Best Buy Store

Recently while traveling I lost the charger for my portable DVD player.  Last night I ran into a Best Buy and told the greeter I had 7 minutes and what I was looking for.  He steered me to the Home Theater area where via headset he said someone would be waiting for me.  I was thinking at this time, “wow, great customer service.”  Three employees indeed were in the department, but I felt like I was interrupting something more important than me, the customer.  They didn’t have the part.   Call the whambulance.   Don’t you hate those rush nights when you get nothing done?

Today, however, I checked Best Buy’s website for the Eagan location which stated they opened at 9 a.m.   I rushed over once more as I am traveling again.  The store wasn’t open until 10 a.m.!  But OMG, the store manager, Cole was outside telling me to come in. They would take care of me.  Cole had changed the hours last night on the website, and understood there would be customers this a.m. based on the listed website store hours.  Guess what, yup, I left with my charger and am loving Best Buy again.

These are two great examples of why it is so difficult for a large brand to have consistently great service across all locations.  There is nothing worse than the feeling you get as a customer when employees don’t treat you with respect.  In contrast, the manager of the second location knew the change in store hours might create confusion for his customers, so he made sure the store was open and ready at 9 a.m.

Lynne Vannelli

“Dear Liz, You recently watched Goal! 2: Living the Dream. To help us ensure a great experience for all members, would you take a moment to tell us about the picture and audio quality?”

Two things came to my mind. 1. What in the world is “Goal! 2: Living the Dream,” and why was my husband watching it? 2. Netflix is dedicated to their customers in a way that other companies are not.

Netflix communicates one-on-one with their clients and genuinely cares about their experience. Being a web-based business, this is fairly easy for them to do. Still, I believe every company has the ability and technology to do the same. Imagine buying a computer from Dell and receiving an e-mail from them a few weeks later asking if you like it. Retail stores frequently ask for e-mail addresses during transactions. In addition to adding these patrons to an e-mail newsletter list, why not ask them if they are happy with their purchase, or how the service was? This is customer appreciation. This is making sure customers know that their opinion is valued. This is one of the reasons why the $14 bucks a month I spend on Netflix will be one of the last things ever cut from my budget.

-Liz Giel

Photo credit: HackingNetflix (Flickr)

The following post from Caribou has everything I love in corporate marketing; free stuff, a small nimble company taking advantage of a large company stumble, and relevance to the current mood of the country.

Starbucks recently announced that it is eliminating at-the-ready decaf coffee in the afternoon. In response, Caribou Coffee is offering free decaf coffee on Friday afternoon, January 30th.   Given the current state of our economy, I have to think that this will effectively pull in some customers who don’t normally get their coffee at Caribou.  I am certain Caribou is hoping that some of these customers will become new regulars.  In addition, even those people who don’t make it to a Caribou on Friday will probably still remember that they made a good-natured poke at Starbucks and made Starbucks look like another big corporation that is overly concerned with the bottom line.

In the interests of full disclosure, I also proudly admit that Caribou Coffee is a client of Questar/CEM.

What are your thoughts? Is this type of marketing effective or counter productive?

The following is the Caribou release:

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Decaf drinkers deserve better!

You may have heard that Starbucks(r) is eliminating decaf coffee at-the-ready in the afternoons. We think that customers deserve the very best coffee, when, where and how they want it. So all Caribou Coffee locations will offer free 12-ounce cups of decaffeinated coffee from noon until closing this Friday, January 30.

We invite all decaf coffee drinkers to experience Caribou Coffee’s exceptional Natural Decaf(tm) coffee on the house. To learn more about our all-natural decaffeination process, visit http://www.cariboucoffee.com/page/1/all-natural-decaf.jsp

-Tom McGoldrick

I’ve bought Belkin products before, but I’ve also switched between Linksys and D-Link too! Why? There’s no incentive to remain loyal to Belkin. On the other hand, I (almost) always fly American airlines, shop at Best Buy, and get my groceries from Harris Teeter. Why? Because there’s an incentive–even if it’s just the perception of being a VIP–to continue using those companies.

Questar is proud to work with Harris Teeter and see that their dedication to superior customer satisfaction is appreciated by their clientele.

-Liz Giel

Last week, Microsoft made Windows 7 available for all of the anti-Vista techies to check out. I know enough about software installation to get myself in serious trouble, so I won’t be installing 7 myself. And I can admit it: I have no problem with Vista. I actually sort of like it.

Reactions to 7 have been pretty good so far. I’ve heard from a few people that the user experience is impressive. More impressive to me, from a customer satisfaction standpoint, is the way that Microsoft is listening to their users.

It only recently occurred to me that releasing a beta version of software is the ultimate move in engaging customers. This not only allows vendors to tailor products for their users; it proves to these users that their feedback is valued and used to improve the product. So how can businesses in other industries take similar steps?

I thought about free trials and products that are available for “a limited time only.” Such tactics are not aimed at fostering consumer relationships, though. It’s mostly about getting people in the door to buy products. This led me to recall free burrito days at Chipotle. Ben & Jerry are famous for free cone days as well. Now we are on the right track for building loyal customers. The problem here, however, is that customer feedback is not gathered and used to improve product offerings.

It is so easy for the tech-obsessed to check out Windows 7 and leave feedback on the various Microsoft blogs and forums. Much to the disadvantage of retailers, restaurant chains, etc., web 2.0 technology is not commonplace for them. Even if it were, how would this feedback be measured and analyzed to influence business decisions?

I’d love to hear some feedback on how other industries tackle the issue of engaging customers in a similar fashion.

