’t be spending too much time with, as you may have learned from Tip 1), you may have some luck by suggesting the credit option…after all, you’re showing him that you really do want to buy something else from his company. If you’re saying this to a supervisor, you’ll have an even better chance, since he’s much more likely to appreciate that this will actually affect his company’s long-term relationship with you as a customer…and thus, you’re helping him help you.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Tip 2: Set a Time Limit

This next suggestion is something I’ve used several times and is a bit unusual and, quite frankly, can seem a bit rude. Before being transferred, you’ll likely be put on hold. I hate being put on hold, especially when I’m on a cell phone. A few companies will have a message while you’re on hold stating how much longer you’ll need to wait. But unfortunately, most companies still use some sort of annoying hold music, and you’ll have no idea how long you’ll actually be waiting. I’ve dealt with hold times from anywhere between 5 and 25 minutes. Even the low end feels like a lifetime when you’re waiting to speak to someone about a problem or issue you’re having.

So one option is to ask the rep before he or she transfers you, “How long will I be on hold for?” Sometimes, they’ll say something like, “Less than 5 minutes.” But other times they’ll say, “I’m not sure; it depends on when the next supervisor is available.” This is a legitimate response, since many call centers just use a queue for supervisors that you’ll be put into. But as a customer, I think you should demand better service. This is when I respond, “I need to speak to a supervisor within 3 minutes. Please make sure they pick up in that time or less.”

If they agree, you can add my classic zinger, “Okay, go ahead and put me on hold. I’ll be timing you.” You might be thinking that this is a bit rude…I can’t totally disagree with that. But think about it this way…why doesn’t their system have a feature to tell a customer how long they’ll need to wait? Or better yet, why don’t they have the option to have a supervisor call you back as soon as they are available (some companies actually do have this option…assuming your issue isn’t a timely emergency, I highly recommend taking advantage of this). So I don’t think you should feel bad about demanding timely customer service…after all, you are the customer, and the customer service department exists to help you. Your ability to help them help you will be the subject of Tip 3...

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Tip 1: Don’t Waste Time with Level 1

When you first call a customer service center, the first person you speak with is probably not empowered to handle much more than the most basic issues. If you have a simple question, these are the people to talk to. But if your issue involves something very atypical or complex, these people will probably not be able to help you. In some cases, they will explicitly state, “Oh, that can only be done by a supervisor.” But most of the time, they won’t actually suggest that you need to speak to a supervisor to handle an issue. It’s up to you to recognize when an issue needs to be escalated, and you need to be persistent in your effort to actually get to a supervisor. Usually, it doesn’t take much: “This sounds like something I need to speak to a supervisor about; could you please transfer me to your supervisor?”

Sometimes, the Level 1 rep will tell you that your issue doesn’t require a supervisor and that they can help you just as well as a supervisor can…take a moment and consider whether that’s true or not. Sometimes, the Level 1 person really is the best person to handle your issue. If you call a wireless phone company about needing a small credit, Level 1 can typically help you out. But if you need to do something that goes contrary to the standard policies of the company, Level 1 isn’t gonna cut it. If you’re sure you need to speak to a supervisor and Level 1 is hesitant in transferring you, politely say, “I appreciate you trying to help me out, but I really need to speak to a supervisor about this. Please transfer me to one.” Typically, they will put you on hold and transfer you.

If they continue to resist (some Level 1 reps are told to avoid transferring customers to supervisors as much as possible), insist that you have a right to have this issue resolved at a higher level: “I need to speak to a supervisor right now. Please transfer me.” One possible shortcut is to state early on in the conversation, “I was actually speaking to a supervisor about this issue earlier and I accidentally got disconnected. Could you transfer me back to that department?” This is a little deceptive, but it could save you a decent amount of time…if the rep thinks that your issue was escalated before, they’ll be more likely to think that it’ll need to be escalated again.

The Consumer Revolution Begins

Hello, and welcome to the first post ever on my first blog. I decided to start this for two key reasons: 1. It seems like every day I have some new customer service issue that I’m ranting about, so I might as well vent online. 2. Hopefully if any of you out there are having similar customer service issues, you can use my experiences as a guide toward getting your issue resolved.

The philosophy of this blog is that you are the customer, and the old saying should still be true: “The customer is always right.” You may find in your daily life that this age-old saying has lost its luster in recent years…with the economy forcing many companies to focus much more on the bottom line, customer service has gradually fallen by the wayside. Many companies outsource their customer service centers to foreign countries, resulting in countless phone calls that feel like a script-reading. In some ways, this focus on the bottom line is only rational…if most people have a simple question or two, why spend all the money on a top-of-the-line, domestic customer service operation. But what gets lost in the shuffle is the intangible loss of customers feeling like they are being taken care of by businesses…it’s getting harder and harder to find a business where you, the customer, can get a quick and easy resolution to an issue.

Those of you who know me well know that I have taken a bit of a hard-line stance on this issue; I tend to have extremely high expectations of most companies when it comes to customer service, and I typically stop at nothing to ensure that my issue is resolved. Often times, I lose sight of the actual issue at hand or the minimal cost involved and instead start to focus on the principle that my issue should be resolved in a way that is satisfactory to me…regardless of the time and effort it takes. On occasion, I take things a bit too far…those who have overheard my customer service phone calls when I’m not getting a resolution know that my tone can become quite disorderly. But that is never my goal; I am always hopeful that my issue can be resolved quickly and effortlessly…somehow, that rarely seems to happen.

And so that’s where this blog comes in; when a simple phone call isn’t enough to get the issue resolved, I begin a well-honed process of speaking to supervisors, speaking to their supervisors, and eventually going as high as I can up the corporate ladder until the issue is resolved. Sometimes I “win,” sometimes I don’t. But I always walk away knowing that I escalated the issue as far as it would go before giving up. And most times, even if I don’t get exactly the resolution I want, I’ll still end up getting something. The question to ask yourself before attempting any of my techniques is, “How much effort am I willing to put in to get what I want, and is it worth it?”

In the comments of these posts, I’d love to hear your stories about similar issues you’ve had and what techniques you’ve attempted in getting what you want. Do you know of a secret phone number to call when your issue isn’t being resolved? Is there a particular email address that’ll get your issue to the top of the pile? Do you need advice on what your next step should be? Post away, and hopefully our small community of disheartened consumers can step up to the plate and hit it out of the park for you.

I’d also love to hear from those of you who actually work in customer service. Are we getting it all wrong? Do you have suggestions for how we can get issues resolved faster and easier? If we start learning what happens on the other end of the phone line, we’re much more likely to empathize with you during our next issue.

So welcome to Let Me Speak to Your Supervisor: Blogging My Way to Customer Success. Of course I don’t have a new problem every single day, so my posts will likely be on a bit of an irregular calendar. And every once in a while, I’ll try to relay a story of a past experience that can hopefully help you out in your quest to be treated like a worthwhile customer. I’ll also have occasional Tips and Tricks; this will be general advice that can apply to many different customer service situations. Let the consumer revolution begin!