Influential Customer Service 101 - XM Sucks !

Many of you have heard me in my "Influential Customer Service" presentation talk about what happens when "Good Companies Go Bad!" For those that haven't seen me in action, Here's an example for you...

Thanks to Joe Vitale and his "Attractor Factor" earlier this year I got a new car. It's a beautiful Acura MDX in that dark burgundy color. The car is perfect, except for one thing... The XM radio. Now XM came with the vehicle for a three-month trial. I left terrestrial-radio behind almost three years ago and got a Sirius subscription. I was delirious with the Sirius Customer Service, the variety of channels, etc... It almost made my commutes bearable (almost!) So when I got this new car I was expecting the same level of outstanding service.

Well...XM sucks for several reasons. There are great customer service lessons to be learned from all this, so here goes:

• My Trial Subscription Had Limited Channels - If you are going to offer your product/service for a "test-drive" like we do, why wouldn't you give prospective customers a feel of your entire product offering? Sign-up for our complimentary "Pathos Platform" and experience what I am talking about!



• The Price Was Nearly Double What I Was Already Paying - If you have similar aspects of your product and your service is equal, how can you justify nearly double the price charged? I had an exchange with the Customer Service Representative at XM that honestly went like this....Sam "That price is nearly double what I am paying now!" XM CSR "Yes sir, that's the price." Sam "What's the logic behind that?" XM CSR "There is none sir."



• There Is No Negotiating With XM - I could have lugged my old Sirius radio with all the wires and everything from my old car to the new one, but I opted to see if I couldn't retain some of the crisp/clutter-free interior styling of the vehicle. As such, I decided to make a run at XM to see if they could at least negotiate (Hey, my 3 month "FREE" trial was almost over!) I talked with an XM Customer Service Representative and asked if there were any "Economic Stimulus Packages" taking place (I had to inform them that I was talking about a discount, apparently the Training Department at XM hasn't had that comedy/humor training session with the economy being as it is!) They told me that if I paid in advance for an entire year that I would receive a month for free. One month? I asked if they could do better. The told me that if I prepaid for two years I would receive two months for free. I couldn't hang-up the phone fast enough!



• My "FREE" Trial Just Billed Me - Imagine the look on my face when I received in the mail today a bill from XM for $7.58. The bill is broken down as follows - Invoice Fee $2.00, Late Fee $5.00, Tax-State $0.44 and Tax-Local $0.14. I called in to see what the deal was, as my official "FREE" trial ended at the end of last month. First I couldn't get to the right department (The automatic operator wouldn't give me the "For Billing Questions, Press 9" option). Next, when I did get to a "live" person, I could barely make out what they were saying (Watch for my "Customer Communication with Marbles in Your Mouth" training series coming soon!) Finally, I talked with someone that informed me that the bill was "in error"... Sure!

So here I am in this brand new car... still smells new even after three months! Unfortunately, I've reverted back to terrestrial radio for the time being (I'll be compromising that clean interior design by bringing over my old Sirius radio shortly!)

Sam Palazzolo, MBA, CPLP

Pathos Leadership Group

http://www.pathosleadershipgroup.com/

What FedEx Kinkos Could Learn From The Marriott?

I had a conference a few weeks ago in San Francisco, CA...Ahh NOCAL! I love that part of the country. There just seems to be something there that sets me at ease...Perhaps its the people, perhaps the food, perhaps the drink (Perhaps a combination of all the above?).

Regardless, we had a great stay in Sonoma at one of the Marriott's properties (http://www.marriott.com/) and something special happened. Not only did the staff upon check-in invite my wife and I to a wine tasting that evening, but when they found out that it was her birthday they sent to our room an assortment of chocolates (My wife's favorite even!). It was an awesome experience and I couldn't thank the staff enough for their hospitality.

And now, the 360* turn...

I am preparing to go out on the road for two weeks to support my new book, "The Influential Leader". I prepare a one-page summary handout for those that join me for my presentations which I send over to FedEx Kinkos (www.fedex.com/us/officeprint/main/). I've done this for the past 4 years and it usually is a piece of cake. I upload my Adobe file (Much more reliable than trying to determine if my fonts will come through in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel or whatever). I then drop by the location (10 blocks from my house) a few hours later (They usually call me within a 2 hour window to let me know the job is done) and I am all set.

This time, my job could not be done to my specifications. They tried calling (I was giving a keynote, so I did not get their message until later in the day). When I called to check on the status (I was planning on going over to the store to pick-up my order), they couldn't really tell me what was wrong, something like the "cutter" wasn't working? I don't know all the FedEx Kinkos lingo, so I was a little lost. So I asked "Well what are you recommending?" which I didn't think was unreasonable. I had already paid for the job that now was not completed and they couldn't do the job (That much I was able to make out of the conversation).

They asked me to call another Kinkos to see if they could do it. They were even going to be nice enough to tell me which ones they recommended for the job. I didn't get it and I still don't? I told them that I was unwilling to contact another location and that they should do it for me...Then they should send over my files for production...Then upon completion, I'd like a call letting me know this. They said that I'd have to wait for the person that called and left a message on my machine!

About a half hour later the person that contacted me and left me a message called to say that she couldn't do the work. I explained to her that it would have been nice if she could have called me earlier (The window which I needed the product had long since passed!). She basically told me the same information as the previous unhelpful associate. I explained to her that that was not going to cut the mustard and on and on we went.

I finally picked up my material at 9:00pm that night at a location that is nearly 20 miles from my house (Versus the 10 blocks!). I got home and looked at the copies and they were all screwed-up! This morning I called and talked with a great/friendly associate that promised to get my jobs resubmitted and done properly. She went back and forth between me and the store to insure that the job would be done right. The only down-side to this was that (1) I would have to make the 20 mile treck back to the store, (2) it's put me way behind in the other tasks I need to knock out before going out of town and (3) this phone conversation with all the back-and-forth took 40 minutes!

The Marriott during our evenings provided a turn-down service in which they would leave my wife and I a special note..."Happy Birthday", "We're So Happy You're Here", "Please Join Us For a Welcome Reception Tonight"...Those cards and those times seem like ancient history (It was only 2 weeks ago!). Needless to say, the process has left me deeply influenced. I am considering a new provider for my copy needs...But my hotel will stay the same. I almost can't wait to get to one this week!