ATHLETA SUPPORTER

When I was a little girl, shopping with my mother was a special event. At around age 4, my mother would get me dressed up—a dress, simple but elegant coat, and patent leather shoes. And the white gloves—my mother always reminded me that “A lady always wears gloves”. And off we would go, on the trolley, to the wondrous department stores. To my young eyes, they were huge palaces. There were Gimbels, Wanamaker’s, Strawbridge and Clothier, and probably a few more that I don’t remember. We’d have lunch at Chock Full O’Nuts. I loved the hot dogs, served with mustard that the waitress scooped on the side with a flat wooden paddle. My mother would order a cream cheese and walnut sandwich, and of course, coffee. Trekking through the stores, we would always come home with something—pretty clothes, shoes, hats. 

In the current world of online ordering, clothes shopping isn’t the experience that it used to be. It’s less fun, and it’s rare for me to walk out of a store with a clothing purchase. Either they don’t have the selection in the store, my size is missing, or there’s some other obstacle to an in-store purchase. What I wouldn’t give to go back to the old days, rather than ordering online. But, Athleta has been an exception to my usual experience. I've actually been able to walk out with real in-store purchases. Though recently, a snafu in the store created a problem. Hellbent to buy a jacket at a sale price, I plowed forward to resolution.

On a recent shopping trip, I found a jacket on a Sale rack. This was a good sale—reduced price and an additional 20% off. At the register, the associate told me that the jacket wasn’t on sale in the color I wanted, and the price was $158 rather than $82.39. She said that a customer must have left it on the Sale rack by mistake. I explained that this didn’t make sense—there were several jackets in this color in several sizes, spaced along the rack—a very high rack. I had even needed help to reach it. This constellation of issues made it unlikely that a customer randomly put it there in error. Given the circumstances, I asked for a price match. The manager offered 20% off. This didn’t come near the sale price, so I walked out without the jacket. 

Wait a minute! I wanted the jacket. When there is a random error, it really isn’t the responsibility of the store to honor the Sale price. But this was different. What to do? Go up the ladder, of course. But how?

Since I had bought a top that day, the computer gremlins who know where you are at all times had sent me an email survey. In the comment section of the survey, I explained the problem, and asked for a manager call to arrange a price match. What do you know—no call, but I did receive an email response. They sent me a $20 voucher, and stated:

"Though we will typically follow the pricing in our registers, if we find there is an error, we empower our leadership to do what is best for the customer. We are concerned to hear that this was not what you encountered and we apologize for any frustration this caused you.”

They went on to say that I could call Customer Service to address the details, and they gave me a Work Order number so that the issue would be on record. I called Customer Service. After a very long wait, I reached someone who couldn’t help me, but said that she would transfer me to someone who could. I ended up in a Customer Service survey, without reaching a live person.

End of story?—of course not. I wrote back to Customer Service, expressed annoyance with the waste of time (an added lapse on their part) and asked for a call back and a real resolution. They wrote back and asked for the details about the jacket and the price that I expected to pay so that “we can reach out to the store to see what options are available to you”.

I did receive a voice mail message, though without a direct line to the associate. Damn! When will these Customer Service centers make it easy? They won’t. I did call back, asked for a supervisor, and reached Amber, who wasn’t helpful. Despite my quoting the email about doing “what’s best for the customer”, along with the logic of my argument, she sent me another $20 voucher (which was nice), but said that no one could reach out to the store manager to match the sale price.

At this point, was the jacket really that important? No. But could I give up? Of course not. I decided to add one more email to the existing chain. I summarized my latest experience, reminded them of their talk about empowering leadership and looking for options to resolve the issue., and said:

"Please clarify whether someone can reach out to the store, which seems to be the appropriate next step.” At this point, I’ve experienced another excessive waste of time, reaching a supervisor who didn’t understand the issue, reviewing the issue again, ad nauseum. However, I would prefer to speak with someone at a higher level who could address the poor  service I’ve experienced and take the appropriate next step of talking with the store in order to resolve the issue.

Surprise, surprise! I received a call from Customer Service, letting me know that store management had been alerted, and would honor the Sale price. I now own this cute and versatile little jacket.

What Did I Do To Achieve My Goal?

1) I followed up after the in-store experience by using the current modus operandi—survey and email.

2) I had a logical explanation for the snafu, with an appropriate request for resolution.

3) I attempted to go through the Customer Service protocol. When that failed, I went further.

4) I used Customer Service email language to reinforce the fact that Athleta had the ability to rectify the problem.

5) As usual, I persisted.

LOGIC AND PERSISTENCE ARE A WINNING COMBINATION!

HAPPY SHOPPING!

AND THE WINNER OF THE REDEMPTION AWARD IS...

If you read my last post (AND THE WINNER OF THE COAL IN THE STOCKING AWARD IS…), you saw just a few examples of customer service lapses. Now, take a look at a little follow up:

When I spoke with the Coach store manager after the bag restoration problem, she had given me her cell number and encouraged me to call with any further issues. Taking inventory in my bag museum, I found a treasured vintage Coach bag that I use for travel. The construction's great. but it could use something to spice up the look. When I was in the store, I noticed that Coach is selling embellishments that can be fastened to their bags. Since there was a concern about whether I’d ruin the bag with this type of change, I texted the manager and asked if she would be there to help me. She quickly texted back that she’d be there and would be glad to help.

We found that, unfortunately, adding the decorations would damage my beloved bag. Oh well—I’d still use it, since it’s really serviceable. But, the manager took the extra time to think this through. She went to another counter, and came back with charms that could be attached and detached on the bag. They’d add style and interest, and wouldn’t affect the structure of the bag. I tried on a few——what a difference in look! And, with no risk of damage! I decided to buy one.

What did the manager do right to make up for prior poor customer service from her staff?

 1) She had been understanding when I reported the initial problem and gave me a genuine invitation to contact her for help in the future. She made good on that offer.

2) She did an expert and honest assessment of my original decoration idea.

3) She took the time to think outside of the box and found a solution that worked. 

So, in the words of Arnold, but with a positive spin, “I’ll be back”. 

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Now, the bad part. After the last experience at my local Giant, we went to Wegman’s to shop this week. But Tracy likes McCormick GrillMates Mojito Lime marinade for chicken. Since she can’t find it near her, I wanted to get a few packs. (It’s really good. It makes baked chicken taste like it was done on the barbecue grill.) Wegman’s didn’t have it. So, I swallowed hard and decided to venture back to my local Giant, thinking that maybe I could deal with a very small order without incident. Howard decided to pass, since he’s still boycotting the store. Smart thinking, Howard.

I won’t bore you with the details, other than to say that I had a repeat—if not worse—of my last checkout experience. The cashier was apathetic, rude and all around awful. This time, I flagged down the front end manager and the manager on duty. They listened to my tale of woe about the experience, and both agreed that the cashier had been awful. The front end manager, to her credit, instructed the cashier to leave the register while she took over and finished the order. She also took $10 off of the bill. I’ve left a message for Executive, but haven’t heard back. For now, I’m with Howard—in boycott mode. 

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So, I’m really happy with Coach. And as far as Giant’s concerned, it’s a nuisance to go elsewhere, but unless they do something major with the local store, I’m done. Paraphrasing a well known nursery rhyme:

This little piggy (me) went to market This little piggy (Howard) stayed home This little piggy had roast beef (from another store) This little piggy had none (which is pretty much what happens when you go to the local Giant) And this little piggy cried “I’m never going back there” All the way home

AND THE WINNER OF THE COAL IN THE STOCKING AWARD IS...

While I write about customer service problems all the time, the last week seems to have been a marathon of people vying for the Worst Customer Service Award. Take a look:

1) Supermarket. My local Giant is known for poor customer service. The Dairy section was a mess—wet milk bottles, sloppy shelves. When we pointed out the milk issue, the clerk took note. And did nothing. As we checked out, the apathetic cashier told me that she didn’t have any paper bags when I asked for them. Having experienced this scenario before, I asked if there was paper at other counters. “I have no idea!” she replied. Bland look as she handed me the receipt. No “thank you” as we left. And, I saw a pile of paper bags at the underside of the end of her counter as we walked out.

Why is this an issue? I don’t need to be BFFs with the clerks, but the lack of appropriate service just makes the quotidian task of food shopping unpleasant. What did I do? I contacted the Regional Manager and the Executive office. I was assured that there is a new store manager, and customer service training would occur. I had noted the name of the cashier, and they were going to educate her. Do I have any faith in any of this? Probably not. Howard has declared a current boycott on this store. 

2) I have a beloved red Coach bag that needed a new zipper. I took it to the store for replacement in mid-October. I asked if it could be buffed since it showed its age a bit. The associate said that it could be restored, so I went ahead with the repair. Last week, I realized that I hadn’t heard from Coach. When I called, the associate said that the repair was completed. Why didn’t she call me? “It only came back recently.” Seriously!! When I picked up the bag, tightly placed in a pouch and shopping bag, I had the good sense to take the time to untangle the package. Zut alors! The leather looked worse than when I brought it in. Steaming from lack of phone call and poor delivery, I told the that day’s associate that this wasn’t acceptable. He polished the bag until it looked almost new.

What did I do? I spoke with the manager, commending the current associate and asking that the one who handled the earlier interactions be flagellated with a wet noodle. The manager apologized, acknowledged that the bag had been sitting there for 2 weeks, which was unacceptable, and took note of the shabby delivery. I now have her cell number, and do feel that she gets it and will be addressing this with the lax associate. So, the world is going to hell in a hand basket. Or, more aptly, when I worked as a psychologist, I had a client who used the term “to hell in a handbag”. So apropos in this situation.

