Pinnochio lives among us

The Citibank-Airasia promotional booth at The Curve broke my walking pace to a halt yesterday evening. The free Nokia E63 caught my attention! A RM1,080 phone for free if your credit card application is approved. Unbelievable!

I told Eunice, the Citibank staff, that it was too good to be true. I asked her what was the catch. She said none. I pressed further and she said that you just need to pay RM30 for the delivery of the phone.

For the price of RM30, I filled up the form on the spot. I wanted to select the choice of my phone which was obviously the E63 but I am unable to do so. Hence, I asked Eunice where do I state my preference. Then she revealed the 'catch'. The catch was only the every 50th approved card will receive the E63. The unlucky ones will receive a RM139 Nokia 1208 phone.

At that moment, my trust in Citibank has gone down the drains. Well, I've never really trusted banks 100% but this experience reaffirms my belief that banks don't put your interest first (I'm not refering to the interest that banks understand). Clearly, her commission came first.

Though it is too late, I'm wondering what other 'catch' is there. Maybe I will discover it when I receive the credit card and phone. It may be too late then. Do I have an option to cancel or decline the card and phone? I'm sure I can (but probably with a penalty fee).

Can you be open and transparent with me upfront? Boleh tak, Citibank?

What did I do wrong?

My sister's statement today made me realised that absence of customer complaints do not indicate a customer's satisfaction or happiness towards a company's service. Recently, she was not able to pay her mobile phone bill on DiGi's website due to the website's technical glitch. (For some reasons, she seems eager to pay her bill early whereas most people would pay after the line is barred). 

I told her to call the helpline and lodge a complain. She said she is not bothered to make that effort (to call) because she thinks DiGi will not do anything about it. So why bother? Her thinking, rightly or wrongly, reminded me of Starbucks pledge, "Our Promise". The public display of "Our Promise" at the pick up counter gives assurance to the complainant that a solution is available and known. 

Well, I foresee her inconveniencing herself by driving to a DiGi shop to make payment.

My conversation with her made me realised (again) that a company needs to proactively seek feedback from customers. Reactive approach may cause a company to lose disgruntled yet silent customers. The best part is the company would not even know why customers are abandoning it.

Phew! Thank god I'm not an AIA customer!

Recently, I provided a feedback to AIA. Below was AIA's response. The response was timely because it was still fresh in my mind. However, the response (service recovery) was poor.

Would I waste my time and effort to call another number? Certainly not! What is important is I'm glad I didn't buy AIA insurance. (You have my loyalty, Prudential. Just don't break it by telling me it is not related to service or call another number if I give a feedback in the future).


Dear Mr. Alan,
Good day to you.
Thank you for your e-mail.
We refer to your email and regret to mention that we are unable to attend to your query as it is not related to the service, which we usually provide to our policyholders.
For general enquiry, you can call our Customer Service toll free number 1-300-88-1899/+6 03-2056 2000 (from Overseas) for assistance.
Thank you.
Best regards,
Lynnie
Customer Care Centre

Enjoy the free suntan, sir (like it or not)

"You have to do it 3 days in advance, sir", said the customer service personnel at Aeroline in 1 Utama shopping mall. I walked away dissapointed because I left office early with the hope of changing my bus seat before the counter closes for the day. It was a Friday and I was supposed to depart the following day.

I have to say I disagree with Aeroline's statement, "The Aeroline brand is thus driven by the key thrust of being People Focussed".

The more apt statement should be, "The Aeroline brand is thus driven by the key thrust of being Policy Focussed".

And I am totally fine if Aeroline is policy focussed. At least, I set my expectations upfront ie. my request or needs are not Aeroline's focus (1st priority).

Just in case, Aeroline decides to be people focussed, Zappos is a great company to emulate.

"I listened to one Minnesota customer complain that her boots had begun leaking after almost a year of use. Not only did the rep send out a new pair - in spite of a policy that only unworn shoes are returnable - but she also told the customer to keep the old ones, and mailed a hand-written thank-you.

The bean counters fully support such gestures: "Seventy-five percent of our purchases are from repeat customers," says Zappos chairman, COO, and CFO Alfred Lin. "There are a lot of things we do that seem overly costly. But we have always been focused on the long term when looking at whether something should be cut."
- Jeffrey M. O'Brien, senior editor of Fortune.

