Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Polo Response
Tracey, the Northwest district manager, contacted me and was very apologetic. I appreciated her concern and personal response to my letter. She told me that 2 weeks before she even received my feedback, she visited the store as was quite disappointed. She tells me that the store is currently cleaned up and in line with what to expect at a Polo store.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Polo Ralph Lauren
Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation
Human Resources Department
625 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10022
April 20, 2008
Brian Mason
Monday, April 14, 2008
Zappos
Are they powered by service? I have never used them before, but a friend of mine passed along their box branding.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Ruby Tuesdays
Earlier this year, I ate dinner at a Ruby Tuesdays in Indianapolis. I was so pleasantly surprised! For some reason, I was thinking them similar to Chilis. They were so much better. Clean menu presentation, excellent salad bar, good service, and really good unique food. I wrote them a letter to thank them and let them know how great our experience was at their restaurant.
___________
Ruby Tuesdays
150 W. Church Avenue
Maryville, TN 37801
Dear Ruby Tuesdays,
I wanted to take the time to write you to let you know what an enjoyable and positive experience I had in your restaurant last month!
I was traveling on business and stayed near your restaurant at the Pyramids in Indianapolis. My colleague and I were looking for dinner within walking distance from our hotel. Our options included a Cracker Barrel, a Chinese restaurant, BBQ, or Ruby Tuesdays. We chose Ruby Tuesdays spontaneously (I had never been to one before). I was expecting it to be similar to a Chili’s… but I was pleasantly surprised to find it much better!
Your menu was one of the best aspects of your restaurants. It was simple, crisp, and the items were presented in a way similar to an upscale restaurant. Too often I feel like I am bombarded by glossy pictures and bright colors all over a menu that are supposed to excite me or draw me in. Your menu was calm and gave an impression of simplicity and quality. I could not wait for the food to get to the table.
The food did not disappoint us either. Your salad bar was one of the best that I have ever experienced – a clean presentation and really good quality. Our waiter was upbeat and a pleasure to interact with. We felt valued and left with a really good vibe for your restaurant.
I look forward to dining at Ruby Tuesdays in the future. Thank you for creating a great experience and understanding your customer.
Cheers,
Brian Mason
___________
Ruby Tuesdays
150 W. Church Avenue
Maryville, TN 37801
Dear Ruby Tuesdays,
I wanted to take the time to write you to let you know what an enjoyable and positive experience I had in your restaurant last month!
I was traveling on business and stayed near your restaurant at the Pyramids in Indianapolis. My colleague and I were looking for dinner within walking distance from our hotel. Our options included a Cracker Barrel, a Chinese restaurant, BBQ, or Ruby Tuesdays. We chose Ruby Tuesdays spontaneously (I had never been to one before). I was expecting it to be similar to a Chili’s… but I was pleasantly surprised to find it much better!
Your menu was one of the best aspects of your restaurants. It was simple, crisp, and the items were presented in a way similar to an upscale restaurant. Too often I feel like I am bombarded by glossy pictures and bright colors all over a menu that are supposed to excite me or draw me in. Your menu was calm and gave an impression of simplicity and quality. I could not wait for the food to get to the table.
The food did not disappoint us either. Your salad bar was one of the best that I have ever experienced – a clean presentation and really good quality. Our waiter was upbeat and a pleasure to interact with. We felt valued and left with a really good vibe for your restaurant.
I look forward to dining at Ruby Tuesdays in the future. Thank you for creating a great experience and understanding your customer.
Cheers,
Brian Mason
McAfee
McAfee is a close second in the "most frustrating customer service experiences of the year". Their anti-virus renewal process drove me nuts for about 2 hrs before I packed up the software and returned it to Staples. I am not sure if I had a freak experience, but it seemed like they had barely tested their software with real users.
After I wrote this letter, I received a call from the customer service manager apologizing, thanking me for the letter, and offering me a free 1 year McAfee subscription. I thanked him for the call, but that I was currently using Norton and it was working fine. If anyone wants a free year of McAfee, let me know. It is yours.
_____________________________
Barry McPherson or who it may concern
McAfee Customer Service
3965 Freedom Circle
Santa Clara, CA 95054
Dear Mr. McPherson and McAfee Customer Service,
I am writing you to let you know that I am disappointed with McAfee’s Anti-Virus renewal process and your customer service. I recently switched back to Norton because of the way I was treated by your company. Thank you for taking the time to read and understand my experience.