3) And the piece de resistance—my car. Dead battery on a Sunday. I didn’t need the car then, so on Monday, Howard called the dealership, who sent someone out to jump the car, and Howard took it over for battery replacement. When they called to tell us that the car was ready, the price was a whopping $481.

My usual modus operandi is to get a price up front and then negotiate a discount prior to the service. Things were a little chaotic for us that day, and as a longtime customer, I thought that I could deal with price at the time of pick up. Not this time. The advisor who handled the payment knows us well. I asked about discount. He promised to apply a discount to a future service. I reminded him that we always manage a discount, so that doesn’t work so well. How about a coupon—is there one out there? He shrugged and didn’t really answer. Howard wanted to move on, so we paid the bill. But was I finished? No way! When I got home, I also realized that they’d forgotten to give me the standard free wash coupon. I left a message for the advisor, asking him to drop a wash coupon in the mail. And, I left a message for the Service Manager to discuss a discount rebate. No response from either. Hey there! What am I? Chopped liver?

While I know that the dealer charges are always a little high, this was unacceptable—the price, the non-response to request for discount, and the lack of return calls. Planning to take this further, I went online to check average prices for battery replacement for my car model. What did I find? I found a coupon, specific to my dealership, for 15% off of a battery service. What the hell was going on?!

The next morning, I went to the Service manager and explained the problem. He graciously took the coupon, but no apology for lack of action at the time of service or for lack of call back. So, I saved a little money, but still felt devalued and exploited as a customer. Did I stop there? Of course not! I called the General Manager, who was new to the dealership. (We’re now getting to know each other.) He heard me, and while I asked that no one get coal in their stocking, he acknowledged that this was a teachable moment. His demeanor and the specifics led me to trust that he will address the apathy and non-responsiveness. (I hope that I’m right. We’ll see.) And, for future, I’ll never deviate from my former price up front/discount negotiation up front strategy.

Are these life or death situations? No. Are they representative of the devolution of the consumer world? Yes. Why such apathy? Too much cyber interactions causing people to forget what it’s like to deal with real people? Maybe. Either way, if we don’t get back to a more civil world, we’re in trouble. 

Is anyone else experiencing ongoing bad service? Are my experiences the norm, or do I have a sign on my back: “Ignore me/Abuse me”? Think about it. I’d love to hear your comments. And:

AS ALWAYS, IF YOU’RE EXPERIENCING POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE, REPORT IT. AND, OF COURSE, MY MANTRA—IF NO ONE SPEAKS UP AND NO ONE ACTS ON PROBLEMS, NOTHING CHANGES!

AIRLINE RENIGS ON REIMBURSEMENT; FLYING AFTER THEM TO RECOUP

Anyone who’s read my posts about airlines—American, to be specific—knows that it’s not acceptable to use the upper hand to abuse passengers. While today’s villain is United Airlines , here we go again, flying into that vast land of corporate “we don’t care”. But, as you will see, “we don’t care” can be overcome if you use the right strategy.

A friend had a problem with United Airlines. After a couple of attempts to rectify the problem without result, he asked me if I could try to obtain a resolution. I agreed to give it a try. 

Because Jon had gone through normal channels without resolution, I decided that I needed to escalate. I used the internet to locate email addresses for Executive contacts at United Airlines. Armed with Jon’s documentation of his flights, United promises and United poor customer service, I wrote to United’s Executive staff. See below for my email, which includes the two unhelpful emails that Jon had received in response to his efforts, as well as my summary for Executive about how those emails from MileagePlus Service Center failed to address the issue.
_______________________________________________________________
Dear Ms. M... and Ms. G...,
I am a consumer advocate. Your passenger, Jon X, has asked me to work with United Airlines to rectify a significant problem that has not resolved through normal customer service channels. Please see his documents below. 

A brief summary:

On 1/22/17, Mr. X was to fly United from Aspen to Newark. Due to circumstances beyond his control which would have caused an unplanned overnight stay in Chicago at a time when he had home and work responsibilities, he called United Airlines Support from Check In at the Aspen airport. He was connected to an offshore agent. The agent got him on an American Airlines flight from Aspen to Dallas. The agent arranged this first leg of the trip. Due to time constraints, the agent asked Mr. X to book the Dallas to New York leg of the flight himself, and also assured Mr. X that he would receive a full refund for payment for that American flight by requesting this after he returned home. 

On 1/30, Mr. X submitted an online request for the $1194.20 refund for the cost of the flight change, per the direction of United’s agent. On 2/3, he received an email denying reimbursement. He tried again, and on 2/5, was told via email that such requests could not be resolved by email and that he had to call The MileagePlus Service Center. When he spoke with a United Airlines supervisor, he was again told that he would not receive the promised refund. Please see emails below from your MileagePlus Service Centers:

February 3, 2017
Dear Mr. X, 

Your email was forwarded to MileagePlus for assistance. We are unable to process your request for a mileage refund. We show you flew on American Airlines from Aspen to Dallas on your award ticket. Used MileagePlus awards are not eligible for a refund. 

We're glad we could help. Don't hesitate to contact us again if there's anything else we can do. 

Regards, 

Elaine 

MileagePlus®Service Center

February 5, 2017
Dear Mr. X 

Thanks for your reply. 

I’m sorry, but we're unable to process your request via e-mail. Please call the MileagePlus Service Center and a representative will assist you.

Regards,

Gloria 

MileagePlus®Service Center

There are several customer service problems here: 

* Mr. X was instructed by the first offshore United representative to book the second leg of his American flight and was assured that he would be reimbursed. This is either misinformation, or the representatives responding by email were indifferent to that information. Either way, Mr. X is left in the lurch, having only poor customer service to show for his experience.

* Service Center representative, Elaine, missed the point of Mr. XXX’s request. The issue wasn’t “Used MileagePlus awards are not eligible for a refund”, but rather, the request for reimbursement was based on the offshore representative’s assurances in the face of a necessary and, at the time, what appeared to be a United sanctioned change. She moves farther off point (and into “the deep end”) when she says “We’re glad we could help.” If this is her idea of help, you have a bigger problem than just Mr. X’s issue.

*Service Center representative, Gloria, punted—rather than take action or assist Mr. X in a substantive way, she simply referred him to a call center. If she really had any sense of customer service, she would have done something to facilitate action.

* In the third attempt, the telephone representative was not helpful, either. 

So, Mr. X was shunted and punted from person to person, without resolution. These Customer Service interactions are unacceptable.

We are well aware of the customer abuse issues that United has shown the public over recent months. While this is not physical abuse, as in the inappropriate physical removal of a passenger, it is still customer abuse. In testimony before Congress, your CEO, Oscar Munoz, said that United would promise to do better by its customers. United should take this opportunity to “do better” and compensate Mr. X as promised originally. And, this is an opportunity to work with your Customer Service staff to help them to understand how to really offer customer service, rather than rote replies and indifference to the issues. 

Please review this email and the associated documents, and make this situation right by reimbursing Mr. X as originally promised.

I would be happy to speak with either of you or with your designee to resolve this problem, as it should have been resolved months ago.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Mauree Miller

Consumer Advocate

Consumerplaybook.com

______________________________________________________________

The result—United communicated with Jon immediately, and within a week, he had his reimbursement. 

HOW I ACCOMPLISHED MY GOAL:
1) I had complete documentation of the issue. Aside from the details of Jon’s trip, the embarrassingly poor response from Customer Service underscored the fact that United Airlines had really botched a legitimate customer issue.

2) United Airlines had recently created a high profile customer abuse issue (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2017/04/11/united-ceo-employees-followed-procedures-flier-belligerent/100317166/ . While the abuse here was not the physical abuse that received much media attention, it was appropriate and timely to use that incident to point out another different, yet very real, customer abuse issue.

WHEN YOU HAVE A LEGITIMATE ISSUE BUT AREN’T GETTING THE RIGHT RESPONSE, KEEP YOUR DOCUMENTATION AND ESCALATE TO GET THE RIGHT ANSWER. AND, IT DOESN’T HURT TO USE EXTRA AMMUNITION ON PRIOR MISDEEDS TO EMPHASIZE YOUR POINT

FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE PROSAIC IN ONLY 24 HOURS

The serendipity of vacation adventures can reinvigorate the soul. Witness our recent Paris trip.

After landing in Paris, we needed to kill an hour until our hotel room would be ready. Usually we’re ready for adventures. But not in the first hour, after a long overnight plane ride, minimal sleep, and the disorientation that comes with that. So, we decided to take a quick tour of the Louis Vuitton flagship store. It's the former home of Napoleon III, and had just opened after years of construction. It was close by and could possibly wake us up with the cutting edge visuals that define haute couture. Imagine two bedraggled, sleepy eyed people, in wrinkled travel clothes, walking into the trendy, upscale version of an enchanted forest. We looked at designer chairs hanging from the ceiling. There was a statue of Louis XIV, The Sun King, who built Versailles, decked out a la Vuitton. There were clothes that could only be worn by the pencil thin crowd who look like they stepped out of an Andy Warhol soiree.