Well, I don't expect free shoes or bus ticket, at least allow me to change my seat from the free-suntan seat of 1A to suntan-free seat of 8A (based on my convenience of time, not 72 hours ahead).

cc. Aeroline management,
Hope you will aspire to become Zappos. Boleh,tak?

Remedy to declining profits and share price

At last, Dell is listening to the customers. Sometimes, it takes continuous declining profits and share price to force a company to listen to its customers. It makes me wonder why it is not natural for companies to listen to the customers. Have they not heed Sam Walton's advice? He said "There is only one boss. The customer, and he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else."

Recently, Dell launched several Web2.0 initiatives with the hope of reviving the company, i.e.

1. Self-awareness program

2. A site that lets anyone offer suggestions and vote other people's ideas up or down

3. A self-help site

4."Dear Michael" postcards with the computers he shipped. (A pre-Web2.0 feedback mechanism)

The self awareness program has a squad of 42 employees who spend their workdays engaging with the communities on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media. I wonder which profit-driven company would put 42 people on the payroll to surf and chat from 9am to 5pm.

The self-help site is my favourite because it allows people solve one another’s tech problems. Dell should take it further by allowing the users to rate the ‘helpers’. The 5-star ‘helpers’ become ambassadors of Dell. Every aspiring tech support geek would love to have a badge of honor.

Interestingly, here are the results of these initiatives :

"The latest quarterly figures from the University of Michigan's customer satisfaction index show that Dell is at the top of the rankings again for Windows PC makers, as rivals HP and Gateway sink. According to a study Dell commissioned from measurement firm Visible Technologies, negative sentiment toward the Dell brand has dropped from 48% in 2006 to 23% today. Even some of Dell's harshest critics are softening a bit after the company's recent online moves. Ben Popken, editor of the Consumerist blog, says, "They've been downgraded from evil to bumbling."

Can a Malaysian company emulate Dell? Boleh, tak?

Service us. Listen to us. And in return, I will pledge my loyalty!

Are you a good listener and a better "actor"?

Most companies proclaim in the mission statement that they listen to the customers. The toll free numbers, walk-in counters, dedicated email address, blogs are proof of its commitment towards listening to the customers.

However, not many listen and act on the feedback. Majority of the companies introduce products or services based on their years of working in the industry (I call it gut feel), casual opinions from focus gropus (participants are paid to talk right?) or by suit wearing consultants flow in for the job. Interestingly, Soothe Spa is one company that didn't use those approaches. Proabably because spa owner, London Elist doesn't have any gut feel or money to pay focus group participants or hire consultants. Instead, she uses a simple technology to her advantage. She listens and acts on the feeback.

"After an appointment Genbook sends an e-mail to the customer asking for feedback. One client wrote that Soothe's salon beds were too hard, so Elise added more padding. Another client said the rooms were too cold, so Elise adjusted the thermostat. And after one woman wrote that the wall paint in the salon's bathroom looked shabby, Elise enlisted a painter to give the walls a new coat that same week.

"Our clients are participating," says a giddy Elise. "It's what I always wanted."

This approach enables London Elist to invest in areas (padding, wall paint) that are most relevant to the customers. Sometimes, limited resources eg. money is a good thing.

I can't recall the last time a company I patronises send me an email.

Can a Malaysian company out there take up the challenge (and send me an email or a sms)? Boleh,tak?

Tips : How To Lose A Customer In 30 Seconds

Step by step instructions :

1. Place an ad on 'How to write' workshop in a national paper.

2. Describe how interesting and beneficial the workshop will be.

2. Provide a contact number in the ad.

3. Make sure the person who picks up the call is totally clueless on the workshop.

Believe it or not, that was exactly what MPH Bookstore did recently. My mum saw the ad on 'How to write' workshop and she dialed the telephone number provided in the ad. The person who picked up her call had no idea of the workshop. Naturally, my mum said goodbye within 30 seconds.

Sometimes, I wonder why companies waste money on advertising.

cc. MPH Management,

Do your customers a favour. Help us save a telephone call. Boleh,tak?