My wife and I purchased McAfee’s Internet Security Suite (ISS) one year ago. Over the last month we were alerted over email that our Anti-virus was expiring. However, when I tried to download online I was never directed to my “log-in” page or given the option to renew online. Therefore, I went to Staples to buy a new copy of ISS. I brought the CD home hoping to easily renew my virus protection. The renewal process was the most difficult and frustrating software experience I have yet to encounter.
After following the instructions, the software refused to renew its subscription. I tried several times to uninstall my previous version and then reinstall the new CD. All of the attempts failed. I then tried to contact your customer service department. The first person I spoke with had no idea how to solve my problem. He answered my questions by reading off a script – no of which related to any of my questions. Then, he directed me to the technical service center, but informed me that they were going to have to charge me. I was not very happy. I had already paid for the software and I did not want to pay McAfee anymore to install my software. For the next two hours I called your center two other times and also tried to receive support through your downloadable chat client. Several of the agents told me different things from the instructions and the chat client was a miserable experience trying to download a program just to try to renew my anti-virus. I was desperate for a knowledgeable person to talk to.
With no one to talk to help me solve a seemingly simple software renewal process, I returned the software to the store and removed McAfee from my computer. At the same time I purchased Norton’s Anti-virus software and installed the 2008 version in 10 minutes with no problems. I was relieved that there was a company that cared about my installation / renewal experience.
I am sure you know how important a company’s customer service is to a customer. McAfee really disappointed me last week, but I am happy that I was able to quickly protect my computer with Norton. With this letter I am hoping that you empathize with my experience and hopefully improve your renewal process and customer service for future customers.
I look forward to your response.
Brian Mason
After I wrote this letter, I received a call from the customer service manager apologizing, thanking me for the letter, and offering me a free 1 year McAfee subscription. I thanked him for the call, but that I was currently using Norton and it was working fine. If anyone wants a free year of McAfee, let me know. It is yours.
_____________________________
Barry McPherson or who it may concern
McAfee Customer Service
3965 Freedom Circle
Santa Clara, CA 95054
Dear Mr. McPherson and McAfee Customer Service,
I am writing you to let you know that I am disappointed with McAfee’s Anti-Virus renewal process and your customer service. I recently switched back to Norton because of the way I was treated by your company. Thank you for taking the time to read and understand my experience.
My wife and I purchased McAfee’s Internet Security Suite (ISS) one year ago. Over the last month we were alerted over email that our Anti-virus was expiring. However, when I tried to download online I was never directed to my “log-in” page or given the option to renew online. Therefore, I went to Staples to buy a new copy of ISS. I brought the CD home hoping to easily renew my virus protection. The renewal process was the most difficult and frustrating software experience I have yet to encounter.
After following the instructions, the software refused to renew its subscription. I tried several times to uninstall my previous version and then reinstall the new CD. All of the attempts failed. I then tried to contact your customer service department. The first person I spoke with had no idea how to solve my problem. He answered my questions by reading off a script – no of which related to any of my questions. Then, he directed me to the technical service center, but informed me that they were going to have to charge me. I was not very happy. I had already paid for the software and I did not want to pay McAfee anymore to install my software. For the next two hours I called your center two other times and also tried to receive support through your downloadable chat client. Several of the agents told me different things from the instructions and the chat client was a miserable experience trying to download a program just to try to renew my anti-virus. I was desperate for a knowledgeable person to talk to.
With no one to talk to help me solve a seemingly simple software renewal process, I returned the software to the store and removed McAfee from my computer. At the same time I purchased Norton’s Anti-virus software and installed the 2008 version in 10 minutes with no problems. I was relieved that there was a company that cared about my installation / renewal experience.
I am sure you know how important a company’s customer service is to a customer. McAfee really disappointed me last week, but I am happy that I was able to quickly protect my computer with Norton. With this letter I am hoping that you empathize with my experience and hopefully improve your renewal process and customer service for future customers.
I look forward to your response.
Brian Mason
Orbitz
Orbitz has been one of the most frustrating customer service experiences over the past year. The lengthy letter below describes the situation. In brief, Jocelyn bought tickets to travel to a wedding and when she went to check in the night beforehand, she found out that one her flights had been rescheduled making it not impossible to make it to the wedding. After several hours on the phone, they could not help us get to the wedding.
