Category Archive: service

August 17th, 2011
post by tamalechica | | 2

Un Enchanted with AT&T

Guy Kawasaki’s book, “Enchanted” is a great read.  I’m enjoying the book, his insights, and observations.

AT&T needs to adopt Enchantment.

I’ve had AT&T service for a very, very, very long time.  How have they rewarded my loyal service of maintaining a landline?  With no dialtone.

I created a trouble/repair report on Friday, August 12th when I picked up my phone to call out and discovered there was no dial tone.  A friend of mine let me know she tried to call me on Thursday afternoon and the phone just kept ringing and ringing and ringing…

AT&T’s response was that it would be fixed by Tuesday, August 16th by 7:00.  Well, it’s not fixed.  It’s dead.  Dead as a doornail, Marley dead.

I called their repair for a status update, and was told that the service tech needed to get inside for the wiring. I was home today.  My landlord was home today.  The tech neither rang my doorbell nor called my cell, which is what they normally do if they plan to actually fix the problem.  My landlord also was here and no one rang their doorbell, either.

The repair person then said the earliest they could get someone out here is Friday, August 19th.  That translates to one full week without service.  Somewhere in this week, I had two phone meetings, at an estimated billable time of 3-4 hours.  Thanks AT&T for making my week a royal pain, making it impossible for people who only have my home number because I get headaches from using cells phones for long periods of time, and thanks for now making my monthly income less.

Thanks a lot AT&T.  I am completely, utterly, un-enchanted with your service response.

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AT+T, enchanted, phone, service, unenchanted
April 16th, 2011
post by tamalechica | | Closed

SeaBear Saves after FED-EX Badly Fumbles

During this FED-Ex debacle, whenever I called SeaBear, I was pleasantly surprised that everyone who took my call seemed to know about the problem I had encountered. I was even asked to call them when the replacement order was received, so they could know that things were taken care of for me. They apologized profusely for what mostly was a FED-Ex failure of service.

One of the big differences between a SeaBear apology and most any other company’s apologies I’ve ever received is that with the SeaBear folks, the conveyance felt genuine. Yes, it seems that SeaBear is one of those few companies out there that really does care about pleasing their good customers. Years ago this is the service level that enabled U.S. American companies to grow and prosper. Now it is seems like an anomaly, reserved for companies the likes of Zappos.com and Drugstore.com.

After I had received my replacement order, SeaBear sent me a nice card, which seemed to be something that is generated via policy when there is a problem with an order. I thought it was nice, though not extraordinary, since this was a big screw up, even if it was mostly the package delivery (FED Ex) company’s fault.

The next month, I received an envelope from SeaBear. When I opened it, it was a letter with a request for feedback, in the style of just checking off the appropriate response and then mailing it back to them. However, this was no ordinary survey letter. The letter was from SeaBear President Mike Mondello and it included his personal email address. It also came with a 15% discount code. I am not sure which one got me more excited (who doesn’t love a discount). There is one thing for sure. Receiving a letter with the President’s email address (and yes, he responded personally) was something that moved my experience with SeaBear up to another level.

Last month when I was placing a reorder, the Customer Service gal I had spoken to on a matter was new and as such, was not familiar with how online orders were processed and she inadvertently gave me an incorrect delivery promise. Because I have to be home for delivery, I have to modify my schedule for those days that I am receiving an order so it is quite an inconvenience when I hang around for no reason. When it was clear that the order was not going to be delivered on the verbally promised day, I called SeaBear and we had to make other arrangements for delivery.

Again, SeaBear delivered. First, when I received my order, they included a nice gift. Second, I received another discount coupon, which I very much appreciate since I needed to reorder. Last, but not least, I received another short survey and the same letter with another coupon, from SeaBear President Mike Mondello.  I’ll be sending him the url for this post. 

What I love about SeaBear is that they are, overall, a well-run company despite the few glitches encountered. The difference between their glitches and so many others at other companies is that at SeaBear, they take the steps to employ Kaizen, or continuous improvement, so that the same problem does not occur again. They engage their customers, and they let them know beyond lip service that their customers really are valued and count. Like Zappos.com, when I call SeaBear’s customer service, they focus their attention on the customer;  no matter how long an issue takes to resolve, they are there for you.

Thank you SeaBear, for doing things to make things right.

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customer, customer experience, fish, kaizen, SeaBear.com, service
April 14th, 2011
post by tamalechica | | Closed

FED-EX Badly Fumbles and SeaBear Saves

This is my post about two different companies, bound together through business.

Back in December when I was ordering Christmas gifts, my favorite seafood company had a shipping special of $1.50. This was too good to pass up, and I ordered gifts for a select group of family and friends. I also ordered some items for myself: their Christmas Breakfast and some frozen King Salmon.