Before we had time to blink, we were suddenly highjacked by a manager, who kindly yet aggressively corralled us for a guided tour. “Why don’t you try it on”, he said of the pale blue mink bolero jacket. I would have, but with my airplane skirt and comfy sweater, somehow, I didn’t think that the look would work. He showed us the bathroom. It was gorgeous. But the piece de resistance was the haute jewelry section. He insisted that we sit and have a drink, and brought out magnificent jewels. As he tried to tempt me, he told us that Elizabeth Taylor owned a label maker and would spread her jewelry on the bed and have her maid label every piece with the name of the man who gifted it and the date and place of gift. I guess that with that many men and that much jewelry, it must have been difficult to keep it all organized. Taking this all in, we agreed that I would try on a magnificent sapphire and diamond ring. It was only 2.1 million euro. My small chapped hands didn’t do it justice. And I actually preferred the moonstone necklace that was only 75,000 euro, though it would have looked better if I had been wearing black rather than my lavender J Crew cardigan. After about an hour, we thanked the manager and extricated ourselves to get back to our room and go to sleep, dreaming of the gorgeous expensive bounty we’d just seen. And the best part is that there was no temptation. I wasn’t Elizabeth Taylor and Howard wasn’t Richard Burton, so there was no danger that we’d splurge that day.

The next day, as we walked towards the Opera, we went into a makeup store that carries a shaving cream that Howard likes. I got lost in the lipstick section. While I have more lipsticks than I need (some of them as old as my children), I enjoy this small indulgence. (Factoid--there’s an uptick in lipstick sales during a bad economy. When prices start at just a few dollars, lipstick can be an affordable splurge.) Although this store usually has promotions, there weren't any for what I wanted. And although not a fortune, I didn’t need a 21 euro lipstick. As I’ve always said, when in doubt, ask. So, I asked if they were having a sale. The clerk said that they weren’t. As I ditched the lipstick purchase and we were about to leave with only Howard’s shaving cream, the clerk handed me a coupon for 50% off of lip products. A lipstick for 11.5 euro—that worked. With 50 % off, I chose a couple of other lip items. When we finished the transaction, we found that she applied the coupon to Howard’s shaving cream, as well--50% off of everything. A 60 euro purchase became a 30 euro purchase. I guess that with no one else in the store, the saleswoman wisely decided that a half price sale was better than watching customers walk out the door, almost empty handed.

LOOK AT THE HAUTE ITEMS WHERE DISCOUNTS DON’T APPLY. IT’S EYE CANDY AND FUN. BUT WHEN YOU GET DOWN TO REAL PURCHASES, DON'T BE HESITANT TO ASK ABOUT  DISCOUNTS. THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN IS THAT YOU HEAR “NO”. AND FREQUENTLY, YOU’LL HEAR “YES”.

QUICK TIP---REVISITING RECEIPTS

On this dreary and unexciting summer day, I had to make the earth shattering decision about what to make for dinner. Since I’ve discovered that Stonyfield yogurt is my best work lunch option, I went to Whole Foods to kill two birds with stone. (Or, in this case, two meals with one stop.) While the trout is better at the farmer’s market, the shrimp are just as good and less expensive, and could be tomorrow night’s dinner. Since I was already at Whole Foods and didn’t have time to go to both places, we’ll have average trout tonight and better shrimp tomorrow. Yes, my life today, with mundane decision making, is very unexciting. But it was about to get more interesting.

Trout was $13.99/pound. As I was checking out, my cell phone rang, and I was distracted. I know, Howard, Cory, Tracy and all of my friends—you think that I never answer it, but once in a while, I do. After taking the call, before leaving the store, I checked my receipt. The receipt showed $15.99/pound for the trout. Distraction almost cost more than I needed to spend. Off to Customer Service. The associate agreed that Whole Foods needs to work on getting their prices into their system accurately, since this wasn’t the only error that she’s seen or that I've seen. She refunded the full cost. 

So, as always, remember to check your receipts for accuracy. The overcharges here and there can eventually add up. Be especially vigilant at Whole Foods. I don’t know what it will take for them to get it right, but they need to do that. And beware of cell phone distractions. This was a minor one—it wasn’t a car accident. But it could have been. It’s nice to have the convenience, but there’s a down side. (Ok, I could write a book about the yin/yang of the internet/cell phone era, but I won’t.)

ALWAYS CHECK YOUR RECEIPTS BEFORE LEAVING A STORE TO MAKE SURE THAT YOUR CHARGES      ARE ACCURATE. SPENDING MORE THAN YOU OWE IS NEVER A GOOD OUTCOME.

                                     AND BEWARE OF CELL PHONE DISTRACTION

THE FLYING GORILLA LIVES IN A CASTLE IN THE SKY

For those of you who have read my American Airlines pieces, here’s a follow up story. As always, if I say that I’m going to do something, I do it. After having written the AA storIes, I wrote to the executives at AA. Here’s what I wrote:

Re: American Airlines issue

To: sean.bentel@aa.com Cc: kerry.philipovitch@aa.com, maya.leibman@aa.com, robert.isom@aa.com, doug.parker@aa.com

Good Afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I live in the Philadelphia area, where American Airlines is the dominant carrier. On my main travel routes, Los Angeles and Paris, there are no direct flights on competing airlines. Of course, this makes those of us in the Philadelphia area captive consumers. I  have been trying to address some of the passenger issues that have made flying American unpleasant, including seat pitch, delays due to missing crew, higher costs, eliminated perks on the AA card. I have spoken with Beth and Vicki about these issues and also about a signifiant customer service problem on our last flight. They were very responsive in addressing the customer service problem. However, although Vicki and Beth spoke a little bit about the larger issues, they weren’t able to address the  other concerns as substantively. I expected that this would be the case, since you are the decision makers on those fronts. 

I am a consumer advocate, as well as a not too happy passenger. I published The Consumer Playbook. Although I did not name companies in the book, the chapter, “Flying Under the Radar” is an American Airlines customer service  story. On my blog, I do name companies, and have published two pieces about American, which clearly point out the issues. “The Flying Gorilla”, 11/3/17, and “The Return of the Flying Gorilla”, 2/13/18. You can view them at consumerplaybook.com

At this point, I am asking you to experience the passenger point of view by spending a few hours riding in your Coach seats. The best way for companies to be responsive to their customer base is to experience what the customers experience. I would  appreciate your thoughts on this and would love to hear that one or all of you are willing to take on this small request.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Mauree Miller

**************************************************************************************************************Did I receive a response from any of the executive staff? Of course not. I decided to wait until after a trip to Paris before I followed up. Here is the follow up email, sent on May 18:

Good Afternoon, again, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Of course, I haven’t heard from any of you regarding my concerns as an American Airlines passenger, and especially regarding your thoughts about taking on the role of passenger in order to better understand the passenger experience.  However, I am writing  to you today, having just returned from a trip to Paris with my husband. Because this was a transatlantic flight, we were able to fly in Premium Economy seats, which were infinitely more comfortable than the regular coach seats available on the transcontinental flights to Los Angeles. We wish that you had some way of making the transcontinental experience more similar to the transatlantic experience.

As a consumer and as a consumer advocate, I am asking you to consider a way to recognize that, while a flight to LA is not as long as a flight to Paris, it is still a long time to sit in a cramped seat on a cramped plane with all of the discomfort in the planes that you fly cross country. And, once again, I am asking that you spend a few hours flying in Coach seats so that you can experience what passengers experience and consider ways to rectify the resulting problems.

While my expectations have been low, and I wasn’t surprised that not one of you responded to my last email, common courtesy and even a minimal concern for customer experience would dictate that at least one of you would take the passenger issue seriously and reply. I’m guessing that I’ve been generous in addressing you as “Ladies and Gentlemen”, when your lack of response and the American Airlines standard is more in line with the term “Suits”.  Please prove me wrong and respond to this email with respect to any efforts that American Airlines can make to enhance the transcontinental passenger experience, perhaps starting with your taking on that experience in order to fix it. Although you may be “King of the Skies” now, remember, things change. And if  you invest in your customer base, when business changes, you have a greater chance of staying on top.

Thank you.

Very Sincerely,

Mauree Miller

**************************************************************************************************************

Of course, no reply again. While my expectations have been very low throughout the process, I still think that it never hurts to try. American Airlines did step up when we had the customer service issue in LA. But bigger problems require bigger solutions, not to mention executives who are committed to their customer base. Obviously, American Airlines steps back when the bigger issues are front and center.

So, what now? For the time being, I’ll take a step back unless a specific travel experience requires that I reach out to the contacts who have been helpful in the past. As far as the airline is concerned, I believe that “Every dog has its day”. This applies to the 2000 pound gorilla, too. While the executive staff may live in a castle with a moat—and a drawbridge—and an electric fence—and a team of body guards—they aren’t impervious to the consequences of a consumer onslaught, whether it be government oversight, the unanticipated appearance of competition, Flyer's Rights, etc. Consider the case of Wells Fargo. After years of shady dealings, they’ve been slapped with all kinds of penalties, totaling over $1 billion. And, there’s been a shakeup in their leadership. Executives who allow the company to abuse their customer base eventually get pushed out of their castles. Take a look at the chapter in The Consumer Playbook, “Mortgage Sleight of Hand”. It’s a story about my experience with sleazy staff at Wells Fargo. So, I’m now seeing that dog having its day. Unfortunately, it often takes too long for that to happen. But I believe that it does happen. And I'm guessing that American Airlines will have their day, too.

THE 2000 POUND GORILLA MAY LIVE IN A CASTLE, BUT EVENTUALLY THE     WALLS WILL COME TUMBLING DOWN

ITCHING TO MAKE A RETURN

I know that I’ve said that I was finished with Gap stories. While that’s mostly true, today, I have a good one, so I’m breaking my own rule. And, I’ve talked about merchandise return issues before, but today, I have a story worth telling.