After I wrote this letter, I heard back from Orbitz offering us a voucher for $100. It was appreciated, but it was too little and too late.
_____
Orbitz
500 West Madison Street, Suite 1000
Chicago, IL 60661
(fax) 312.894.5001
Dear Orbitz,
We are writing to inform you of our most recent Orbitz service experience. Last night Orbitz let us down and left us very disappointed with your service. We hope that you will understand our frustration as I explain below. We look forward to hearing from you within the coming week.
This past January, my wife (Jocelyn) purchased round trip tickets on Delta from San Francisco (SFO) to Boston (BOS) through Orbitz leaving on June 1st and returning on June 3rd (record locator above). Since we fly around approximately a dozen times each year and have always been notified of any flight changes, we did not check our flights until Thursday May 31st. Coincidentally, on May 31st we were also alerted over email of the upcoming flight. However, we were quite surprised with what we discovered.
The email stated that Jocelyn was on a new flight (new flight number) leaving SFO at 9:30pm and arriving in LAX at 11:04pm. It then stated that the red-eye flight (also a new flight) was leaving LAX at 9:55pm and arriving in BOS the next morning. We were shocked to see that there was now a 1.25hr mis-connect. It was physically impossible for her to make her connection - yet the Orbitz computer seemed to see no problem in this itinerary. Additionally, we had never been notified by Orbitz of these flight changes. Therefore, late on Thursday night, less than 24hrs before the flights, we were forced to spend 3 hours booking a new one-way flight on United down to LAX in order for Jocelyn to make her Delta red-eye flight. We paid $134 additional dollars that we should not have had to pay.
We are extremely disappointed with this Orbitz service. I spoke with an Orbitz representative on Friday and was told that Delta notified Orbitz of the flight changes on February 17th. The representative also informed us that we were sent an email notifying us of these changes. However, we did not receive this email. To be sure, we searched our Gmail messages archive (which includes every message ever sent or received) and our spam filter. There is no history of an email and it was not caught by our spam filter. We do not believe that Orbitz alerted us of the Delta flight changes. Therefore, we are asking Orbitz to provide us with evidence that an email was sent notifying us of the flight change. If Orbitz cannot provide us with this evidence, we are asking that they reimburse us with a $134 Orbitz voucher to cover our last minute personal expense.
Orbitz has provided us with positive experiences in the past. However, we are currently frustrated and disappointed with Orbitz. In our mind (as well as others we have spoken to), Orbitz failed to look after the interest of its customers. Since Orbitz knew that there was a blatant mis-connect, they should have made an effort to alert us repeatedly of these drastic flight cancellations and changes. However, Orbitz failed to show any effort to notify us - either through email or phone. Other carriers and travel services handle this sort of matter quite differently and very carefully.
At this point, we are not likely to use Orbitz for future travel arrangements as we do not have confidence in your notification procedures. We hope that our trust can be reestablished in Orbitz by responding to this letter promptly. We look forward to hearing from you. Please direct your response to our email or home address listed above.
Sincerely,
Brian & Jocelyn Mason
After I wrote this letter, I heard back from Orbitz offering us a voucher for $100. It was appreciated, but it was too little and too late.
_____
Orbitz
500 West Madison Street, Suite 1000
Chicago, IL 60661
(fax) 312.894.5001
Dear Orbitz,
We are writing to inform you of our most recent Orbitz service experience. Last night Orbitz let us down and left us very disappointed with your service. We hope that you will understand our frustration as I explain below. We look forward to hearing from you within the coming week.
This past January, my wife (Jocelyn) purchased round trip tickets on Delta from San Francisco (SFO) to Boston (BOS) through Orbitz leaving on June 1st and returning on June 3rd (record locator above). Since we fly around approximately a dozen times each year and have always been notified of any flight changes, we did not check our flights until Thursday May 31st. Coincidentally, on May 31st we were also alerted over email of the upcoming flight. However, we were quite surprised with what we discovered.
