Go ahead, drive me away

So a few months ago, I wrote a post about things that bug me.   All of the things I covered were about people, and in thinking about it there are a lot of things businesses do that really bug me too.

Off the Hook – the telephone calls that I get with a recorded sales pitch or worse yet, dead air.  I can’t interact with a recording, and you are wasting my time and tying up my phone line.  All you are doing is annoying me, and your phone number is going to wind up on my blocked list.

1-800-WHAT? – using an 800 number with a catchy phrase is a great idea to promote your business, but please put the actual phone number with it in all your ads.  Many cell phone key pads don’t correspond to a land line key pad, and I can’t remember what letter goes with what number.   And searching for the matching letter on the key pad gets frustrating.

Just Chill – cold calls.   I’m sorry, but I won’t buy anything from a cold call solicitation.   If I’m in need of your product or service, I’m going to first go to the BNI members I know to see if they know you.  If  I can’t find you through them, I’ll go to Angie’s List or another reputable source to find you.   I don’t know you and I don’t want you calling me to try to sell me something.  If you do, you can expect “No thanks, have a nice day” and be disconnected.   I don’t have time to listen to your pitch and again, you’re tying up MY phone line!

Superstars – videos on your website.  Yes, videos are a hot new thing, and they are great for showing a product demonstration.   If I’m going to your website I’m already interested in your product or service and I’m looking for more information.   A short demo video, which is just a couple of minutes long, of your product or service is great, but if I want pricing information or other details, I don’t want to have to watch a 14 minute “sales pitch” video to get the information I’m looking for.   If I can’t find what I’m looking for quickly and easily, I’ll find another company that does what you do.

The Pretender – calling me up pretending to be “the copier servicing company” when I don’t own a copier.  Like I don’t know who services my business equipment?  Or telling me I’ve “won a deluxe vacation package”.  Don’t bother, I know better.

Just the Fax – spam on my fax machine.  You’re wasting my paper and ink with your ads, please stop!   If I was interested in your product or service I’d find you.   I’m not interested in your health insurance plans, vacations, or junk removal.  And having to call you to get my number removed is a big waste of my time, it usually results in a sales pitch.

Get the Message – text messages telling me I’ve won a gift card, or some other item.  But when I go to claim my “free” item there’s always a fee involved or some purchase is necessary.   “Free”  means without charge or obligation.  If you are going to give a “free” gift card, it should be truly free.  Again, you’re going on my blocked list.

Climbing the Tree – yes voice mail is commonplace nowadays, and when I call I don’t always expect you to be able to answer the phone.   If you have a multi-person office with extensions, please have your phone tree give the names and extension numbers or an option up front to get connected to an operator.    Phone trees that ask to put in the associates name are frustrating, especially if I’m calling from a cell phone where the key pad doesn’t have letters, or I don’t know how to correctly spell their name.

Lost in Space – websites that are difficult to navigate.  Your website is a reflection of your business, and visitors to your website should be able to quickly and easily find the information they are looking for, and it should be easy to navigate from page to page.  Especially if you have an on line store, a button to “Continue Shopping” that takes you back to the item you were on.

These are just a few things that businesses do regularly that bug me.   What bugs you?

 

 

Carpet cleaning rip off artists

Carpet cleaning rip off artists.

Carpet cleaning rip off artists

These guys give my industry a bad name – they rip people off every day. Don’t fall for the low priced coupon you get in the mail or in a local magazine, it’s from these guys!

And don’t let anyone use a steam wand on an Oriental rug, it’s not the right way to clean it and could damage it

Are you a good customer?

In my own company, and in most others that I know of, customer service is key to retaining clients.   Businesses spend thousands of dollars training employees in good customer service.   Many companies give out awards to their employees for good customer comments, such as the grocery store where my daughter works, if she has a customer give her a good comment, she gets a reward, like a free sub sandwich from the deli.

Customers are always looking for good service, but are we always good customers?