With the weird weather this year, adjusting my wardrobe to the temperature has been a challenge. I’m sensitive to cold but don’t like to be overly bundled. With that in mind, I ordered a Gap dress and skirt in the Fall, anticipating that they would meet my needs at some point. Then I forgot about them. In March, taking inventory and trying to pull out forgotten items, Behold! The forgotten Gap skirt and dress. I wore the skirt to work one day. I was okay for a while, but before I could leave work, I started to itch. I thought that it was a fluke and planned to wash the skirt, thinking that washing would de-itch it. Then I wore the dress—same material. Within an hour, not only did I itch, I had a rash. Off came the dress.

Gap return policy is 45 days from date of purchase. I was well outside of that timeframe. Generally, most people in the same situation would say “I’m screwed”. Not me. Here was an extenuating circumstance. I’ve never had a problem with Gap materials. The pieces that I buy from them are usually soft and comfortable. What to do? What I always do—speak up! I called Gap Customer Service and was transferred through a short maze of departments, but finally reached the Customer Care Department. A supervisor listened sympathetically to my story, located the order number, told me that she would send me a return label to send the skirt and dress back for a refund. She also offered a $40 reward for what amounted to pain and suffering. (Really-itching and rashes fall under that category.)

I sent both back and had tracking verification of delivery. When I received my next bill, I didn’t see a credit. I called Gap. A different Customer Care associate said that they didn’t have the items. I read him the tracking detail—who signed for the package, when, etc. He was a bit officious and started to give me the long story about how merchandise makes its way from dock to department. I didn’t need that much detail. I simply wanted to make sure that I received my credit and reward. I was about to ask for the associate who told me to send the items back. (Quick Tip—Keep transaction notes-- I was able to provide detail because of my record keeping. Or, Gap should have been able to see #1 Associate's notes to identify her.) I decided to cut to the chase. Politely, I told the associate that I didn’t need a tutorial on their internal process; I just needed him to make this right. So, he did. And now, with credit and reward, I’m ready for more shopping—after I clean out my closet.

WHAT WENT RIGHT:
* I had a problem. I was outside of return timeframe. But, this is an extenuating       circumstance, so the return policy should be flexible. And it was.
* I reached the right person who made the right decision about the return.

WHAT WENT WRONG:
*Staff shouldn’t assume that they need to educate customers on all of the inner workings of their company. They need to just fix the problem.

IF YOU HAVE AN EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCE, GO FOR THE RIGHT   RESOLUTION, REGARDLESS OF POLICY

A PENNY SAVED...

My mother was a smoker. My father detested smoke. He was a family physician with an office on the other side of our garage. If a patient lit up in the waiting room, my father would watch in silence for a moment, then take the cigarette out of the patient’s mouth. My father was a man of quiet action. So, how did my parents stay together—the smoker and the anti-smoker? My father loved my mother more than he hated smoke.

During a flu epidemic, my mother caught the flu. Although she generally smoked even when she was sick, this flu was so awful that she couldn’t smoke. My father seized the moment. After she recovered, he told my mother that if she could go without cigarettes during that bout of illness, he thought that she could quit altogether. He promised to buy her a diamond ring if she stopped. Although my mother loved her cigarettes, this was an offer she couldn’t pass up. Okay, she told him, she’d see if she could do it. “No", my father said, “Now”. So, my mother went cold turkey, soon sporting a lovely diamond ring. Two strong willed people, my parents. 

With the diamond ring on her hand, my mother couldn’t backslide, though years later, she told me that she never quite got over the desire for a cigarette. What did she do to keep herself honest and smoke free? She started putting what would have been her cigarette money in a jar. She would increase the amount as the price of cigarettes went up. And, she continued even after my father died. The result—a tidy little sum for splurges here and there. 

I come by my tenacity, fortitude and savings agenda honestly. I continue to follow my mother’s habit of making sure that I’m saving money. No, I never smoked. But I look for bargains and try to avoid losing money when I don’t have to, whether the amounts are small or large.

This brings me to a consumer reminder—be vigilant when you’re shopping. And that applies anywhere--whether you're shopping for groceries or for a car. Check receipts to make sure that you were charged correctly. I was about to saunter out of the supermarket this week, when I noticed that the cashier had charged me for two packages of paper towels when I had only bought one. Off to Customer Service to adjust the charge. Hey, $5.99 is $5.99. I’ve been in Whole Foods a couple of times when signs said that items were on sale, but at the register, they rang up at regular price. Okay—small charges, but they add up. My mother would be proud.

There are ways to be vigilant on other charges that seem immutable. Every year, when our car and homeowner’s insurance renew, I check with our agent to make sure that all is as it should be. This year, with cost increasing, he suggested that we may want to think about changing auto carriers, since we could save over $1000. Howard and I mulled it over. We liked our current insurer, but $1000+? Before we could make the decision, the agent called us back to let us know that he had been in a meeting with our carrier, and our name came up. He told them that we’re very long term clients, with significant insurance business with this insurer, and asked them to make an adjustment—which they pretty much never do. But, this time, with customer loyalty and no claims, they agreed. We saved significantly on this adjustment.

So, check those receipts, question regular charges, and save, save, save.

                          A PENNY SAVED IS A PENNY EARNED (Ben Franklin) 

SHOWDOWN, SUBURBAN STYLE

I had a coupon for $20 off of a $100 purchase at Whole Foods. Not something that I see often, so of course, I had to find a way to use it. When it’s just Howard and me, although it’s usually easy to spend money at Whole Foods, the only things that I needed added up to $30. However, I did need to buy gift cards. Gift cards are usually excluded on coupons. I scrutinized the small print and didn’t find any exclusions. Nice! I got to checkout, and, not so nice. The cashier didn’t know how to put the coupon into the system. She called for a supervisor. That’s where the customer service problems began.

To protect her privacy, let’s call the supervisor Morona (I’m refraining from using a nickname, but you can use your imagination.) Morona barely looked at the coupon, and abruptly said “You only spent $30.” “No", I replied, “I spent $330”. She testily told me that gift cards aren’t included with the coupon. I asked her to read the coupon and see that gift cards weren’t excluded. She ignored that request. “You’ll have to go to Customer Service”, said Morona. My order had already been rung up. I asked for a manager in order to finish the transaction and move on. Morona’s response—she IS the SUPERVISOR. That answer never works for me. “I need your manager—the store manager.” Her response—another of my personal favorites—“She’s just going to tell you the same thing.” “Just get the manager, please.” (It was a strain to say “please”, but someone had to behave civilly.) Simultaneously scowling and smug—I guess that she learned how to do that at Supervisor U—she flippantly voided the transaction and walked off towards Customer Service. Of course, I followed, smoke emanating from my ears, but determined to use the coupon and have a manager address Morona’s inappropriate behavior. 

Fortunately, there was a polite associate at Customer Service, and as Morona stood there, I asked that associate for the store manager. It took great effort to remain credible, since I sometimes become breathless when I’m that angry. My version of breathless isn’t the sexy Marilyn Monroe breathless; it’s lunatic lady breathless. But I managed to keep breathing. When the manager arrived on the scene, as Morona stood there like a smug lump, expecting manager support, I explained the coupon issue and detailed Morona’s inappropriate demeanor and abysmal customer service behavior. The manager got it. She agreed that I was right about the coupon and would also deal with Morona’s behavior. (My furious self was hoping for flagellation with a wet noodle or demotion. My rational self was looking for customer service training.) Rather than using the $20 coupon, she asked if she could just charge me for the gift cards, and write off the $30 in other charges. While my goal was simply to use the coupon, of course, this worked for me. 

What did Morona do wrong?  

1) She didn’t look at the coupon to recognize that I could legitimately use it on the purchase.

2) When I asked for a manager she tried to stonewall me rather than find a manager.

3) Everything about her demeanor was antithetical to good customer service—antagonistic tone of voice, nasty and smug facial expression.

4) Voiding the transaction and walking away—that was the apogee in the world of bad customer service.

What did I do right?

1) I checked the coupon before using it, to make sure that it was valid for my purchase.

2) I realized that Morona was a lower level supervisor and I asked for a higher level manager.

3) I managed to tone down my fury and explain the situation clearly to the manager so that I could use the coupon, have the manager deal with Morona’s bad behavior, and not sound like a maniac

4) I persisted in the wake of Morona’s dogged attempts to thwart me. I’m sure that if she treated me that poorly, other customers had and would continue to have similar experiences if I didn’t speak up.

I’ve found that many businesses have first line supervisors who are supposed to provide support to line staff and to deal with customer service issues. This is prevalent in retail and especially so in supermarkets. I’ve seen some good ones. Unfortunately, I’ve also seen too many Moronas. The recurrent theme here is that there are first level supervisors who see the customer as the enemy and define their role as one where they defend the store against the interloper customers. This is a danger when you have little people with a little power. Why does it happen? Poor hiring decisions, failure to provide adequate customer service training, lack of adequate oversight, customers failing to report problematic service. Sometimes I wonder if it’s just me since I’ve experienced it too often. I really don’t think so. I just think that customers are too willing to accept the poor service or abuse and don’t speak up. I’ve seen it happen. I’m just not willing to accept it when it happens to me. I’d rather accomplish my goal and also try to have the problem rectified so that improved customer service becomes the standard.

          I’VE SAID IT BEFORE AND I’LL SAY IT AGAIN—POOR CUSTOMER                                        SERVICE ISN’T ACCEPTABLE AND SILENCE NEVER FIXES IT.