The email stated that Jocelyn was on a new flight (new flight number) leaving SFO at 9:30pm and arriving in LAX at 11:04pm. It then stated that the red-eye flight (also a new flight) was leaving LAX at 9:55pm and arriving in BOS the next morning. We were shocked to see that there was now a 1.25hr mis-connect. It was physically impossible for her to make her connection - yet the Orbitz computer seemed to see no problem in this itinerary. Additionally, we had never been notified by Orbitz of these flight changes. Therefore, late on Thursday night, less than 24hrs before the flights, we were forced to spend 3 hours booking a new one-way flight on United down to LAX in order for Jocelyn to make her Delta red-eye flight. We paid $134 additional dollars that we should not have had to pay.
We are extremely disappointed with this Orbitz service. I spoke with an Orbitz representative on Friday and was told that Delta notified Orbitz of the flight changes on February 17th. The representative also informed us that we were sent an email notifying us of these changes. However, we did not receive this email. To be sure, we searched our Gmail messages archive (which includes every message ever sent or received) and our spam filter. There is no history of an email and it was not caught by our spam filter. We do not believe that Orbitz alerted us of the Delta flight changes. Therefore, we are asking Orbitz to provide us with evidence that an email was sent notifying us of the flight change. If Orbitz cannot provide us with this evidence, we are asking that they reimburse us with a $134 Orbitz voucher to cover our last minute personal expense.
Orbitz has provided us with positive experiences in the past. However, we are currently frustrated and disappointed with Orbitz. In our mind (as well as others we have spoken to), Orbitz failed to look after the interest of its customers. Since Orbitz knew that there was a blatant mis-connect, they should have made an effort to alert us repeatedly of these drastic flight cancellations and changes. However, Orbitz failed to show any effort to notify us - either through email or phone. Other carriers and travel services handle this sort of matter quite differently and very carefully.
At this point, we are not likely to use Orbitz for future travel arrangements as we do not have confidence in your notification procedures. We hope that our trust can be reestablished in Orbitz by responding to this letter promptly. We look forward to hearing from you. Please direct your response to our email or home address listed above.
Sincerely,
Brian & Jocelyn Mason
Precision Tune Auto Care
Jocelyn brought our car into a new shop over the summer while I was away for a week on business. We had previously been taking our car to a Toyota dealer. We continue to be very pleased with Tom at Precision Tune in Menlo Park.
__________
July 25, 2007
Tom Todd
Precision Tune Auto Care
1304 El Camino Real
Redwood City, CA 94063
Dear Tom,
I am writing to thank you for your excellent service. When our air conditioner stopped working, a friend of mine Adam Mack recommended your shop for repairs. We had previously been taking our 2002 Rav4 to Toyota101. However we figured we would give you a try as I had recently been dissatisfied with previous experiences.
We were extremely pleased with your professional service. After my wife brought our car into your shop in early July, she called me specifically to tell me how considerately she was treated by you and how comfortable she felt in your shop. I cannot tell you how much that says about your establishment (and how different that is from so many other auto repair shops).
I hope this letter finds you well. Thank you again!
Cheers,
Brian & Jocelyn Mason
__________
July 25, 2007
Tom Todd
Precision Tune Auto Care
1304 El Camino Real
Redwood City, CA 94063
Dear Tom,
I am writing to thank you for your excellent service. When our air conditioner stopped working, a friend of mine Adam Mack recommended your shop for repairs. We had previously been taking our 2002 Rav4 to Toyota101. However we figured we would give you a try as I had recently been dissatisfied with previous experiences.
We were extremely pleased with your professional service. After my wife brought our car into your shop in early July, she called me specifically to tell me how considerately she was treated by you and how comfortable she felt in your shop. I cannot tell you how much that says about your establishment (and how different that is from so many other auto repair shops).
I hope this letter finds you well. Thank you again!
Cheers,
Brian & Jocelyn Mason
Menlo Park Community Services
After a couple of seasons playing softball in Menlo Park, I wrote asking them to reconsider using the fields as a dog park. Almost a year later, the field continues to double as a dog park.
__________
July 24, 2007
City of Menlo Park Community Services
501 Laurel Street
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Dear Menlo Park Community Services,
Over the past two years I have really enjoyed playing softball in the Menlo Park league. It is well run, well officiated, and really a highlight of my week. Thank you for the opportunity to play.
Over the past two years I have been increasingly disappointed with the conditions of the fields at Nealon Park. I understand that a couple of years ago considerable resources were spent to repair and renovate the field. However, since then the fields have degraded significantly. I do believe that this rapid degradation is a result of dog owners using these fields as dog parks. The dog urine has destroyed the grass and created large divets and holds. In addition, some dog owners do not clean up after their dogs.
