customer abuse

Make it easy for customers to leave and more will stay

May 18, 2010

A few years ago AOL became the poster child for a special kind of customer abuse when a customer recorded his phone call to them as he tried to cancel his account. All he wanted to do was leave. All they wanted to do was prevent him from leaving. But they had his credit card [...]

Read the full article →

Minnesota auto dealer makes a bad deal worse

January 21, 2010

When I was a kid, a local car dealer had long-running advertising campaign centered on the tagline: “A better car deal – we wrote the book!” Recently, another Minnesota car dealer made a good start writing a different kind of book. This one might be called: “How to drive customers away by the busload.” This [...]

Read the full article →
Thumbnail image for Don’t abuse your captive audience

Don’t abuse your captive audience

December 17, 2009

Here is your Daily Dose of Amazing Service: Don’t abuse your captive audience And here are some additional thoughts on this topic… Most movie theatres have a few “commercials” before the actual show. You see some previews and a few pitches for popcorn and soft drinks. Theatres know they have a captive audience so they [...]

Read the full article →

J. C. Penney uses questionable tactics to ‘reward’ loyal customers

September 11, 2009

I love it when a person honestly recognizes that I’m a loyal customer. And I look for nothing more than a thanks. Because loyalty is not about money. It’s about being in a relationship that works for both people, whether it’s business or personal. But I hate it when a company clubs me over the [...]

Read the full article →

Keep Your Customers by Avoiding Toxic Revenue

March 20, 2009

A couple months ago I was managing an event for a nonprofit I work with. Prior to the event our speaker indicated he did not need a screen or projector for his presentation. Then, at the event, (an hour or so before his presentation) he changed his mind and asked for a projector and screen. [...]

Read the full article →