                              SPEAK UP WHEN THERE’S A PROBLEM!

THE RETURN OF THE FLYING GORILLA

In a November 3 post, I addressed customer abuse when flying on American Airlines. While I didn’t expect a quick fix, I’ve seen a bit of yin/yang recently.

We were in Los Angeles with Cory over the holiday. Unfortunately, once again, we had no choices for non-stop flights. Going to LA, we were cramped into the usual American minimal space. However, there was an interesting little perk before we boarded. After a couple of very brief interactions with American's Director of Customer Service in Philadelphia, we were surprised when the gate clerk called Howard’s name. Were they going to tell us that they had seated us in Cargo? No, the director had left toiletry kits for us and arranged first boarding. These kind amenities were a very gracious gesture. But this doesn’t address the bigger issues. Socks and toothpaste are nice, but they don’t fix the major problems. 

The return flight—not good!  Before we left our hotel, we found that our flight had been delayed. When we reached the airport, we found that there was an American flight to Hawaii ahead of us, also delayed. Since American didn’t provide any information about the problem and plan to rectify, I ambled over to the gate staff and asked why we were delayed and what was being done to get us in the air. The clerk said that she didn’t know. Didn’t know? I asked how that could be. Her response—the airline hasn’t told the staff. As I stood there, a pilot walked onto the jetway. Ms Clerk perkily said “Oh, you must be here for the Philadelphia flight”. AHA!  This must be the usual American game, Musical Flight Crew. This is now the fourth time since last March that we’ve experienced this scenario. In a valiant effort to remain polite, I pointed out that it seemed that Ms Clerk did know the reason for the delay, but for some unknown reason, wasn’t telling me. When she protested that she didn’t know, I said, “If you saw the pilot and said that he must be here for the Philadelphia flight, wouldn’t missing flight crew be the problem?” “I’m not talking to you anymore, Ma’am”!  Nice answer. I got her name and asked for a manager. “There are no managers”, she replied. 

My reply: “There must be managers”. 

Clerk: “Well, they’re not here”

 Me: “Then where are they?”

 Clerk: “They’re in the other terminal.”

 Me: “Who’s your manager?” 

 Clerk: “I don’t know” 

 Me: “You don’t know?"

 Clerk: “I don’t know who my manager is today.”

  Me: “Then get me any manager.”

A manager arrived, not too helpful, but took my complaint about Ms Clerk. This clerk needs training about how to deal with passengers, and American still needs to address the bigger problems of these too frequent delays, smaller seats and higher pricing. Not to mention the loss of some of the AA Advantage card perks.

Back on home turf, I called the Director of Customer Service in Philadelphia to thank her for her efforts on the way to LA and to ask her to call me because the substantive passenger issues remain. And, I didn't have confidence that the lackadaisical manager during the LAX incident would deal with Ms Clerk's lack of customer service skills. I also called the Director of Operations in Philadelphia. (Note to readers—I generally don’t do more than 1 outreach at a time, but in this case, since I wasn’t sure who could really address the issues, I broke my usual rule.) I reached her assistant. I’d spoken with her before. (I don’t think that she likes me. Not that this ever stopped me before, and it doesn’t stop me now. Becoming the enemy isn't my goal, but...) I pointed out that there had been too much phone tag, with the ball now in her court. The assistant told me that they are aware of my issues (I’ll bet that they are!) And, she added that the Director was in a meeting “with people”. I’m not sure what “with people” meant—“People” as opposed to other 2000 pound gorillas? “People” as opposed to passengers? Are they living in an Orwellian world where “Some animals are more equal than others”? Probably. The assistant gave me the usual-- a busy time with holidays and weather problems and blah, blah. Yes, but we haven’t had holidays and weather issues consistently over the past couple of months since I started this little endeavor. She assured me that she’d relay my message.

Now, the good news—I've had three calls from higher level American staff. First, the Director of Customer Service in Philadelphia called and listened intently as I told her about our recent experiences. While she couldn’t change corporate policy, at that moment, she was very focused on the customer service problem at LAX. I have since received a call from her designee to deal with the miscreant clerk. Based on this experience, I do believe that there is a real commitment to customer service, at least at the day to day interactional level.

Why do I feel confident that the issues with Ms Clerk were addressed? Because the director and her designee asked very specific questions to identify the culprit and the problem. They also told me that American is instituting training on customer service, where they are looking at the issue from the customer point of view. Good move!

The Customer Service Director also had a Corporate Communications representative contact me about the other issues—musical crews, seat pitch (the industry term for space between seats), and cost. She couldn’t speak to the higher ticket cost because she couldn’t discuss proprietary business information. I get that. But, that doesn’t mean that the airline can’t look at their increased cost from the customer standpoint. Will they do that? Probably not. In terms of pitch, she referred me to an interesting article https://airwaysmag.com/airlines/new-seat-pitch-plan-boeing-737-max/ . Here, you can see that Spirit is worse, United is the same, but the others-- Delta, Virgin  and Jet Blue-- are more passenger friendly on this issue, with more leg room. I’m guessing that even with the greater space, they still make money. And looking at the article, it seems that customer noise had an impact in changing American's original plan to set seats at 29 inches So, here, voices mattered. On the other hand, 30 inches is still too tight. When I had to fly with a four year old seated behind me, able to reach my seat to kick during the entire flight, something’s wrong. I made the suggestion—very real and not sarcastic—that the CEO and other executives should fly in coach seats for a few hours and then re-examine the pitch. Will this happen? I don’t know—but of course, I will follow up.

What’s next? I’ll wait to hear from the Philadelphia Director of Customer Service and/or the other people who have become involved in my crusade about cost, seat pitch, a way to avoid such frequent musical crew delays and lost Advantage perks. On the one hand, there’s some progress with the knowledge that American appears attuned to improving basic customer service. And they’re certainly going to need those customer service skills if they don’t change the bigger issues. (Irate passengers, unite!) And I learned that higher level Customer Service staff, who do have a voice within the company, heard me—they were truly attentive. But, with a monopoly, what’s the incentive for American to address the bigger issues? Can simple humanity and common sense prevail when the airline is looking at profit versus comfort? I don’t know. 

 If the opportunity presents itself, take the airline problems to a higher level—government oversight, legislators—anyone with the power to cage the gorilla.

And, lesson—you can find good people, even in a gorilla company, so keep looking for them when problems occur.

Stay tuned—let’s see if I accomplish anything more than customer service. And feel free to join me.

THE CASE OF THE HIDDEN AGENT

Once upon a time, in a world too far away, Howard and I were on our way to Paris via US Airways. The trip was great, but the beginning wasn’t.

In that same disappearing world, US Airways had given once a year guest passes for their private lounge to their gold card members. We elected to use the passes while waiting for the Paris flight. Howard’s idea of arriving on time is to get to the airport too many hours before the flight. Cory and Tracy joke that we should sleep there the night before a flight. But this time, we were only a couple of hours early. Always vigilant, we listened for the flight announcement. Somehow, we missed the first call. But on the second call, we zipped over to the gate. No harm done, but that’s where the problem began.

We saw that they had started to board. But both the Priority line and the regular line were empty. So, we went to the Priority line, where we met Mr. Horrendous Customer Service. He barked at us to go through the regular line. Reallly????!! With no one in either line and our tickets showing that our seating group was allowed to board, why did it matter? When we walked through the regular cordoned area to get to the same place as before, I peered at the miserable agent’s ID tag but couldn’t see it clearly. 

“What’s your name?”, I asked. The agent gave me a big smarmy, insolent smile and with a flourish, flipped his badge so that I couldn’t see it. His smile widened. Little man with a little power—not a good combination. “Sweetie, you don’t know what you just got yourself into”, I thought. And, of course, I made a mental note to deal with this when we got home.

1) How could I find this miscreant who worked for a giant corporation in a large airport?

Who has oversight here? Since he worked for the airline, the airline would have oversight. But how to get to the right person? I went online to locate Customer Service resources within the Philadelphia airport. I reached the Public Affairs Manager and explained the problem to her, asking for the managing director for the airline at the Philadelphia site. Bingo!—She gave me his name and contact number. 

2) How could I identify the attendant on the gangway, now, several weeks later? 

I had the date and flight number, and I could describe the attendant. Cory points out that I could also have used my phone to take a photo. A good idea--though in these odd times, that could have escalated the situation to a point that may have created havoc. I was interested in escalating, but not in that way at that time.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************

I told my sorry tale to the airline manager, who agreed that this was an incredibly mean spirited and unacceptable breach of customer service. With the information that I provided—agent description, date, flight number—he was able to identify the culprit and institute disciplinary action.

How do I know that the manager wasn’t just placating me? I could tell by his tone of voice, the questions he asked me, and the fact that he called me back after talking to the agent. He did the right thing—he instituted a monitoring protocol for this agent, both as a disciplinary action and to make sure that it didn’t happen again to someone else.

You can be a jerk, but don’t think that you can hide from the consequences. It would have taken so little effort to simply act like a human being rather than abuse a customer. And customer abuse is never acceptable.

Speak up, and you can change the world, step by step, agent by agent.

DON'T LOOK A GIFT PIG IN THE MOUTH

'Tis the season-- to wonder what to give to people to whom you’ve given gifts for years. I’ve tried several strategies to make sure that I’m on the right track.

   Rule # 1 —Give a gift that the recipient will like, not just something you like. You may like the purple scarf with orange polka dots, but would Aunt Gertrude, your less adventurous aunt, really wear it with her more conservative wardrobe? Or maybe it would open a new world of options for her. Perhaps you should be an innovative gifter—you could have a back up gift and give her a choice. Either way, think about it before buying.