I love dogs – simple as that. I know that they need to run around. However, Menlo Park is full of wide open spaces and grassy areas that are appropriate for dogs to play in. Additionally, there is a beautiful grassy area right next to the Nealon Park softball field. There needs to be a distinction between a playing field and a dog park. Somehow, dog owners have convinced the town that they are entitled to use the softball field as a dog park. This has destroyed the field and resulted in Menlo Park having to do another necessary – but undeserved – repair to the field.
I have spoken with several members of my team and the other teams about this issue. I hope that you will consider our request to make the Nealon field a softball field – and not to double as a dog park. Additionally, let’s find a way to create a special place in Menlo Park for dog and their owners.
Please let me know if I should direct this letter to other appropriate individuals or organizations.
I appreciate you taking the time to read this note.
Brian & Jocelyn Mason
__________
July 24, 2007
City of Menlo Park Community Services
501 Laurel Street
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Dear Menlo Park Community Services,
Over the past two years I have really enjoyed playing softball in the Menlo Park league. It is well run, well officiated, and really a highlight of my week. Thank you for the opportunity to play.
Over the past two years I have been increasingly disappointed with the conditions of the fields at Nealon Park. I understand that a couple of years ago considerable resources were spent to repair and renovate the field. However, since then the fields have degraded significantly. I do believe that this rapid degradation is a result of dog owners using these fields as dog parks. The dog urine has destroyed the grass and created large divets and holds. In addition, some dog owners do not clean up after their dogs.
I love dogs – simple as that. I know that they need to run around. However, Menlo Park is full of wide open spaces and grassy areas that are appropriate for dogs to play in. Additionally, there is a beautiful grassy area right next to the Nealon Park softball field. There needs to be a distinction between a playing field and a dog park. Somehow, dog owners have convinced the town that they are entitled to use the softball field as a dog park. This has destroyed the field and resulted in Menlo Park having to do another necessary – but undeserved – repair to the field.
I have spoken with several members of my team and the other teams about this issue. I hope that you will consider our request to make the Nealon field a softball field – and not to double as a dog park. Additionally, let’s find a way to create a special place in Menlo Park for dog and their owners.
Please let me know if I should direct this letter to other appropriate individuals or organizations.
I appreciate you taking the time to read this note.
Brian & Jocelyn Mason
In-N-Out Response
I received a nice letter back from In-N-Out a few weeks later... and then we got a Christmas card from the customer service department wishing us a Merry Christmas. Totally awesome! I am encouraged to write more letters thanking companies for their service.
In-N-Out
Since moving out to California, my wife and I have fallen in love with In-N-Out burger. This place rocks... McDonald's does not even compare.
Great food (never frozen), fun atmosphere, not expensive, and hard working employees. After watching a particular employee's maturity and hard-working attitude, I wrote this letter to thank In-N-Out for being a special company.
__________
July 25, 2007
In-N-Out Burgers Corporate Office
4199 Campus Drive, 9th Floor
Irvine, CA 92612
Dear In-N-Out,
I am writing to congratulate and thank you for your excellent service. My wife and I moved out to California just under two years ago. Since then we have made it a tradition to stop at In-N-Out every time we venture up to Lake Tahoe for a ski weekend.
We love the great food, excellent service, and fun atmosphere.
I wanted to comment on a particular experience that I recently witnessed back on June 24th, 2007. My wife and I were coming back from a weekend bike trip up in Lake Tahoe. We stopped at the In-N-Out burger in Mountain View on Rengsdorf. As we sat and ate our food I witnessed one of your servers, Jon, exemplify excellent and considerate customer service. Jon was very efficiently and quickly refilling ice in the soda machines. However, midway through refilling the ice, some customers began to get their beverages. Jon stood there very patiently holding the ice buckets waiting for several people to finish and sit down. I was impressed with his courteous behavior. He could have just pushed people aside or become authoritative. However, he valued the customers and their experiences. Then, as soon as the customers had cleared, he quickly finished the refilling process and returned to his other duties.
Thank you for your focus on customer service. It is noticed and it is very much appreciated. I hope this letter finds you well. We look forward to our next In-N-Out double-double. Thank you again!
