Customer Service

Apple Responds

2006-04-03T20:22:00.000-04:00

On Saturday I got a response from Apple about the letter I wrote regarding my no longer functioning iPod Shuffle. Apple gets credit for allowing me to publish their response (or at least not addressing it - which I'll assume is their permission) but beyond that I can't say the response was very satisfying.

First, they point out that most of their iPod Shuffle support is done through their web site and they point me to the iPod Shuffle support page. Of course, in my letter I told them that I had already followed the steps outlined on the support page; so this advice was useless to me.

They then give me some mumbo jumbo about the limited warranty and AppleCare Protection Plan, although neither would cover my Shuffle that was apparently damaged when I dropped it (which I mentioned in my letter). Then they point me to a non-existent page (at least as of the posting of this message): http://depot.info.apple.com/ipod/terms.html.

They go on to suggest that I could try and get the Shuffle serviced at an Apple Store - but there may be a fee just to do a diagnosis. Since my damaged Shuffle isn't covered under the limited warranty they may charge me a service fee in order to repair or replace my Shuffle, according to the iPod Shuffle Service FAQ page. What might that service cost? For my 512MB version it would be $69 plus $6.95 for shipping. What's the cost of a brand spanking new iPod Shuffle (512MB)? From the Apple Store it's $69! Free shipping! Free engraving too! Seems like getting it serviced isn't a great idea.

I suspect this is just a form letter - although they do assign it an Apple case number at the end (not that they make any mention of what value a case number has). It's signed "Apple" so there's no indication that an actual individual human being was involved.

Imagine if they had responded a little differently? Instead of pointing me to a troubleshooting page that I had already clearly been to they could have acknowledge that my Shuffle was probably broken. It would have been fine for them to point out that the damage wasn't likely covered by the warranty - fair enough. They have my address - they could have looked up the closest Apple store and directed me there - maybe with a coupon of some sort for a replacement Shuffle or an upgrade to a different iPod. A human being could have signed the letter, with their name.

I also think Apple should reconsider their service plan. Charging full replacement cost to fix (or replace with a refurbished unit) the Shuffle, along with a shipping charge, is pretty lame. Even if the Shuffle was broken because of my mistake - it seems like replacing it with a refurbished unit for 20% less than retail ($56 instead of $69) is an easy way to keep people using your product; especially when the product (iPod) leads to additional sales through the iTunes store.

My overall impression of Apple's service is poor - they did little to help me out. In my original letter I pointed out that I was a happy iPod and iTunes user - it wouldn't have taken much to keep me that way. Instead they send me a form letter with errors, give me a service option that is more expensive than getting a new replacement, and provide me no incentive to remain an Apple customer.

Since my Shuffle is basically busted I think I'll just mail it back to them and see what, if anything, the do. I'll keep you posted.

Trader Joe's Writes Back!

2006-03-30T22:57:00.000-05:00

Even though I've only sent four letters so far, and three were to huge companies, I was starting to get disappointed that I hadn't even received a form letter in response. Well today I got a letter back from Trader Joe's - which I figured I would. They're a small, customer service focused grocery store.

It's a typed letter on company letterhead and the envelope was hand addressed. The letter was short and friendly, thanking me for my letter and even joking about my request that they stop selling chocolate. Overall, not bad - basically what I was expecting.

However, the letter is signed "Customer Relations Representative" instead of by a person with a name. The kicker is that they asked that I don't post their response to my blog! Considering the prompt response and pleasant nature of their response I'm not really sure why the don't want me to post the response.

I must admit that when I decided to include the part of the letter that mentioned the blog I figured the big companies would either not read it (and so I'd be okay with posting their form letter responses) or they would read it an insist that I don't post the response. I figured a place like Trader Joe's would be cool with it.

I'm not sure if this is just an issue of someone not having the authority to allow something like this. Maybe they're concerned about the nature of the blog, or they don't understand blogs or even the internet. I include the URL to the blog in the letters so the companies can take a look at what I'm writing before they respond.