    Rule # 2— Make a recipient list and write down what you give each year. I haven’t started following that rule yet. I rely on memory, but it’s getting a bit dicey. This may be the year to start the list—my memory isn’t what it used to be.

    Rule # 3— Look for gifts throughout the year. If you can find things that specific people will like when you’re not under pressure, and put them away until gift time, it makes gift giving easier. The problem here is that I sometimes put them away and forget that I bought them. But, I’m getting more organized. Howard and I cleaned out The Museum of Gifts, Empty Gift Boxes and Wrapping Paper. A fraction of that closet yielded an unimagineable amount of trash, but also some presents that I had put away. Now, I’ll make a smaller gift reservoir and hopefully I'll know what's there.

But what do you do when you run out of gift ideas? While I prefer something that I pick out so that I maintain that personal touch, I’ve started to give gift cards. Everyone likes a gift card. Amazon is so easy. But I really don’t like to contribute to the death of retail. (Actually, I see Amazon in science fiction terms. The alien invader who destroys everything around him then swoops in and takes over what he’s destroyed, leaving devastation and a giant footprint in his wake. Meaning that Amazon has been impinging on retail, but they’re now moving into retail business. I predict that before I die, they’ll take over the world.) So, that leads me to Visa— a gift that can be used online, but also in the real world. (I know—I’m a dinosaur; maybe “the real world” is just my “real world”. It’s not that I don’t go online, but I’d like to think that some things still exist outside of cyberspace.)

Back to gift cards--A word of caution about Visa gift cards. When I bought a few of them recently, the salesperson told me that there is a $2.95 monthly charge after 12 months of inactivity. 

"What does that cover?" I asked. "I don’t know", the salesperson replied. 

I called the phone number on the card. I think that I tortured the poor representative who had the misfortune to take my call. When I asked what service the fee covered, she explained that it was an inactivity fee. I told her that I’m aware of that. “But what service is rendered?” Brief silence, then a repeated “it’s an inactivity fee.” 

Okay—I’ll help her out—“Does someone come to my house and dust it?” No. 

“Does someone come to my house and organize the drawer where I keep it, or maybe put a bow on it to remind me that it’s there?” No. 

Struggling, she said that Visa keeps track of my money. “Isn’t that an online system that doesn’t require a charge?” Silence. 

“Does a little man sit there and look at accounts and note who has a balance or call to remind them that they should use the card?” No. 

“Okay—Visa charges a fee because they can?” Silence. 

Now, it was time to give the ultimate gift— I gave the rep the gift of end of interrogation and thanked her and wished her a happy holiday. It was the least I could do—she works for a pig company (at least for this service) and isn’t making the rules.

    Don’t forget to use your gift cards or the gift pig will run off with your money.         

Related reading-- REBATE CARDS—FIGURING OUT THE PUZZLE in THE CONSUMER PLAYBOOK

THE FLYING GORILLA

Last week, the Philadelphia Inquirer published an article, “NAACP cautions fliers on American”. http://www.philly.com/philly/business/naacp-issues-travel-advisory-cautioning-african-americans-to-not-fly-american-airlines-20171025.html. The NAACP has issued a national alert, cautioning African Americans about booking on American Airlines because of what they see as a pattern of incidents which reek  of “disrespectful, discriminatory, or unsafe conditions” for African American passengers on American Airlines flights. With deference to the NAACP, as a Caucasian, I can’t speak to the African American experience other than to sympathize and to follow the story as it unfolds. However, since the moment when American and US Airlines merged to form American Airlines, the largest airline in the world, I’ve viewed them as an equal opportunity passenger abuser. I don’t think that they care about passengers at all—it’s all about making money. Making money isn’t a bad thing, as long as it’s done legitimately and with respect for the customer. But American Airlines doesn’t make money respectfully—the customers are the cash cow, and the corporation is so interested in their bottom line that they forget that the passengers are the means by which they make their billions in profit. The result—passenger abuse.

American Airlines is not only the largest airline in the world, in Philadelphia, they are the dominant carrier. On some routes, there is virtually no competition. American has recognized this and took quick steps to let customers know that they are the 2000 pound gorilla who can bully their way into anything that they want to do. Examples:

* Airfares went up very quickly after the merger with US Airways. For Howard and me, our most frequent route is Philadelphia to LA. There are no alternate options for direct flights. While I know that prices vary based on many factors, our trips fall within specific parameters. The former airfare at around $400 for a round trip ticket quickly rose to around $500. Cory, who lives in LA, booked a round trip flight from LA to NY, taking advantage of the fact that he has more options that way. On a competing airline, the round trip fare is around $300, a very significant cost difference.

* There is an American Airlines Advantage credit card that offers several perks. However, they took away some perks that were available on the former US Airways card, including the once per year $99 companion fare and the yearly pass to their lounge. The companion fare was a significant benefit loss. But what were they thinking when they deleted the once a year use of the lounge? Sitting in a more comfortable space than the airport gates, with some amenities, was a nice but not so significant perk. What does it say when American deletes that minor benefit? It says “Passenger, we don’t care. You’re just a commodity.” How much could this small nicety cost in the bigger picture with their billions of dollars in profits?

* Seat and aisle space. While I am aware that this is an issue across carriers,  our experience with American has changed dramatically from the former US Airways space. The leg room, seat width and aisle width have become inordinately skimpy. I’m small, and the leg room and seat width are even tight for me.The space between rows is so small that I have to get into my seat sideways. I find it physically painful to get into the seat and to sit for five plus hours, stuffed into that small space.Two people cannot pass in the aisle. On our last flight, when a beverage cart was about to go through the plane, the captain made an announcement asking passengers in aisle seats to be careful of elbows and heads in order to avoid being banged by the cart. Flyer’s Rights, an advocacy group, had filed an action against the airlines regarding space because of safety concerns if there would be a need to evacuate. This past July, the US Court of Appeals found in favor of Flyer's Rights.  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-28/u-s-court-rebukes-faa-over-incredible-shrinking-airline-seat  I’m not sure what impact this will have, but it underscores the point. Although this action went beyond just American, I’m hearing that for their upcoming new Boeing 737 MAX jets, American is considering having even less space between seats. They also intend to shrink the size of the already tiny airline bathrooms. On a flight to LA this past Spring, a very nice flight attendant smilingly told me that a colleague had told her that MAX 737 bathrooms would be about half the size of the current bathrooms. Even a Wizard of Oz Munchkin would have trouble getting into a smaller airline bathroom! I anticipate discrimination lawsuits from advocates for people with disabilities and oversized individuals. What does this do for American with such a minimal space gain for them, and such a major insult to consumers? When I was a child, there was a radio jingle for a store, Robert Hall, that touted lower prices because of “low overhead”. We never went to Robert Hall, but in my child’s mind, I envisioned low ceilings, and thought that the store must have saved money by having shorter walls so that they could pass the savings on to the shopper. Is American Airlines the Robert Hall of the airways?

* Although I understand that some airlines have staff flying from one city to another to man their planes, we’ve had three occasions over the course of only a few months, where a staff member was delayed on an incoming flight. This staff juggling caused our flights to be delayed for one to two hours. Staff gave an insincere apology each time. I checked with Jonah, who travels frequently for work. He says that he has experienced occasional delays on other airlines, but nothing significant. On our flights, there was complete indifference to the passenger experience here, too. Passengers are never compensated for the impact of this business practice. Yet there are all kinds of penalties if a passenger errs—baggage weight surcharges, significant fees for flight changes, etc. Once again,the 2000 pound gorilla.

A few weeks ago, the Philadelphia Inquirer published an article about Olympia Colasante, the first woman in charge of the American Airlines hub in Philadelphia. “Ahah”, I thought. Let me talk to the woman in charge of American Airlines' business in their captive city, and see if I can have any impact. By calling the Philadelphia Airport Public Affairs office, I got her number. She and I traded voice mail messages, and I did finally speak with the Director of Customer Care. She was very nice, listened to me respectfully, and said that she would investigate my issues and get back to me and that Ms. Colasante would probably speak with me, as well. That was several weeks ago. Have I heard from either of them? No. Will I follow up? Yes.

Taking on the 2000 pound gorilla isn’t an easy task, nor is there a quick fix. But I wonder if there could be some change if enough people speak up—or file suit. Apparently there are meetings scheduled between the NAACP and American Airlines executives. Why not more of us speaking up? We can all reach out to American Airlines Executive contacts,  offices of US congressmen and senators, and to advocacy groups.

I don’t want to fly for five plus hours, scrunched into a tiny, painful space, and soon, not even able to pee for that length of time. All for high charges and no consideration that I’m a person—I’m only their cash cow. 

The 2000 pound gorilla sits wherever he wants to sit. But I’ll bet it’s not in an American Airlines coach seat.

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LOOK WHAT'S FALLING FROM THE SKY

Is it just me, or does anyone else notice the bird droppings on supermarket carts?  

I asked my fastidious friend, Patti, if she agreed that this is a problem. “Well," she said, “you put the food in plastic bags so it really doesn’t have to touch the cart.” 

“Yes”, I replied, "but sometimes, I may want to put the whole bag in the refrigerator. And….yuck.”

As comedian Robert Klein said in an old and only partially remembered bit—“There is no acceptable amount of rat hair in my tuna fish.” In my case, there is no acceptable amount of bird droppings in my cart.

