There’s quite a bit in this week’s cavalcade of customer fun that relates to healthcare and queuing so it seems entirely appropriate to dust off a jazz-rock-fusion classic from my vinyl collection for this week’s photo. Meanwhile, some of the recent sagas come to a close (and some don’t) and everybody seems to want my feedback.
Less-than-superior examples
My week in CX #3
Some of last week’s less positive stories look like they could turn into long-running sagas, but there’s still some good ones amongst the purveyors of low-level annoyance – including a cautionary tale from the school of rock on how I let my own ‘customers’ down…
My week in CX #2
It’s been a good week for my own experiences as a customer covering everything from pubs to running, although not at the same time. Let’s start with the running…
Runner’s needs met?
Lately I’ve been dogged by a pain in my heel, most noticeable when running and I think I can attribute it to some otherwise super-comfortable running shoes I bought from Runnersneed last year. A brief internet search just now – which I normally avoid because of the risk of early-onset hypochondria – reveals
Service Smackdown 6: Casual dining, casual service?
It’s an occupational hazard of this line of work that I feel obliged to fill in online feedback forms whenever the opportunity is presented. Recently I’ve been invited to do so by two outlets operated by Tragus Group – whose website proclaims they are one of the UK’s largest casual dining groups and their brands include high street favourites Strada, Bella Italia and Café Rouge. As they use the same survey engine it seems a good opportunity to promote a Service Smackdown bout between two evenly-matched opponents: in the red corner, armed with several bottles of lethal brew, the Belgian Bruiser that is Belgo; in the blue corner, with an audience of adoring fans across the country, I give you Strada! Seconds out…
Service Smackdown 5: Apple and the road to power
This is not so much a straight fight but more a series of skirmishes along the road to power – the power in this case being the power supply enabling my wife’s new iPhone to function effectively. It’s a story of persistence in the face of supply chain problems and one customer service rep’s action turning a mediocre and frustrating experience into superior service…
Service Smackdown 4: Man vs IKEA
During a period known in these parts as ‘between contracts’ I have been doing a fair bit of home improvement and, inevitably, this has involved a trip to the temple of home-furnishing-and-lifestyle that is IKEA. Time then to put myself into the ring to take on the Swedish behemoth in possibly the most one-sided bout in the Smackdown series. But first a bit of history…
Mobile Mayhem again – Service Smackdown 2 (the re-match)
After awarding the T-Mobile:BT bout to T-Mobile recently it seems only fair to reconsider their service superiority after reading this horror story from previously-satisfied customer and sometime blogger with The Independent Nat Guest. A great example of how to write complaints and a really superb example of how not to act as a service provider when you mess up.
Service Smackdown 2: Mobile Mayhem!
Or how you can keep going on a path of mediocrity while your customers fall by the wayside…
In the second of a series of Celebrity Death Match-style attempts to set one service provider against another, we present O2 vs T-Mobile with retail outlet Carphone Warehouse holding the ring.
Can supermarkets deliver? Ocado vs Waitrose – Service Smackdown
This is the first – in a series of completely unfair, no-holds-barred customer service evaluations of two similar providers based on recent experiences. First into the ring, Ocado, the pioneer online supermarket synonymous with Waitrose’s high-end brands. And leaping over the ropes, here comes – uh – Waitrose, the high-end online supermarket. Confused? This post won’t help – but might illustrate how to get some basics right in this highly competitive area. Seconds out, round one.
The Road – to superior service?
I saw the film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road at the weekend. It’s a marvellous film and as an adaptation it’s difficult to fault, but one aspect struck me as, well, intriguing.