Still loyal to United?

Dear United

I wanted to let you know of a disappointing experience I had recently with United.

We made it to our gate in Chicago early on Friday the 6th and went to the gate to see if there were earlier flights home to San Francisco. We were told at the gate there were seats but it would be a $50 charge per person. I was shocked as I have flown many times in the past year and never heard of or experienced this charge. We were told our ticket was not "full fare" and therefore had to be charged.

I am a Premier member, have loyalty to United, and paid over $800/each for our tickets four days before we left on Tuesday the 3rd. I was currently being wait-listed for first class as well on my ticketed flight. I understand that you have policies, however, I would recommend that you are consistent with your message and do not look for this $50 from your loyal customers. As a gate standby passenger, it is no cost to you to put us on a earlier flight, yet a huge benefit to the customer.

As a result, this bad and confusing experience has made me less loyal and less excited about flying United in the future. I ask that you consider the messages you send to your loyal customers and trade that off with the benefit of the fees potentially receieved. Your marketing budget may want to offset some of these desired fees as the bad press is not worth the cost, in my opinion.

Thanks for listening,

Brian Mason

Verizon, lack of courtesy refund

Verizon Wireless
Customer Service Department, PO Box 96082
Bellevue, WA 98009-9682
To Verizon Customer Service –

I am writing to let you know that I am disappointed with your current customer service. Thank you for reviewing my situation described below, related to cell phone number 203-249-9102.

In August, my wife was online and entered her cell phone into a website to get a recipe for dinner. In retrospect she should not have entered her number, but she was not aware of the repercussions at that time. As a result, in August and September we were charged a $9.99 premium text message fee. Upon noticing this charge, we called Verizon and we were able to cancel future charges.

Glenn Mason, my father, contacted Verizon in November asking to have our account refunded because we were not aware of their charge and we never used (or knew) of the service. He was told that his account could not be refunded. Unsatisfied, on December 3rd I went into the Palo Alto Verizon store and asked them to credit our account the $19.98. I was told that I had to call customer service because they could not credit my account in the store. The woman that I spoke with on the phone then proceeded to tell me the following:

• She said they could not because it is not on our current bill and too far in the past. I went onto ask that since we are still enrolled with Verizon if they could credit our future bills and that my father tried to do this when he found the charges but that he was denied the courtesy refund. She denied my request.

• I then asked that if we had called as soon as we saw the charge, if they would have given us the courtesy refund. She said that they might have considered it, but probably not. She said that they have no control on 3rd parties billing fees. I wondered to myself what if the fee was $200? What if another 3rd part company had taken advantage of us? Isn’t Verizon partly responsible for protecting their customers? With the size of Verizon, they should be able to request refunds from their third party partners.

• Since she was unwilling to give a refund, she told me that I should talk to the store representative because they were able to give refunds in the same way that the customer service line was able to give. I said that this statement was in direct contradiction to what the representative had said in front of me (and the representative again defended her inability to give refunds).

In summary, I am frustrated by Verizon’s inability to be flexible, their lack of protection for their customers, and the company contradiction on their refund policy. I asked that Verizon reconsider refunding our account the $19.98. We have been well-paying customers for over 7 years and we would appreciate a courtesy refund as we did not know of or use the service charged to us by your third party partner.

Sincerely,
Brian Mason
www.customyourservice.com

Apple Store... Genius!

January 1, 2009

Apple Store
100 Greyrock Place
Stamford, CT 06901

Dear Stamford Apple Store,

I am writing to tell you how pleased I was with the service at your Genius Bar on December 22, 2008

Last year my wife and I switched over to a Mac and we have loved it. Right before Christmas at my in-law’s house the computer was acting strange and the OS was crashing. Even though my hard drive is backed up, these abnormalities were concerning me.

I made an appointment at the genius bar that night and arrived in the morning. I was anxious that the issue would be a large one – a software related problem that could not be pin-pointed or an expensive, time-consuming hardware malfunction.

I met with Bridget at the Stamford Genius Bar and she was awesome. She exuded the perfect mix of trust, calmness, and personal flair. She read the cryptic log codes and quickly diagnosed the problem, repaired the disk, and re-seated some hardware. My computer has been working very well ever since.

I want to bring attention to Bridget’s excellent customer service and expertise at the Genius Bar. I also want to thank you for thinking of your customers first and having free services like the Genius bar, the Apple store, etc. My experience did not even compare to the nightmare experiences I have had with other computer 800-phone numbers. Talking face-to-face with a friendly expert is priceless. Thank you for thinking through the entire computing experience.

I will own Apple products for the rest of my life.

Sincerely,



Brian Mason
www.CustomYourService.com

cc: Apple Store online reviews

Major League Baseball

January 1, 2009

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball
Allan H. (Bud) Selig, Commissioner
245 Park Avenue, 31st Floor
New York, NY 10167

Dear Mr. Commissioner Selig and Major League Baseball,

I am a huge baseball fan. I grew up playing in the backyard with my dad, played little league with my friends, and currently play on a coed softball team as an adult. Baseball is an amazing sport. However, there is one element that has confused me as I grew up watching baseball on TV.