At any rate, I am seeing more anointed shopping carts than I can recall in the past. Or, maybe I just wasn’t looking so closely way back when. I don’t want my shopping bags resting on bird droppings. And I wouldn’t put our Avery—or any other child—in an anointed cart.

I won’t go into the dangers of bird stuff. But, once again, suffice it to say ...“yuck”.

What to do? I’ve looked for oversight in various places, depending on which market had been oblivious to their poo’d on carts. I’ve spoken with store managers, managers of the shopping centers where the market is located, and, finally, to the township Sanitation Department. For the most part, they’ve been responsive, and there's less bird gift. Actual oversight would be from the county Department of Health. I choose not to take that route. Why? Because sometimes, escalation can backfire.

 * I don’t know the players in the department.

 * I’m worried that they may take more draconian measures than are necessary.        There is the real possibility that they could go into bureaucratic mode and shut down the market altogether. That’s not my goal, and it’s not beneficial to anyone.

* Be careful before you take action. Think the problem through and consider consequences before you go up the chain. You could be doing more harm than good.

                           Lovely weather

                           Birds are flying and hopping

                           I’m just not happy

                          With their droppings

                                         On my shopping cart

THE POWER OF THE SPOKEN WORD

Emails, emails, emails!! Texts, tweets, automated calls. Where is the human touch in our world anymore? Okay, I know that I live in the past and need to be more current, but sometimes, old fashioned interaction does more than a boatload of virtual interactions can do.

What do I mean with all of this ranting? 

Howard and I were in a casual restaurant, enjoying a break from a long week. When the server brought our check, she asked if we knew about new upcoming menu items. I thought about that for a moment. I had a vague recollection of an onslaught of recent emails from the restaurant, and had read the few words that I could see without opening the emails before I deleted them. The answer was a tepid “Maybe, but not really."

“Maybe”, I said, “We’ve received a lot of emails, but we really haven’t looked at them”. 

The server smiled. And she said, “We do send out a lot of emails, but we're finding that not all of our customers are reading them. So, we thought that it would be a good idea to tell people about it.”

Great idea! Why?

1) Just because you send out emails doesn’t mean that people read them.
2) Many people, like me, are on email overload
3) Telling someone something has a more personal touch, and you can alter your tone to   add impact.
4) Human to human interaction is a good thing. Remember that people are real, and not just remote concepts.

So, now we know about the new menu items, and we’re going back, specifically to try them. All because of a few spoken words. I guess that you could say that this mouth to ear resuscitation probably brought more business in the door.

DON’T  UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF WORD OF MOUTH AND REAL INTERACTION

QUICK TIP--CUSTOMER SERVICE SURVEYS

I am tired of shopping online. Yet I do it when there isn’t an alternative. I don’t troll the internet for bargains. But with the massive number of retailer emails, I’m bound to click on a couple of sites to see what’s out there. That’s when the trouble begins. Poor Howard had to take a mountain of shipping  boxes to the trash for recycling and I've been making weekly trips to the mall to return clothes that I bought online that didn't work for me. And the shoes—they seemed like they'd be perfectly comfortable, but after wearing them for 10 minutes in the house, I lost feeling in my toes. So much for elastic banded scuffs. 

Despite my resolution to stop shopping, I found a really good sale advertisement in my email. So, I opened that Pandora’s Box.  I had bought a black dress from the same company. It's one of the most comfortable and versatile in my closet. (Happily content to take its place among my many black dresses—the perfect backdrop for jewelry that I've designed and my orange sandals). Sadly, summer is rapidly drawing to a close. Now, the drastic markdowns begin. Voila—I saw that my black dress was on deep discount in gray. I called to order. When I found that it was a final sale and not returnable, I hesitated. Even the same dress can fit differently in a different color. (For real—my tailor confirmed it.) And the color—I love gray, but it was a marled gray. Would this one look and fit as well as the black one? I wimped out and decided not to buy. 

At the end of the call, there was a customer service survey. I decided to take it, as I usually do. These surveys can guide supervisors on staff performance. Reward the good agents and deal with the not so good ones. On this last survey, there was an option to leave a comment. My comment—how can you place a final sale order when you don’t know the merchandise? If it doesn’t fit or the color isn't right, do you throw it away? Do you walk the streets, offering a dress to anyone who stops to look? That wasn’t me. So, an aborted purchase.

Surprisingly, a few days later, I received a call from a company supervisor. She understood my hesitation and offered an exception on the final sale. If I didn’t like it, I could return it. Very nice! She would note the account, but I took her name in case of a snafu. The dress arrived, and it’s a nice alternative to black. Happy customer; happy company.

DON’T IGNORE SURVEYS. THERE ARE TIMES WHEN A FEW MINUTES OF YOUR TIME CAN YIELD A GOOD OUTCOME

THE POINT OF NO RETURN

I have fond memories of Lord and Taylor, a department store that’s been in business since the nineteenth century. It’s now owned by Hudson’s Bay Company. With a large corporate ownership, like so many great resources of bygone days, sadly, it’s not what it used to be. 

My mother and I often made Lord and Taylor part of a destination outing. Lunch, shopping, bonding—those times were special, and I’ll always have the memories. When they had a sale, they really had a sale. My mother once bought me a skirt for 99 cents. It was well made and oh-so-fashionable. It would have been better if they had one in a size larger. But they didn’t, and for 99 cents, I could manage. I learned that you can suck in your gut, but you can’t suck in your waist. it wasn’t perfect, and I didn’t wear it that much. But I enjoyed the look, if not the feel, when I did wear it. We did get our 99 cents worth and then some.

Then, there was the dress, Lord and Taylor was a go-to for formal wear. My friend, Judy, and I bought the same dress, each not knowing that the other had bought it until later. It was a stunner—black, silky, with gorgeous blue and russet beading. And it’s timeless. We both still have it and have talked about when we would wear it again. The one problem was that it had large shoulder pads. Judy remarked that it was still a great dress, but reminiscent of the Carol Burnett skit where she played Scarlett O’Hara, struggling to survive fashionably during the Civil War. If you haven’t seen it, it’s still funny—take a look on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1JPQh5rBCw . I solved the problem by pulling the pads out and looked really stunning in it 15 years after I bought it. And I’d wear it again if for the right occasion.

But now, Lord and Taylor doesn’t have the same allure—nor the same customer service.

Problem 1: 

As I age, I panic at the thought of running out of makeup. Preferring the finished look to the Frankenstein look, I keep an extra of my go-tos so that I’ll never run out. I bought a finishing powder at Lord and Taylor, though I didn’t need it for a couple of months. I always keep receipts until I open the product, just in case there’s a problem. Well, this time there was a problem. The powder looked fine in the compact, but it was crumbly when I tried to use it. So, I had a defective product. Lord and Taylor has a 90 day return policy. I was at about 100 days. But, since this was a defect issue, I thought that it was very legitimate to return it. 

Although I gave the cashier the receipt and explained the problem, she said that she could only give me the discounted price. Really???!! I had the receipt, and as with so many prestige makeup brands, there rarely is a discounted price. When I pointed that out, showed her my receipt, and asked how she would calculate a discounted price, she told me that their system uses the “warehouse" price. She couldn’t explain that, and I didn’t care. I had the receipt, a defective product, and I was pissed. What next? Of course, the Cosmetics manager was next. He explained the policy, told me that it was a system issue, but magically was still able to override the system to refund my purchase price. 

Curious about how all of this worked, I called the store manager later. I assumed that they would probably send the defective product back to the manufacturer. And as far as the policy, what happens if a customer returns something on the 91st day, rather than on the 90th day? The manager couldn’t answer any of my questions, but assured me that he would get back to me after researching. Of course, I never heard from him.

Problem 2:

While Lord and Taylor is no longer a destination for me, I do buy there occasionally. They frequently mail or email coupons—percentage off and occasionally, dollars off. Somehow, I fell off of the mailing and email list. Why? Was I targeted because I brought the defective powder back 10 days over the rigid timeframe? No, I’m not that paranoid. As with so many large corporations, probably some system issue. I thought that a quick call to Customer Service should get me reinstated. I was wrong. After being routed offshore, disconnected, asking for a US call center and being disconnected again, I thought that I’d use the “Contact Us” feature of the website.

I wrote: 

Sent: Monday, May 29, 2017 3:54:00 PM
To: customercare.other@lordandtaylor.com
Subject: From: Mauree Miller  

I had received Lord and Taylor email and mailed coupons. For some reason they stopped. Please reinstate promotional emails and mailing. Send via email to: (my email address)

Send via USPS: Mauree Miller, (my home address)

Thank you

Pretty simple, yes? Not at all. Take a look at Lord and Taylor’s response:

On Jun 29, 2017, at 4:46 PM, servicelt@lordandtaylor.com wrote:

Dear Mauree Miller,

Hello and thank you for contacting Lord & Taylor.

Due to recent changes in our system, we are no longer able to make any changes to our mailing list online. Should you wish to be added from the mailing list, please visit your local Lord & Taylor, or you may submit a written request to: 

Lord & Taylor, 424 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10018, Attention: Marketing Mail Services.

Please note that because customer lists often are prepared well in advance of an offering; sometimes two to three months before the offer is made, it may take two to three months before your first offer is received, after your request has been submitted. We apologize for any inconvenience this delay may cause, and we appreciate your patience and understanding in allowing this time for your request to be fulfilled.

While you wait we would like to invite you to sign up to receive coupons and notification of sales, news, events, and promotions via e-mail if you have not already done so. You will begin receiving emails within 7-10 days. To do so, please use the Join Our Email List option located on the bottom right hand side our website. Enter your email address then please click Subscribe.