Blessings,
Brian & Jocelyn Mason
PS – We also enjoy the Bible verses hidden throughout your packaging. Your dedication to your values is encouraging to us!
Great food (never frozen), fun atmosphere, not expensive, and hard working employees. After watching a particular employee's maturity and hard-working attitude, I wrote this letter to thank In-N-Out for being a special company.
__________
July 25, 2007
In-N-Out Burgers Corporate Office
4199 Campus Drive, 9th Floor
Irvine, CA 92612
Dear In-N-Out,
I am writing to congratulate and thank you for your excellent service. My wife and I moved out to California just under two years ago. Since then we have made it a tradition to stop at In-N-Out every time we venture up to Lake Tahoe for a ski weekend.
We love the great food, excellent service, and fun atmosphere.
I wanted to comment on a particular experience that I recently witnessed back on June 24th, 2007. My wife and I were coming back from a weekend bike trip up in Lake Tahoe. We stopped at the In-N-Out burger in Mountain View on Rengsdorf. As we sat and ate our food I witnessed one of your servers, Jon, exemplify excellent and considerate customer service. Jon was very efficiently and quickly refilling ice in the soda machines. However, midway through refilling the ice, some customers began to get their beverages. Jon stood there very patiently holding the ice buckets waiting for several people to finish and sit down. I was impressed with his courteous behavior. He could have just pushed people aside or become authoritative. However, he valued the customers and their experiences. Then, as soon as the customers had cleared, he quickly finished the refilling process and returned to his other duties.
Thank you for your focus on customer service. It is noticed and it is very much appreciated. I hope this letter finds you well. We look forward to our next In-N-Out double-double. Thank you again!
Blessings,
Brian & Jocelyn Mason
PS – We also enjoy the Bible verses hidden throughout your packaging. Your dedication to your values is encouraging to us!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Enterprise Rent-A-Car Response
A month later, I received a letter from Enterprise thanking me for their encouraging note. They appreciated that I had taken the time to write them for the good things... as most letters they get are complaining about the bad things. I plan to chose Enterprise when I rent a car. Their service is their differentiator in my mind.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
In early 2007, I wrote a letter to Enterprise after a great experience over New Years. With the market saturated with rental car companies, Enterprise's customer service separates them from all the others. Well done!
________________
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Customer Service
600 Corporate Park Drive
St Louis, MO 63105
Dear Enterprise,
I am writing to let you know how pleased I was with our recent car rental experience. Thank you for putting customer service first in your company.
On December 29th, 2006, when my wife and I arrived in Baltimore, we were greeted by a friendly sales associate. After we gave him our information, we walked outside and were greeted by another gentleman who knew our name and had our car running. He helped us load our bags and we were off.
I was even more amazed at the service when we returned the car. On New Year’s morning, we arrived at BWI at 5:50am. Since we were told that the office would not be open until 6am, we were prepared to drop the keys and find the shuttle. However, we were greeted by two friendly employees who asked our names, took our bags, and told us that they would give us a personal ride to the airport! Within 10 minutes, we were at the airport and made our flight in time.
Thank you, Enterprise, for this service. I realize that in an age where bottom-lines press hard, you have made it a priority to still put the customer first. I really appreciate that and I hope that it continues to pay off!
I will continue to tell this story to my friends and family. And please be assured that Enterprise is my rental car company of choice.
I look forward to renting from you in the future.
All the best,
Brian and Jocelyn Mason
________________
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Customer Service
600 Corporate Park Drive
St Louis, MO 63105
Dear Enterprise,
I am writing to let you know how pleased I was with our recent car rental experience. Thank you for putting customer service first in your company.
On December 29th, 2006, when my wife and I arrived in Baltimore, we were greeted by a friendly sales associate. After we gave him our information, we walked outside and were greeted by another gentleman who knew our name and had our car running. He helped us load our bags and we were off.
I was even more amazed at the service when we returned the car. On New Year’s morning, we arrived at BWI at 5:50am. Since we were told that the office would not be open until 6am, we were prepared to drop the keys and find the shuttle. However, we were greeted by two friendly employees who asked our names, took our bags, and told us that they would give us a personal ride to the airport! Within 10 minutes, we were at the airport and made our flight in time.
Thank you, Enterprise, for this service. I realize that in an age where bottom-lines press hard, you have made it a priority to still put the customer first. I really appreciate that and I hope that it continues to pay off!