You see it all the time when you are out somewhere, the customer who is rude or downright hateful to the clerk behind the counter.   Or the patron who is so demanding of a waitresses time that she can’t serve her other customers adequately. The guy who is cussing a blue streak at some poor waitress because she forgot something or his order was wrong.

So, are we always good customers?  Are you the client that the clerks and waitresses love to see come in to their establishment, or do they want to run and hide at the mention of your name?

Some ways to be a good customer:

Listen – listen to what the clerk or salesperson is telling you.  We run into this quite frequently with carpet cleaning customers when we tell them before we start cleaning that they are going to have black spots come back up in a couple of days because they used the wrong type of product to spot clean their carpets. Then when the spots do come back, they call us screaming asking what WE did to their carpet.  WE now have it printed on our sales ticket and we make them read and initial it.

Read – read the contract or restrictions before you buy something.   Be informed as a customer so you’re not calling the 1-800 number in a month screaming at some poor phone representative because you made a mistake.  This is true also for all the coupon queens out there – read the coupon, make sure you are getting the right product, size and quantity and that the coupon hasn’t expired.  And don’t give the cashier a hard time when you didn’t do your homework and they tell you they can’t accept it.   Ask questions, the clerks are there to help you make the right decision.

Be patient – just like you were taught when you were a kid – wait your turn.  The clerk has other customers to wait on and will get to you as soon as they can.   Especially  in a busy restaurant or bar, the servers are running ragged already so why not ask for your refill at the same time you order your appetizer?  Or ask the waitress to bring you two?

Keep appointments – yes, you have a busy schedule and things come up, but so does the company you are calling for services.  Most companies schedule appointments so that they can work more efficiently for you and to maximize their work time.   If you have to cancel an appointment, give the company the courtesy of a call at least 48 hours in advance.  If it’s really an emergency (and in my house emergency is fire, flood or blood – nothing else counts) call them as soon as possible.

Be pleasant – a pleasant hello and thank you to the sales clerk is always welcome.    Be polite and pleasant to the people you are dealing with, it really does go a long way.   Foul language is never acceptable, and using it makes you look like a moron.

Smile – a smile can do a lot for people.   Smiling at the waitress or clerk, even if you are a bit frustrated with the current situation, will make both of you feel better, and might even lead to better service. And engage them in conversation!  If they have a name tag on, use their name!  One grocery store I frequent has the employees name and something that interests them on their name tag.   When I’m in the checkout I always ask them what their interest is all about – “Joe, I see you like sports, what type of sports?”.   Or ask your waitress how her day is going.   Engaging people in light conversation makes them feel appreciated.

Show appreciation – there’s an old adage, a happy customer will tell 1 friend, an unhappy customer will tell 10.  Make it  a point to tell about good experiences, especially if you have a clerk or waitress who goes the extra mile.   Managers love it when they get good feedback on an employee, and the employees appreciate the comments too.   Most restaurants and some other establishments have comment cards or online surveys.   Take a few minutes to fill it out!

So how are you going to be a good customer this week?

Yep you bug me

Now I know nobody’s perfect, but there are certain things people do on a regular basis that just bugs me.   And I’m sure I have habits that bug other people also.  So I’m putting together a list of these things  and feel free to add yours to the list!

These aren’t in any type of order, and if you see yourself in one of these, sorry – you bug me!

The Diners – people who talk while they have food in their mouths.   I’m sorry, but there is nothing so important or enlightening that you could say that won’t wait for the 5 seconds it would take you to swallow that bite of burger.   Plus when you’re talking little bits of food are flying out of your mouth.  These types are usually also….

The Interrupter – this is the person that constantly interrupts people during a conversation.  They are so anxious to put in their thoughts that they can’t wait for someone else to finish a sentence.  They continually interrupt everyone because they think what they have to say is more important.  They also will turn any conversation into a monologue about them.

The Chatterbox – oh the dreaded phone call from this one!  Once they have you on the phone or worse, in person, they regale you with every little detail about everything that has been going on in their lives, and their friends lives, even if you don’t know their friends.   Once the conversation starts, it’s difficult to get them to stop and take a breath.