-Liz Giel

Scott Baird (otherwise known as @mediapirate to the Twitterverse) found himself completely disconnected when his cable and internet were down. The only medium he had to connect with the company was Twitter using a cell modem. He contacted @comcastcares and requested Frank’s assistance.

Frank promptly responded, saying that he was on his way home from work and would get in touch with Scott once he arrived. Long story short, Frank spent nearly five hours with Scott helping him to resolve the issue. Frank took breaks to have dinner with his family and tuck his kids in, but ultimately helped Scott get re-connected.

After Scott shared his experience with me, he said “As far as I’m concerned, Frank has completely changed my opinion about Comcast.” Imagine the power of this situation. A satisfied Scott can tell his ~2,150 Twitter followers about this experience with Comcast. The power of word-of-mouth marketing has increased exponentially in today’s digital world. All of us on Twitter know we have a friend at Comcast who will go the extra mile (and beyond) to keep customers happy.

Perhaps the best thing about Frank is his proactive approach. He does not wait for unhappy customers to reach out to him. I regularly see @comcastcares asking disgruntled Twitter users if he can help them with something. Better yet, Frank is a human, not a company. I once asked Frank if he ever slept. His response: “Not really. I need to get a life.”

Other posts on Comcast’s use of Twitter:

Comcast Cares on Twitter (Conversation Agent)
Brands That Tweet (Business Week)
Comcast Cares Social Media Interview with Frank Eliason (TopRankBlog)
Comcast, Twitter and The Chicken (trust me, I have a point) (Tech Crunch)

-Liz Giel

Back to the point (and reality): Yesterday afternoon, a Twitter friend announced her appreciation of Ford for having responded to the US consumers. Ford is sharing every business plan detail they’ve come up with (or so it seems). They put a new business plan on the web for all to see. The website also outlines the company’s current progress, and re-assures the American people that this plan is already in action. While I haven’t read the plan or spent a lot of time on the site, I appreciate what they have just done by addressing customer concerns. Finally, buyers can reflect on a proposed restoration instead of pointing out bad business decisions.

GM followed suit. On their company blog, Fastlane, they offered a 37-page plan for restructuring the company. Before this was available, the blog offered only a quick description of interesting things they have accomplished. In that post, they failed to answer the question: “What is your plan?” Now they have done exactly what was requested of them. I also noticed an earlier post titled “Changing the Perception of GM, One Customer at a Time.” I won’t share my thoughts on the post itself, but the title suggests a genuine concern about what consumers think about their brand. I am unaware of Chrysler taking similar measures, but I would imagine they are not far behind on giving the consumers what they are asking for.

Thank you @QueenofSpain (Twitter) for the Ford Story link, and thank you Big 3 (or at least 2 out of 3) for sharing your plans. Check out the Ford story here. Read the GM blog post here.

Has anyone seen a response from Chrysler? What are your thoughts on the plans?

-Liz Giel

The important thing about @pancheros (also known as Joel Johnson, Social Media Manager for Panchero’s Mexican Grill) is that they are using web 2.0 technologies to connect with their customers– and they are not the only ones. Twitter users will find various other corporate Tweeple such as @comcastcares, @zappos, and @starbucks, to name a few. These companies recognize the importance of engaging with their customers, and have found a useful (and certainly cost effective) way of doing this. Although some anonymity is lost through using Twitter for gaining customer feedback, I will say that there are plenty of users who have no problem voicing their opinion, positive or negative, to these corporate users. Participation in the social web (Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc.) is becoming more and more mainstream. Even my parents, heck even my Grandparents, are all on Facebook. In this day in age it is easier than ever before to capture the customer experience. One way of doing this is through the social web, and corporations with a presence in this arena are one step ahead of the game. I’ve heard this quote multiple times, so this is not a Liz Giel original, but I think it’s very important: there is a conversation going on right now about your company whether you like it or not, and it’s up to you to participate.

I should mention that Panchero’s has so far done a great job, in what I’ve seen, connecting with their customers on Twitter. Joel is often responding to customer complaints, informing users about the company, and even holding Twitter contests to give out free burrito prizes. I have been invited to a Panchero’s “Tweet-up” at the Plymouth location next week for a free burrito, just for participating in the conversation with him. The money I spend on gas to get there will far exceed what I would have paid for a burrito, but I’m going!

Check back for more posts on how different companies are using the social web to connect with their patrons.

-Liz Giel

Bad news for the rest of the country’s coffee chains on Election Day; Starbucks is offering free coffee for voters tomorrow. All you need to do is vote, get one of those “I Voted” stickers (if your state/city doesn’t do that, you’ll be on the honor system), head to Starbucks, and your morning coffee is on the house. For those of you who frequent ‘bucks every morning, be prepared to tack on some extra time to your morning routine. Your local Starbucks will most likely be flooded with voters, especially anytime after 7AM when most polling places open. Check out the blog post for more information on your free cup of joe.

Now let’s talk about consumers like me. I do not frequent Starbucks, or any other coffee shop for that matter. My morning caffeine fix is usually provided by a can of diet soda. However, I absolutely plan on making the stop tomorrow to receive my free morning brew. And did you notice how excited I am about the free coffee? I don’t even drink coffee! What a great way to drive in new customers while simultaneously supporting a good cause. It will be interesting to see if sales skyrocket for the java giant after this. I know I will always remember Starbucks treating me to a morning jumpstart just for voting- something I would have done regardless of the free treat. Talk about creating loyal customers… Hopefully all of the shops can handle the surge of coffee-drinkers tomorrow and really create a top-notch customer experience.

-Liz Giel