I will continue to tell this story to my friends and family. And please be assured that Enterprise is my rental car company of choice.
I look forward to renting from you in the future.
All the best,
Brian and Jocelyn Mason
Delta Dental
Well, not every company can be like LLBean. I had a frustrating experience with Delta Dental back in 2006. I almost didn't post this letter because after reading it a year later it seems particular and trivial, however it expresses my feelings a the time.
In response to the letter, Delta contacted me and offered to cover what they had originally promised me. I appreciate the way they handled my request.
____________
To Delta Dental:
On August 29th 2006, my dentist recommended that I have a NTI Nightguard made because I grind my teeth at night. Before I agreed to the treatment, I called Delta Dental to find out how much the Nightguard would be covered – because although the paperwork I was given from my employer was quite comprehensive, I was not fully confident how much I would be covered.
Therefore, I called Delta Dental and asked them “how much will you cover a NTI Nightguard, number D99490?” The customer service representative on the phone told me the following: “Participating providers cover 90% and non-participating providers cover 80%.” I then confirmed with him that since my dentist is a participating provider (he had all of my information at the screen in front of him), I would them be covered 90%. I hung up the phone confident that Delta would cover 90% with no mention of a deductible.
However, after the procedure, on September 18, I received a bill for $148.60 from my dentist Amy Guthrie, DDS. Delta had only covered 80% with a $50 deductible.
I am quite disappointed in the service that I have received from Delta. I appreciate the fact that you have covered 80%, however, I was misled in how much I was expected to pay. I have been told that somewhere in the Delta paperwork, it states how much of this procedure is covered and that there is a $50 deductible. However, the fact that I took the time to contact a Delta representative and they then proceeded to give me faulty information is disappointing and frustrating.
• Why wasn’t my coverage clearly explained to me? I understand that I am responsible for figuring how much I am covered and that is why I made the effort to call before my treatment so that I could then base the amount of coverage on whether or not I would chose to have the Nightguard made.
• Why wasn’t I alerted to the fact that my dentist is a premier provider rather than a preferred provider? The Delta representative had all of my information and paperwork directly in front of him on the computer screen and could have clearly told me how I was specifically covered.
• Shouldn’t Delta be accountable to what they tell people and not just fall back on what is in the writing? The documentation Delta provides, while thorough, is quite confusing for the average individual. That is why I called – in order to clarify my coverage.
Therefore, I am asking that Delta cover what they committed to on the phone with me back in early September when I asked “how much am I covered?” and they told me 90% and did not mention a deductible.
I appreciate your time to consider my grievance. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Brian Mason
In response to the letter, Delta contacted me and offered to cover what they had originally promised me. I appreciate the way they handled my request.
____________
To Delta Dental:
On August 29th 2006, my dentist recommended that I have a NTI Nightguard made because I grind my teeth at night. Before I agreed to the treatment, I called Delta Dental to find out how much the Nightguard would be covered – because although the paperwork I was given from my employer was quite comprehensive, I was not fully confident how much I would be covered.
Therefore, I called Delta Dental and asked them “how much will you cover a NTI Nightguard, number D99490?” The customer service representative on the phone told me the following: “Participating providers cover 90% and non-participating providers cover 80%.” I then confirmed with him that since my dentist is a participating provider (he had all of my information at the screen in front of him), I would them be covered 90%. I hung up the phone confident that Delta would cover 90% with no mention of a deductible.
However, after the procedure, on September 18, I received a bill for $148.60 from my dentist Amy Guthrie, DDS. Delta had only covered 80% with a $50 deductible.
I am quite disappointed in the service that I have received from Delta. I appreciate the fact that you have covered 80%, however, I was misled in how much I was expected to pay. I have been told that somewhere in the Delta paperwork, it states how much of this procedure is covered and that there is a $50 deductible. However, the fact that I took the time to contact a Delta representative and they then proceeded to give me faulty information is disappointing and frustrating.
• Why wasn’t my coverage clearly explained to me? I understand that I am responsible for figuring how much I am covered and that is why I made the effort to call before my treatment so that I could then base the amount of coverage on whether or not I would chose to have the Nightguard made.
• Why wasn’t I alerted to the fact that my dentist is a premier provider rather than a preferred provider? The Delta representative had all of my information and paperwork directly in front of him on the computer screen and could have clearly told me how I was specifically covered.