Unfortunately, I think my overall assessment of Trader Joe's customer service has been tainted by their request to keep the letter out of the blog. The letter is really quite nice - just what I expected. There is no reason to ask me to exclude it - but they did. Oh well, now the two people who read this blog entry will have a slightly less favorable impression of Trader Joe's than they would have had if I had been able to post the response.

I did link to a scan of the envelope - I figure that's public domain - so click on the blog title to see it.

Trader Joe's

2006-03-22T11:10:00.000-05:00

My fourth letter is a bit of a softball. I'm writing to Trader Joe's - the grocery store chain - to let them know that I enjoy their stores. I related my experience with Trader Joe's - which is that it's hard to get into it at first but once you find a few things you like it's a really great place to shop.

Finding an appropriate mailing address was a little tricky. Their web site has no obvious link to it (that I could find) but using Google I found their Questions or Comments page, which had some corporate addresses. I like the idea of their alternative looking web site but the implementation could use a lot of help.

Canon

2006-03-20T11:08:00.000-05:00

For my third letter I'm writing to Canon to ask them about my PowerShot A75 digital camera. Overall I have been very happy with the camera but the lack of a battery level indicator has always driven me nuts. Am I just not finding it? Is it somehow hard to provide the information? So this letter is mostly just a recommendation that they include such a feature in future products.

Like Apple, Canon doesn't try to hide their address from you. In fact, they provide an entire list of addresses that might be handy right here on their Office Locations page.

I haven't received any responses yet, which isn't a surprise at all. I suspect there will be a couple of weeks between when I send a letter and when I get a response - and I suspect I'll get responses from fewer than half of my inquiries. So it will probably be a while before I hear back from anyone.

Apple

2006-03-14T20:42:00.000-05:00

My second letter is going off to Apple, the makers of the iPod. My iPod Shuffle stopped working and I'm trying to find out what my options are.

I'll certainly give Apple credit for posting their corporate mailing address right at the top of their How to Contact Us page - very helpful!

We'll see how (or if) they respond - I'm sure they get a decent amount of mail since their address is so easy to find.

Westinghouse Digital Electronics

2006-03-09T18:37:00.000-05:00

My first letter is to Westinghouse Digital Electronics about the 17 inch LCD I purchased. I lost the power adapter and I'm trying to track down a replacement.

The letter is going to:

Customer Service
Westinghouse Digital Electronics
16257 E. Gale Avenue
City of Industry, CA 91745

I found this address from this web page as the result of a Google search. I found no sign of a mailing address on the Westinghouse Digital web site, although there was an email address listed.

If you click on the title to this blog entry you'll get a PDF of the letter I sent.

Hello

2006-03-09T11:56:00.000-05:00

For a while now I've been thinking about making it a point to regularly write letters to companies to comment on their products or services whenever I have something worth commenting about. Obviously these thoughts are usually driven by complaints or frustrations but sometimes you find a really great product or have a great interaction with a company and it seems like it would be cool to let them know about that too.

Then, earlier this week I started to formulate a plan of doing this - writing regular letters to companies - and tracking it in a blog. I thought it would be interesting to see what, if any, responses I would get.

Then, just this morning I was reading an entry in Seth Godin's blog about Robert Benson's $39 Experiment and that inspired me to put my plan in action. I'm sure many will think I'm just copying Robert's idea.

My plan is a little different than Robert's in a few different ways. First of all, I'm not going to be asking for free stuff (although I may ask for a replacement or refund if I'm writing about a product that I've had a problem with). I'm not going to send a batch all at once - my goal is to just send a letter every once in a while. I'm also not going to limit myself to snail mail - I may just email some companies. I'm also going to be up front with the companies. I'll let them know that I'm posting my letter, and their response (should they choose to send one) to my blog. I intend to balance compliments with complaints but I guess we'll have to see how it pans out.

Now, let's see who my first letter should be to...