On the day I was supposed to receive my delivery of perishables, FED-Ex’s tracking said that it was still out for delivery at 4:30. In the past, the Air Delivery guy was always here early, and he and the truck were back at FED-Ex by 2 PM.

I called SeaBear, and they contacted FED Ex, whose representative told them that I should wait because delivery can be as late as 6PM.  Hogwash!  I told SeaBear that the regular Express driver is never out that late. Did they call the driver? Obviously not, because right after we hung up the phone, the online tracking had been updated and it said my perishables were back at FED-Ex.

I called Seabear back and they contacted FED-Ex again. More fabrications from FED-Ex followed, with a claim that there was no address so the box never made it on the truck so they couldn’t find it. When I finally received the package, the original label from Seabear was clearly on the box. Fess up, FED-Ex, errors were made!

FED-Ex claimed that they would store the box in a very cold room. Well, it must have been cold compared to 100 degrees, because when they finally showed up with my package the day after they were supposed to, all the food was ruined. The Christmas Breakfast I ordered for an event was comprised of Croissants, Champagne Cream Cheese and Smoked Salmon. The latter were warm, which is quite a feat in itself since this is Chicago and December, which reads cold. The salmon was all warm.

The grossest was the croissants, which had warmed up so much that they not only were defrosted but all started to rise. When I opened the shipment, the box that held the croissants was bulging and there was one gigantic, yeast stinking amorphous blob that was supposed to be a dozen frozen croissants.   Not only was all this food thrown out, since it was all spoiled, but I had to hope the replacement food would show up in time for the Christmas festivities, and SeaBear lost money on this order.

Because package delivery by both FED-Ex and UPS now tends to dump boxes and run,  I didn’t want my stuff sitting in the vestibule where anyone walking by on the sidewalk could just help themselves, so my FED-Ex Air shipments are all designated from Seabear to be “Signature Required.” SeaBear had a meeting with FED-EX, and one of their Team Leaders sent me a letter apologizing for this mess.

FED-Ex’s outside mailing envelope clearly was marked by their company, “Signature required.” I didn’t get the letter until the next day, because the FED-Ex driver that delivered it did not ring my bell nor did he get my signature, as it was left in the vestibule unbeknownst to me.

Well, at least the spotty service was consistently applied.

More in the next post.

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delivery, Fed Ex, levels, package, poor, seabear, service
July 23rd, 2010
post by tamalechica | | Closed

FED-EX Rocks!

My favorite fish company, Seabear.com, has these “Fresh and Wild” runs.  Before you think that I’m talking about a sequel to “Bad Girl Bares,”  (tsk, tsk!)  these are wild caught fish runs.  The fish comes in from the fishery on certain days, is cut into 8 oz pieces and shipped overnight.  For any salmon lovers out there, you probably know that salmon purchased in stores has already been frozen.  I’ve had two fish sales people tell me this, one being the owner of the store.  The first time I participated in the Searbear.com  fresh delivery, I was completely amazed at how different salmon that just caught can taste.  I grew up on a lot of fresh caught fish, but not living near the Northwest Coast, salmon has been the elusive one.

Today I was expecting my delivery of Aleutian Salmon.  In the past, Fed Ex arrives around 1:00 or so on these days.  I had an emergency therapy appointment of sorts due to pain issues, but figured I’d be back in time for my delivery.  Surprise — I wasn’t. 

When I got home, I went online and unfortunately Fed Ex had not updated their data yet.  After trying to unwind and change into something less sweat soaked, I checked the online status again.  I saw an exception report, awwrk.  Fed Ex had shown up hours earlier than usual.  Considering how hot it is, it did make sense since I was expecting a perishable product.

I called their 800 number, gave them the Door Tag # and the customer service guy said that I could pick it up (I don’t have a car or the ability to do so), or they’ll just redeliver the next delivery day.  I told him that this is a perishable product and it would be rotten by the next day, so he said he’d try to get a call in to have it redelivered. 

I also called Seabear.com, and they also requested a redelivery.  Now normally if I am expecting a perishable item, I stay home all day, but as I mentioned, I had a severe pain issue that needed to be addressed ASAP.  About 5 minutes later, Fed Ex called and said the package was back in their depot (not good)  – their Express Drivers are usually back pretty early which was the case with the guy who attempted to deliver my fresh fish.

I told the lady who called me that this was fresh fish, and it would be completely rotten by tomorrow (much less Monday, their normal delivery day.)

She conferred with her boss and called me back.  And then Fed Ex did an extraordinary thing.  They sent another driver from the depot with my package, and just as they said, I had it within the hour.

I’m impressed. 