If you have any other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our Customer Care Department via email, or by phone at 1-800-223-7440. Our representatives are available until 2:00 AM EST and will be happy to assist you.

We value your patronage and thank you for shopping with Lord & Taylor.

Best regards,

Brian R

Customer Care Center Associate

Lord & Taylor

What’s wrong with Lord and Taylor’s email?  EVERYTHING!

1) 30 days to respond to a simple request is not good customer service.

2) Spouting corporate crap about how the company functions is not good customer service. . 

3) Turning a simple customer request into a complicated series of chores for the customer is not good customer service. Assuming that I’ll go through the onerous process with “patience and understanding”—seriously?? And do I believe that you “value” my “patronage”? No!

4) If Brian R ever bothered to contact their Customer Care Department, he’d understand why I had to send the online request. The representatives were not happy to assist me. Not good customer service.

5) Finally, Brian R, if you need to remain anonymous to do your job, you and your company have a real problem. This is not specific to Lord and Taylor, and many companies serve customers with a herd of nameless associates. While I understand worries about deranged customers, the likelihood of any customer visiting a representative is minimal. Although these anonymous, unhelpful representatives can push  an otherwise reasonable individual to the edge, it’s hard to imagine that individual pulling it together to fly out to the probably-offshore call center to commit mayhem. 

I tried to call Lord and Taylor and Hudson’s Bay Executive offices. Although I’m good at getting to the right people, these companies are pretty much fortresses. I’m sure that I could work through the local store management to get to Executive, but this situation is just not worth my time. In the past, when there were percentage off coupons, the salespeople had a coupon at the cash register and would offer the discount. If I really want something at Lord and Taylor, I’ll go that route. And if it doesn’t work, I’ll shop elsewhere. Although I liked the dollars off coupons, I can live without them—and again, I’ll shop elsewhere. 

WHEN CORPORATE POLICY AND PROCESS TRUMPS CUSTOMER SERVICE, IT’S TIME TO TAKE YOUR BUSINESS TO A COMPETITOR

QUICK TIP--DUE DILIGENCE/HEALTHCARE

I love the seasonal transition to warmth when spring arrives. Bears have it all figured out—they hibernate for the winter. Apparently, so do chipmunks. (Not being an animal specialist, I did a fact check on bears and found out about the chipmunks. So, new knowledge for those who are interested.) Bears and chipmunks get it right. If I could hibernate during cold weather, I would. But I can’t, so here I am now, happy with spring. The downside of spring is that I have a long list of semi-annual maintenance chores. Car service, dental check, heating/cooling maintenance. And mammogram.

I just scheduled my annual screening mammogram at a hospital that I haven’t used before. Since I didn’t know their system and protocols, I did my due diligence:

1) Do they do 3-dimentional mammogram (tomosynthesis)? This is a newer technology that most facilities include as part of a screening mammogram. If this is part of the protocol, is it covered by my insurance?

2) Do the doctors who read the mammogram participate with my insurance? Is the facility In Network?

A few points to consider:

1) Under the Affordable Care Act, Preventive services, including annual screening mammogram, are covered without patient cost--only if you use In Network providers. (I hate the term “provider”. It diminishes the expertise of medical professionals. Remember, medical professionals who treat you are just that—trained professionals. They’re not science fiction robots or chattel.) I made sure that the hospital is in my insurer's network. I asked whether the radiologists who read mammograms participate with my plan's network. The scheduler didn’t know and gave me the number for Radiology Billing. I’ll check with them to make sure that they are part of my insurer’s network. If they’re not, they can bill me for reading the study. If I find that they are Out of Network, I’ll see what I can do to negotiate charges up front.

2) Is tomosynthesis covered by my insurance company? Many insurers consider it investigational and won’t cover it. At work, I’ve found that for carriers who don’t cover this procedure, if a patient appeals, more often than not, the coverage denial is overturned on external appeal. This means that within the carrier appeal process, it usually remains denied, But since external appeals are reviewed by a neutral 3rd party, those appeals usually result in coverage. At some point (hopefully soon) this probably won’t be an issue, since it’s moving into standard of care. But some insurers just stand on their hardline coverage criteria. I called my insurance company, gave them the procedure code (which can be obtained from the facility or radiology group) and found that it is covered. When the procedure isn't covered, some physicians and facilities write off the charges—which range from under $100 to a few hundred dollars. But some don't. Better to plan where possible.

The issue of hidden services and possible hidden costs comes up all too frequently. See the healthcare section of my book, The Consumer Playbook, for more information on how to avoid problems when possible and how to deal with them on the back end if you can’t avoid them.

A LITTLE BIT OF DUE DILIGENCE  UP FRONT CAN GO A LONG WAY IN AVOIDING HEADACHES LATER

DOUBLE WHAMMY---IN A GOOD WAY

PART 1

Last night, I picked up the phone and didn’t get a dial tone. It was about 8 PM, and I had much to do today and no time to go through the process of finding technical assistance. What did I do? While i should probably have called a Verizon repair line from a cell phone, having been there in the past, I had found that it wasn’t an efficient way to get help. It’s been a while, so, to be fair, things may be fine now. But I had a better idea. I had been dealing with an excellent Verizon Sales supervisor to figure out the best Verizon FIOS package for our needs. I had her email address and thought that I could contact her, and she would probably refer the issue to the appropriate area when she came in the next day.

I was wrong—in a good way. Verizon has their Sales group on staggered schedules, so that at 8 PM, she responded, not tomorrow as I had anticipated, but within five minutes. As I was reading her email, her associate called Howard’s cell phone and connected him to a technician who worked with Howard to fix the problem. Fifteen minutes later, we were good to go. (I'm so lucky to have Howard---for so many reasons. This time, he handled the guy/technical stuff. But, he was impressed with his wife-the 5 minute response may be a record. We are a dynamic duo!)  

Feeling that I should cover all bases, I had copied my email to Sales to a contact in the technical area. At least I thought that she was the right contact, but had trouble reading my escalation contact notes. I got lucky. She was the right contact. This morning, I had an email from her, saying that she would troubleshoot the issue to find out why it occurred so that we could hopefully avoid problems in the future.

Excellent service, Verizon!

What did I do wrong?

1) To be fair and to avoid overextending my welcome with escalated resources, I probably should have given the normal repair line a chance. 

2) I should be neater and keep better records. I was able to locate the Technical contact, but it took a little time to decipher my hieroglyphics. 

What did I do right?

1) I realized that a good contact in one area of a corporation can be a resource to locate  appropriate contacts in another area. 

2) I assessed my contact well. I knew that she was responsive and customer friendly based on my prior dealings with her. With this persona, I knew that she wouldn’t mind my reaching out to her for help. And I knew that she is smart enough to know that good customer service means thinking outside of her area in order to meet customer needs. A well served customer is a happy customer.

**************************************************************************************************************

Now, a step back in time. Land lines. They’re disappearing. I don’t know anyone under age 35 who has one. Cell phones have taken over our lives in too many ways. I know—I’m challenged and barely know how to use mine. But I also remember a gentler time when people had land lines, and that land lines can add a level of civility to our lives. People actually spoke with each other to catch up with family and friends, not just to communicate in sound bites. You could dial a home number and catch up with a whole family—anyone in the family might answer the phone. I remember when I was little, and we had only a single extension. It was located in an alcove near my room. If I sat inconspicuously in the right spot, I could hear stories, gossip—all kinds of things that weren’t meant for my little ears. Very entertaining and enlightening, even if I was only hearing one side of a conversation. I could usually imagine the rest. And the role of phones in movies—Hitchcock’s great Dial M for Murder. There was drama in picking up a receiver. Cell phones are so…prosaic, uninteresting...And, as Howard pointed out, Text M for Murder doesn't have the same impact. So, think about keeping a land line. It’s much more civilized to sit on a sofa and engage with friends and family than it is to walk down the street looking like you’re talking to yourself when you’re just talking to someone on the fly.

**************************************************************************************************************

PART 2

Why did I need the phone last night? I saw an email from Gap, promoting items added to their sale. Remember my last Gap dress story? Well, the dress that I bought and didn’t return was on deep discount. I had only received it about 8 days earlier. Price match time! When I called Gap to ask for a price match, the associate didn’t hesitate. She agreed to credit my account for the difference. After I hung up, I realized that the $26 credit seemed too much. I called back to make sure that I wasn’t taking undue advantage. The associate saw that, yes, I had been given too high a credit. However, he said that he would leave the credit as it was. When I told him that it wasn’t my intention to take Gap to the cleaner’s, he said that it was their system calculation and their bad, so I shouldn’t worry about it. 

What’s right in this situation?

1) Although I get way too many Gap emails, it was a good idea to look at this one, marked as having new items on sale. You never know if there are items you’ve browsed that are now on sale or if an item that you ordered is more discounted. With the short window of time between order arrival and reduced price, it was reasonable to ask for a price match. 

2) Gap didn’t hem and haw; they saw the logic and made the adjustment.

3) Gap graciously took responsibility for their error, though I would have gladly agreed to the correct but lower adjustment.

4) On Gap’s post-call survey, one of the questions asks whether the representative told the customer what they could do, rather than what they couldn’t do. That’s a great question and a major point of excellence in customer service. Nice that Gap recognizes that. I wish that more businesses did.

All in all, a great evening of great customer service!

P.S. Although they are the mother lode for customer service stories, I promise that this is the last Gap story!