The time for firing vendors is here….
February 27, 2007
Not sure whether it’s the ever changing weather, the change in Daylight Saving Time in the US, or the fact that spring is now just around the corner, but it seems that this is the season for firing vendors. Michael over at MCWResearch is going through a divorce with a vendor. He lays out a whole pile of issues and things that vendors should never do.
And, while I agree with most of his points, he really is sounding like a jilted lover laying out all of the faults of his soon-to-be ex. It makes an interesting read from the “People magazine” type perspective.
Just as intersting is the saga of Jim and the Sony Vaio laptop that he had some trouble with. He has certainly had his share of mishaps with this one, and I can’t imagine a company handling a customer service situation much worse than they handled his.
Maybe it’s not the weather – maybe customer service is much like security in its investment patterns: “just good enough” is really the key to success. And it sounds like Michael and Jim both ran into situations where vendors strayed too far afield of the “good enough” line.
Comments
One Response to “The time for firing vendors is here….”
While there is just no excuse for this nonsense, there is also nothing new under the sun.
The problem with providing *good* customer service is that is costs money.
When I was with Apple (when they did their own call centers), they spent good money and enabled us to take care of the customer (despite a freaky management style). Now, it’s all outsourced to be cheaper and good luck getting help.
And nobody thinks that anyone will pay for good customer service. And, in many cases, they’re right.
Did Michael take the lowest bidder? Would Jim have paid 20% more for his Vaio?
Will you pay more for your next purchase for good customer service?
Dan