• Shouldn’t Delta be accountable to what they tell people and not just fall back on what is in the writing? The documentation Delta provides, while thorough, is quite confusing for the average individual. That is why I called – in order to clarify my coverage.
Therefore, I am asking that Delta cover what they committed to on the phone with me back in early September when I asked “how much am I covered?” and they told me 90% and did not mention a deductible.
I appreciate your time to consider my grievance. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Brian Mason
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
LLBean Response
After a few weeks I received a nice letter back from LLBean thanking me for taking the time to write. I also got a separate email back from an employee who had pinned it up in the staff room as a way to encourage them through the day. LLBean then took my semi-cheesy quote and included it in their Christmas catalog making me famous (at least in my family's eyes). LLBean rules! I think they are the gold standard when it comes to customer service.
LLBean
I wrote to LLBean about a year and a half ago. My family and I have stopped at their store in Freeport hundreds of times over our summer trips to Maine. The letter explains itself...
_________
Customer Service
L.L.Bean Inc.
Freeport, ME 04033
Dear L.L.Bean,
I am writing to congratulate you on being such a fabulous company! Since I was born, I have been visiting your store on the way up to Jefferson, Maine. Your store feels like a second home to me.
Every experience that my family and friends have had with L.L.Bean has been extremely positive. I am amazed every time I call L.L.Bean and within three rings I am greeted by a friendly voice. In this age when companies have put customer service to the wayside and replaced it with voice prompts and tangled webs of “press 1 for sales, etc.”, L.L.Bean has stood behind their “commitment to customer satisfaction”. Thank you!
Along with the customer service, your return policy is also one of a kind. Thank you for understanding your customer and being flexible.
Please know how much your service is appreciated by millions of customers. As you continue to thrive, please know that I will continue to tell my friends and family what a great company you are. To me, L.L.Bean is the leader in customer service and great products.
I look forward to calling you again soon.
All the best,
Brian and Jocelyn Mason
__________________
_________
Customer Service
L.L.Bean Inc.
Freeport, ME 04033
Dear L.L.Bean,
I am writing to congratulate you on being such a fabulous company! Since I was born, I have been visiting your store on the way up to Jefferson, Maine. Your store feels like a second home to me.
Every experience that my family and friends have had with L.L.Bean has been extremely positive. I am amazed every time I call L.L.Bean and within three rings I am greeted by a friendly voice. In this age when companies have put customer service to the wayside and replaced it with voice prompts and tangled webs of “press 1 for sales, etc.”, L.L.Bean has stood behind their “commitment to customer satisfaction”. Thank you!
Along with the customer service, your return policy is also one of a kind. Thank you for understanding your customer and being flexible.
Please know how much your service is appreciated by millions of customers. As you continue to thrive, please know that I will continue to tell my friends and family what a great company you are. To me, L.L.Bean is the leader in customer service and great products.
I look forward to calling you again soon.
All the best,
Brian and Jocelyn Mason
__________________
Am I blogging?
I never thought I would create a blog. Blogging seemed like something "other" people did. But, here I am writing a blog about a passion of mine... customer service.
How did this blog originate? Well, for the past 3 years (or so) I have paid particular attention to the way that I have been treated as a customer. The customer experience is huge to me. We all know how it feels to be on hold for 15 minutes or to be treated as just another 'sale'. And we also have those special companies that we hold dear because we feel valued by them.
I love writing these letters as a way to appreciate a memorable experience or highlight a frustrating experience. I try to balance the good ones with the bad ones, but it is merely just based on my personal experiences. I certainly think there are opportunities to innovate in this area... ways for companies to "custom your service".
So, these following posts are my collection of letters. We'll see where it goes... maybe companies will start to notice.
How did this blog originate? Well, for the past 3 years (or so) I have paid particular attention to the way that I have been treated as a customer. The customer experience is huge to me. We all know how it feels to be on hold for 15 minutes or to be treated as just another 'sale'. And we also have those special companies that we hold dear because we feel valued by them.
I love writing these letters as a way to appreciate a memorable experience or highlight a frustrating experience. I try to balance the good ones with the bad ones, but it is merely just based on my personal experiences. I certainly think there are opportunities to innovate in this area... ways for companies to "custom your service".
So, these following posts are my collection of letters. We'll see where it goes... maybe companies will start to notice.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
