Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with automation for “customer convenience.” Unfortunately, this is often code for “customer avoidance.” Most phone systems (and online chats) seem to be designed to turn an irritated customer into an enraged one. (Oh, just ask me about my recent experience with Qwest. On second thought, better not.)

But, this past weekend I had a surprising experience. I called the New York Times 800 number, entered a few answers to an automated system…on the phone for all of about 20 seconds…and Voila! a replacement paper comes – delivered by an actual human being who rang the door bell and asked questions so they could make their service better.

Granted, getting a replacement newspaper isn’t nearly as complex as solving a software problem, but…NYT has set up their system so it works for their customers. What a concept.

…and, nobody argued with me that it must be my fault I couldn’t find the paper…;-)

Tags: marketing, marketing troubleshooting, customer service