Monday, June 20th, 2011
Hey Everybody in Portland Computer Repair Land,
I’m going to go a bit off topic today to talk about search, and how incredibly unhappy I am with Google now. My feelings on this have been brewing for awhile, but they were really set off doing a few searches last weekend.
I have a deep-pocketed mattress that needs deep pocket sheets. So I did a google search, looking for new sheets. I searched for “deep pocketed sheets.”
The first result –
Deeppocketedsheets.com
are you kidding me?
Google is that easily fooled? The website just uses the word “deep pocketed sheets” over and over again and links to amazon.com.
The next result?
www.extradeepfittedsheets.net
Which links to the exact same spam site as before!
In fact, I have to go down to the 5 spot to hit “amazon.com” which I will grant probably sells sheets. After that, more dreck. I have to go 4 pages in to find “jcpenny.com” and other then amazon, that is the first time I’ve been linked to a company I’ve actually heard about.
This is not what google was supposed to be all about. Where are all the companies that sell sheets? Where is Bed Bath and Beyond? Where is LL Bean? Where is Macy’s? Where are those places on earth that actually sell this product?
Instead, companies that “game google” have won, they have simply won. No matter how hard Google tries, they have lost.
I’m ready for the next thing in search, I don’t know what it is, but this isn’t working anymore.
Have a good weekend everybody!
-Zac
Saturday, June 11th, 2011
Hey Everybody in Portland Computer Repair Land,
So today I want to followup on the survey results I posted last time and use it as a spring board to talk about the most important conceptual difference in our store vs. most other retail environments. Like any company, ever, with any employees, ever, we sometimes have conflicts with our customers. Our difference is not a “customer is always right” attitude. Frankly, especially in computer repair, the customer often doesn’t know exactly whats going on with their machine. We understand something simple – we understand that perception drives interactions. We commonly, daily, repeat the phrase, “perception is reality” whenever a customer or a technician gets upset.
You see, most conflict, especially minor league retail conflict, is perception driven. Take an example, standard customer interaction,
Customer calls in
“Hey, this is Bob, I’m calling for a status update on my computer.”
Now lets pause. Lets assume, as often happens, that Bob dropped off his computer yesterday, and we gave him a due date 3 days from now. The thought process goes something like, “what an obnoxious ass, can’t he read? We went over this with him yesterday.”
The standard retail response then might be a brush off. Something like this -
“Hey Mr. Bob, uhm, we’re working on it, but I’m not sure why you’re calling, we told you it’ll be done in 3 days.”
The standard retail response might be, “what an obnoxious customer, they had a due date 5 days away, what part of ‘it will be done by Saturday are you having trouble with?’”
So, in polite retail language, the employee would respond,
“Hey Mr. Bob, we told you that would be done in 3 days, and thats the plan, thanks for calling.”
The customer then walks away from the phone call thinking,
“what an asshole, I have a critical work project on there!”
And the employee walks away thinking,
“what an asshole, his computer isn’t due for 3 days!”
We go with a different method. We want to know why the customer would be calling in so soon, what is their perception of the situation that they think a phone call will be beneficial to the process of repairing their computer?
So we always ask,
“Hey Mr. Bob, I see from your paperwork here that we gave you a due date 3 days out, what can I help you with? Do you need something from the computer?”
To which the customer often responds,
“yes, sorry to call, but I just found out that I have a critical e-mail on that computer that I need right away!”
Now, suddenly, we have fixed the perception problem. We percieved the customer as a jerk for calling in, and he percieved us as jerks for blowing him off. However, by asking a simple question, we come to an understanding of that perception. The customer called us not to be annoying, but because he has a need for that computer or something on it, and ew can respond with help instead of derison. Now both customer and employee are on the same page, and everybody comes away from the interaction happy.
I’m not going to even pretend we achieve this zen like understanding with every customer every time, but we discuss it frequently whenever a customer comes away upset. What did they percieve about our work, our attitude, our behavior, or anything else that gave them such an impression? And how can we fix that perception so that we’re on the same page?
Thanks everybody,
-Zac
President
Happy Hamster Portland Computer Repair
Saturday, June 4th, 2011
Hey Everybody in Portland Computers Land,
As promised, we will continue to be transparent with our customer feedback…even when we may have not done an ideal job for some customers. Today, the feedback, next week, a few thoughts.
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
Rating
Average |
| On a scale of 1 – 10, how would you rate your experience with Happy Hamster Computer Repair? |
0.0% (0) |
0.0% (0) |
0.0% (0) |
0.0% (0) |
12.5% (2) |
0.0% (0) |
0.0% (0) |
18.8% (3) |
25.0% (4) |
43.8% (7) |
8.75 |
|
On the question of – “Why did you chose your rating?”
