Among various benefits internet offers to its users, “Voice of the customer†is one of the most powerful tools. The notion “Customer is the King†is absolute reality in the internet age. Let me share a recent real life incident in which I personally experienced the power of being online.
Last year I bought a new Apple MacBook and I was very happy & excited when I started using it. Unfortunately, I faced multiple breakdowns – first battery crash, then data crash followed by hard disk failure. Even worse, I received horrible customer service from Apple’s service center in Delhi. More than the valuable data, I lost precious time fighting with Apple India. But they were reluctant to hear. Being an Online Marketing training provider, I thought of taking a different approach – instead of me going after them (push), let me create a pull towards me.
I authentically shared my experience of Apple MacBook and Apple India’s service at:
– Apple Sucks (MouthShut)
– Apple Sucks (CNet Reviews)
As expected, I got a call from them. They apologized for my experience and offered me a brand new and the next version of the laptop as the compensation. Although I didn’t want to but I finally accepted their request. Looking at the comments, view/read stats and the popularity of the above mentioned sites, I am sure that Apple paid a heavy price for the mistake of not listening to their customer. Since I’d given my email id in the review, I am receiving mails from people asking for my advice on whether they should buy Apple machine. Virtually, I am driving (or preventing) a part (however small it is) of their sales.
What lessons did I learn (equally applicable for you) from this experience?
1. My voice matters – As a customer, I am much more powerful today than ever before. I can and should demand the respect and service I expect from my vendors.
2. Customer is the king – As a business owner, I can’t ignore the voice of my customer or I will pay a very high price. Given the networked world (socially and professionally) today, it pays to be honest.
I can correlate this strongly to my previous venture in which we used to serve IT professionals who were strongly connected to each other through various discussion forums relevant to our services. Occasionally (especially in the very beginning of our venture), some people would say negative about our product/service. Instead of taking that as a feedback and an opportunity to grow, we used to defend ourselves by giving counter response. Till the moment we acknowledged our mistake, the problem would only grow. The moment my customer got the experience of being listened to, the discussion will end.
The same happened in this experience with Apple. The moment they called me I stopped thrashing them and when they again faltered I went out against them. This idea of writing a blog post about my experience serves two purposes – first, sharing the lessons I learnt with you and second, making Apple India realize the importance of customer service.
3. Pull always works better than Push – Whether you are selling or buying a product/service, pull always beat push. In the online world, pull is not only more effective but also more feasible.
I hope you find this experience valuable. Please do give your inputs and feel free to share any such experience you might have had in the past.
You may also want to check these 2 interesting experiences of Online Reputation Management (ORM):
a.) Ola Cabs Case Study
b.) Toyota Altis Review
- The Future of Search (Wall Street Journal) - October 6, 2010
- The ‘Cost’ of Facebook Marketing (Wall Street Journal) - July 15, 2010
- Tracking Your Company Facebook Page (Wall Street Journal) - July 9, 2010
I happened to get some credit problem with EZEEGO1.com
their customer support was bad. So posted a review on Mouthshut.com
and soon I get a call from theri service head or someone.
as someone said i like mouthsht and their business model lol
also, i read that you are close to mouthshut ceo? for he featured your story in his newsletter
Searching for “apple sucks” on Google gives my review at CNet on 4th position and on “apple india sucks” all top 3 results are my reviews :(.
I had some bad experience with rcom but when I gave them threat of consumer forum they agreed on the refund.
All these companies even insurance companies work on this model only “If you can keep the customer waiting then let him wait, but if he going for some legal action then listen to him with priority”
Samir – Yes, it’s a great learning for entrepreneurs. With each passing day, I am also learning the rules of customer service in this new age.
Very well said Jaspreet. I needed to use Dell support for my wife’s computer and I am delighted with their support and communication.
Another advantage of being online is to be able hear the voice of your customers like – http://direct2dell.com/one2one/default.aspx
I forgot the blog/poll dell launched to know what dell customers are missing. And dell + Ubuntu offering came out of that.
I am big fan of initiates like these.