The Non Responders – don’t hold your breath waiting for a return phone call from these guys.  You usually have to be lucky enough to catch them to answer the phone if you need to talk to them.  They don’t check their voice mails and are completely unapologetic.

The Timekeeper – always late, no matter what.  I don’t know if they just can’t tell time or if they are so disrespectful of other people that they just don’t care .  They are habitually 30 minutes or more behind anywhere they go.  It makes me wonder how they keep a job.  Maybe they just need a new watch?

The No Returns – ok so if you are going to give out your e mail address you need to check your e mails.  These folks establish e mail accounts then never check their email.   If you’re not going to check your e mail why have it?   Don’t give me an e mail address to contact you if you aren’t going to use it.   Same with Facebook pages, if you aren’t going to interact with your friends on Facebook, take down your page.

The No Shows – you host an event or set up a meeting or conference call and these types tell you they are definitely going to be there, then they don’t show up.   And they don’t even give you the courtesy of a call to let you know they aren’t going to be there.   Their excuse is usually some type of “emergency”, which wasn’t really an emergency at all.

The Excused  - nothing is ever their fault.  Even if they are caught red handed, it’s not their fault.  These types always have someone else to blame or an excuse for everything.  They will go to great lengths to describe how it wasn’t their fault and weave great stories describing their innocence.

The Non-Committal – will never commit to anything.   Every invitation comes with a maybe.  They are so afraid of missing out on something better that may come up last minute that they won’t set appointments or accept invitations.

Yes, these types of people really bug me.

Yes you bug me

Yes you bug me.

End of a Relationship

So today I made the decision to end a 25 year relationship, and no, not with my husband, with my bank.

I opened an account with the bank 25 years ago, and during that process I selected one of their many account offerings, which outlined all the fees that I would be charged for over drafts, monthly maintenance charges, ATM withdrawals and any other services.  I agreed to all of these fees and signed up for an account.

Everything went well for many years, I had no trouble with the bank or my account, then in the past two years I started receiving frequent notices from the bank that they were “changing the terms” on my account. Most of the changes were no big deal, but it was frustrating that they were making changes to our agreement without my consent, after all, we had a signed agreement that we had entered into years before.

The last straw?  A monthly maintenance fee being charged to my account of $17.00 per month.  This is a personal checking account and I haven’t written a check on it in probably 5 years and I don’t use the ATM card attached to it either.  I use it mainly to hold funds for special events like Christmas shopping. A bank representative told me to call the bank and speak to a representative about “changing the type of account you have”.  I shouldn’t have to call the bank and “change” the type of account, I chose the type of account I wanted 25 years ago, and we made a deal back then.

So today I made the decision to end this 25 year relationship.  There were promises made to me and broken.  I’m sure I’ll be able to find another bank that wants to have a great relationship with me.

Be prepared for AFTER the storm

Hurricane Irene is battling the coast, and many people were evacuated form their homes. When they return, some of them may have damage to their property.

If you are one of those who suffered water damage to your home as a result of the storm you need to be prepared before you begin any repairs.

First, you need to contact the IICRC – Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification at 800-835-4624 or www.iicrc.org to find a qualified and certified water and mold damage profession to work on your home. And no, not all of the “big guys” in the restoration industry are certified.

Right now, restoration companies from across the country are trailering up to head your way. Many of them are reputable companies with the proper qualifications, but some of them are not.

Disasters such as Hurricane Irene bring the rip off artists out of the woodwork. Don’t hire the guy who shows up at your house and knocks on your door. Reputable companies don’t do that.

Check out the certifications of the company before you hire them. If they aren’t IICRC certified in water damage and mold damage, don’t hire them. Check the certifications of the lead technician who is in your home, if he is not certified ask the company to send you a certified tech.

Also, your insurance company cannot tell you who you have to hire to do the repairs on your home, it’s your choice by law. Many insurance companies have preferred vendors that they will refer you to – checkout the vendor first, if they are certified fine, if they aren’t move on.

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