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customer service, excellent, Fed Ex, level, service
March 31st, 2010
post by tamalechica | | Closed

Jaime Escalante

So this inspiring man has left us. The LA times provided one of the best written biographical obituaries about this legendary teacher. I remember when I first saw Stand and Deliver, I was so moved that one person could inspire and change the lives of so many. He was a reminder to ask ourselves, what do each of us do to change and inspire the lives of others? Do we make another person’s life easier? Do we help them to embrace change and transformation? How do we serve the greater good?

How interesting was it that 60 Minutes had recently done a segment on this dedicated teacher:

We each have the capability to change a life, to help someone see what they cannot through their own eyes. Sometimes the person we try to help choose to be blind, but for those who are ready to see the world and to see themselves differently, this is our chosen duty. How do you serve?

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Escalante, inspiration, inspire, Jaime, LA Times, service
March 9th, 2010
post by tamalechica | | Closed

Post Office Service, the bad and the good

Complaining about lousy Post Office Service is nothing novel, and now I join the ranks of the masses in doing so.

My favorite Post Office location is not in my zipcode, but is a short walking distance from where I live. It’s the little station over on Montrose near Damen. Normally I have always liked that station, and I still do.

For many years, most of the time I’ve always had excellent service. There were a few years where all three windows were handled by clearly some of the best postal workers around: conscientious, helpful, friendly, sharp. Yes, sharp.

Many of the others have left, and for a short while we were back to two really good people. For awhile they brought on this incredibly dark and nasty, rude and creepy woman who must have been a real joy for everyone to work with. After about 1-2 months she moved out, and then they brought another lady in. She was very good, but before any of us customers got too comfortable with having 3 great postal workers again, they moved her out and brought the slow one in.

My first encounter with ‘tso’ was when I needed to mail a package and she told me it would be almost $8 to ship. I told her to ship it First Class because it was light enough to do so. She gave me this dull, empty look and said, ‘What makes you think you can ship it like that?!!!” Fortunately, before she could refuse my request, the guy in the next station had to stop what he was doing, come over and show her how to use the system so it would bring up all the shipping options, not just what she keyed in. For an experienced postal worker, not knowing how to do this seemed rather alarming. And the item shipped for under $3.00

Yesterday I brought in a package to be mailed, and somehow I forgot to put the zipcode on the label. Unfortunately she was the window that I ended up at. She stared at the package and shoved it back to me and flat out said, “I can’t do anything with this, there’s no zipcode, bring it back when you have one.” since I was at the Post Office, duh, I asked her if she could look it up. “NO, YOU HAVE TO DO THAT. I DON’T HAVE A WAY TO DO THAT.” Okay, maybe it’s just me, but doesn’t it seem a little ridiculous that the Post Office refuses to look up a zipcode for an address for a customer? And then they wonder why their revenues have taken a drop, ay yai yai.

Fortunately she had to go in the back for something, and one of the two conscientious employees there had an open window, so I asked him if there’s a way to get a zipcode. He looked it up for me and wrote it on the package, and I ended up finishing the transactions with him. Nothing makes you appreciate a helpful, conscientious, good worker even more than dealing with someone who clearly does not want to do anything that is touching the bare minimum of her job.

As maddening as it is from the consumer side, during the busy times at this station, I’m sure the other two regulars are less than thrilled to have to carry someone who really doesn’t seem to even want to be there. In this job market, this type of attitude and the ability for someone to be gainfully employed with this type of attitude seems like it should be a relic of a different day. If this were a private enterprise, I’d say give raises to the other two.

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civil, concientious, dry goods, employees, montrose, poor, service, USPS
October 13th, 2009
post by tamalechica | | Closed

When your phone line goes out…

Today I had three calls that I had to make. Picking up the phone, I heard only static on the line. No dial tone. My extension returned the same sorry response. I called AT&T, they ran a test and said I should have service back by Tuesday morning but they needed a contact number. My Internet connection was semi-working. Every once in awhile it would lose the connection. In the old days, when we all had dial-up, not having a phone connection meant no phone use and no Internet use.

Well, in 2009 when a girl has to use the phone, and I had to keep the cell open for AT&T, I looked at the wifi connections and jumped onto a neighbor’s line. Unfortunately I do not know who this particular neighbor is or I’d have just called to ask permission. All I know for sure is that this is not someone who lives in my building. I was able to take care of two calls via Skype before I got booted off. Who ever this person was finally figured out they should require a PIN number on their unsecured line. Oh well, it was good while it lasted.

The AT&T serviceman replaced a wire leading into the building, which returned my DSL service. The phone won’t be back until they reset the line, which can only be done during working hours. So much for service, but given a choice, there is a lot more to be done on the Internet than only with voice options on a telephone line. In the meanwhile, I’m trying to make arrangements so that another neighbor and I can swap our WEP keys in case either of us has this problem again.

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hijacking, line, officer down, phone, service, wifi

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