In the majors, why don’t players line up and shake hands after each game?

Growing up, we were taught to shake hands after each game. This courtesy is still emphasized and performed in the adult softball league I currently play in. It symbolizes fair play, good sportsmanship, and takes the emphasis off winning. When did this tradition get lost in the majors?

In nearly every other traditional sport, the players connect with each other after the game. Professional basketball players line up and shake hands, football players meet in the middle of the field to hug and pray, soccer players trade jerseys, etc. Baseball sets a poor example by allowing the players to leave the field without connecting with the other team, and many times the players even sulk of the field, kick a water-cooler, etc.

I am writing to ask that you encourage the players to line up after each game to shake hands. It is an act that we were taught as we grew up playing baseball and it should remain regardless of the level of play.

Thank you for your time. I look forward to your response, consideration, and a brief explanation of why the players are not expected to shake hands after the games.

Sincerely,



Brian Mason
www.CustomYourService.com

Mike's Bikes in Palo Alto, CA

Vee Brannen
Mike’s Bikes
3001 El Camino Real
Palo Alto, CA 94306

Dear Vee Brannen and Mike’s Bikes,

I wanted to thank you for the extraordinary service that you have shown me over the past couple of years.

My wife and I bought our first road bikes back in April of 2006. We were recommended to Mike’s Bikes from a friend at work. You set us up and got us riding and we have loved our bikes ever since. Over the past couple of years, I have gone to Mike’s for questions or to pick up some spare parts and your staff has been awesome. Thank you!

In particular, Vee has really gone out of his way to make me feel valued as a customer and fellow rider. Recently, I came in for a 3D cleat fit with Vee. I have had knee problems over the years so I wanted to be sure that my new shoes and cleats would be set up correctly. During the fit, Vee spent extra time with me to briefly check over my posture, wheels, etc. I trusted his recommendations. After finding a broken spoke, they were able to fix up my wheel while I waited (even though there was a line of repairs that needed to be finished by the next day).

Thanks for going out of your way to provide that extra level of customer service. I appreciate your combination of your expertise along with your personal level of care and attention.

Thanks for the support.

Best,


Brian and Jocelyn Mason

Enough said...

A friend sent this image to me. Unfortunately, I did not do this or witness it... but it is still great!

American Express

Awesome story from Made-to-Stick: http://www.madetostick.com/blog/2008/08/25/scenes-from-american-express/

1. From a letter sent to me by AmEx: “Dear Cardmember, We are pleased to notify Cardmembers that the $1,000,000.00 Prize in the Super Million Dollar XV Sweepstakes presented by American Express Publishing is still available and could be yours to win. The Prize Entry Number that decides the person who will win the $1,000,000.00 Prize has already been preselected. That person could be you, DAN HEATH.”

Sometimes it’s hard to know where to start. The vaguely ESL wording? (Super Million Dollar!) The Roman-numeraled sweepstakes? (Were there really 14 prior events? And were they also Super?) The repetition (”already…preselected”)? The helpful reminder of who, in fact, I am? (”you, DAN HEATH”)� Oh, and there’s this: Is the� credit card company that� prides itself on its “elite” reputation� really sending me *sweepstakes* mailers? (AmEx, did� you run out of hair tonic and Charles Atlas literature?)

Let’s just leave it at this: You know how to make your cardholders feel classy, AmEx! Super Million Dollar Classy!

2. In the midst of praying for my sweepstakes victory, I� get an email from AmEx warning me about a suspicious charge. (A� $99 florist fee. Because, if there’s one surefire sign of identity theft, it’s a bouquet.) As we all know by now, “suspicious charges” mean that our credit cards will be shut off for our own protection.� So I called AmEx from the road, knowing that I’d need the card for travel expenses.� Gave them the usual: card number, security code, SSN. Asked them to clear my account so I could use the card. OK, more security questions: Birthdate, mother’s maiden name, address, phone #. Not� bragging, but I did pretty well on the quiz.

Then the fun beings: “But you’re not calling from your home phone.” Nope, this is my cell. “Is there someone at your home number?” Nope, I’m on the road. “Will you be there later?” Days after I need my card, yes. “Is there anybody who could answer your home phone?” Um,� I’m the person who you need to be talking to, and here I am! “Well, do you have a voice mail that has your name on it?” Er, no, not on my home phone. “Well, we can’t reactivate your account without confirming that.” [Much verbal abuse and erosion of karma.]

Let me speak to your manager. [Long hold.] “The manager is busy right now, can she call you back?” Sigh.

28 hours later, I received that call back. And that’s the story of how AmEx lost a customer. But guys, please make sure you keep me in the loop for SuperDeluxe Million Dollar Sweepstakes XVI!

(I know these customer-service stories are a dime a dozen — anybody got an “elite” AmEx story to top me? I’ve got a free book for the biggest doozy!)