“It was great service! I don’t know what qualifies as a 10 these days, so 8 is up there. You guys were really nice and helpful, and so far, my computer has been swell.”
“Searched online reviews and Better Business Bureau ratings and saw nearly 100 percent satisfaction. Employees were friendly and straightforward and attempted to answer questions I had about the equipment that I had brought in to be repaired. I was happy with the service I received.”
“I got quick response on the order of the new product, but felt there was little effort provided in after care. My phone calls were not returned and I spent hours on HP and Microsoft websites trying to answer my questions and ended up purchasing additional software in order to download a print driver.”
“Excellent customer service – Kyle especially is communicative and re-assuring – professional, yet friendly. Takes the time to explain the problem, tries to phrase in layman’s terms. Feel like I am being charged fairly, service prices not inflated. One thing – problem I had not really fixed, need to come back in shortly!”
“Great customer service ~ responsive, friendly, knowledgeable”
“quick and efficient, friendly service”
“Because it seemed appropriate for the service I received.”
“I dropped my computer off Monday morning for a virus removal and did not get it back until Saturday…it was supposed to be ready Friday ‘at the latest.’ Also, still having error issue when I log-on but don’t want to be without my computer for another week….Overall you guys were great!…very knowledgeable and helpful…”
“Knowlegable, reasonable cost, welcoming at the store, effecient, finished when promised, helped carry my tower back to the car, added a good anti virus program. I’ve recommended you to my friends.”
“customer service good, results good, like the vibe/attitude of the store”
“Great service once again!”
“Great service, friendly staff, great cat, and good prices.”
“Everything was explained very well so that I could understand it.”
“Overall, I am very happy the computer I purchased but was extremely dissatisfied with the customer service. I came in on a Saturday to purchase a computer and was told I couldn’t because sales reps weren’t there on the weekend. That being said, the person I talked to knew the product and was more than capable of handling a sale. The reasoning I was given was so that a sales rep could sit down with me and make sure I had the right product as it “reduces the number of returns due to impulse buying”. My purchase was not impulsive and I resented being told so. Nevertheless I came back Monday and to my amazement and irritation, the exact same person I talked to Saturday took care of my sale on Monday. No sit down needed, no consultation. In fact, I asked why he was taking care of my sale because he was “the tech part of the business”and I was told it was because the sales reps were going to lunch. Seriously!? It was insulting, condescending, and unnecessary.”
“I felt at ease with them, as I heard from a computer “geek” that they are the best, and can be totally trusted, and probably didn’t start the virus.. I felt as if I got the real showdown by the rep., and not a fast spin.”
“The guy that helped me was super helpful and not condescending about my (lacking) computer knowledge. I’m so pleased to not have to go to Best Buy if I ever have problems. I would certainly recommend Happy Hamster to all comers. I’m gushing here, but I really was pleased with my service.”
And the “one thing we can do to improve” question:
“Not really sure, it was pretty good (:”
“A ltttle better interior lighting would be helpful, for me anyway. And perhaps a little better organization regarding the pricing and capabilities of the custom work you perform.”
“After care really is minimal. I think a Help sheet on commom questions of set-up, loading drivers, and where to find info on the Interent would be great, especially for new Windows 7 users.”
“Just have more focus/employees that have Mac experience!”
“nothing”
“really can’t think of anything.”
“For the most part everything was good. Initially though I was the one who had to keep calling every other day to follow up on the service to see what the diagnosis was. I didn’t receive a call for over 6 days from anyone there. Everytime I called in those first few days I was always told the diagnosis was this and I would get a call the next day, but it never happend and I would call in to see what was going on. In terms of customer service it would seem that the company should be the ones initiating the calls to the customer to keep them informed.”
“Perhaps organize the space more efficiently…it seemed there was not enough room at the entrance for customers to set computers so you could assess them…maybe move the ‘coffee station’ and opt for more open counter space?”
“It’s not really your service, but the parking sucks around your business. Especially when it’s raining and I’m carrying my computer. I did park in the reserved spaces behind, but felt a little nervous about taking someone else’s place.”
“Hard to say… You’re already the best computer place I’ve ever found.”
“I was very off put by the way my sale was handled and the ONLY reason I returned was because I knew I wouldn’t find a better quality product elsewhere. That, however, is not an adequate reason for poor customer service.”
“One price quote told me (over the phone) virus removal, $120, but when I got in it was $150, made me feel a little uneasy..”
“Some kind of discount program?”
