A few days ago, I ordered a monitor from Newegg.com in anticipation of my office’s completion this weekend. Surprisingly, it shipped that afternoon and arrived the next evening with only 1 day of total shipping time.  Unfortunately, the box arrived with two large puncture holes.  Immediately, I suspected shipper damage because the UPS guy was quick to hurry off my doorstep after leaving the package.

After plugging it in to my wife’s computer, I realized I received a defective monitor. The screen flickered constantly and couldn’t hold the picture at the resolution I selected.  Brokenhearted, I navigated to Newegg’s returns and RMA section and entered the information to request a replacement.

Even though it was after business hours, I was immediately approved for an RMA.  But when I pulled up the information to ship it back, the system told me that I’d have to pay over $23 to ship the monitor to the online retailer before they would replace it. It may just be me, but I really don’t like the idea of having to pay to return defective merchandise.  But seeing as how it was past business hours, I couldn’t call the support desk to inquire about the situation.  I begrudgingly left it set until the next morning.

I called the next morning shortly after they opened and waited on hold.  Their hold queue was obnoxious, with some guy cutting in frequently and strongly encouraging me to do everything through their website.  After about 10 minutes of waiting on hold, a pleasant-voiced agent came on the line to assist me.  After explaining my situation to her and giving her my RMA number, I asked that she authorize a pre-paid shipping label to return the monitor. She put me on hold for a moment and then returned and stated that a pre-paid label was on its way to my email inbox immediately and thanked me for shopping at Newegg.

As I’ve written before, I prize quality customer service and punish poor service. The fact that I didn’t have to jump through any hoops and that the agent gave me a positive response in less than a minute reminds me why I shop at Newegg.com for basically all my computer and electronics desires, even if Amazon does beat them on price occasionally.

What other companies have you experienced giving good customer service?  Or what companies do you want to call out for poor service?  Good companies need to be applauded and bad companies need to be exposed. If you have an experience, share it here in the comments!

(c) 2007-2009, That One Caveman, http://www.thatonecaveman.com

Just last week, I wrote about how Charter Cable really dropped the ball with me and lost me as a customer completely due to poor customer service (and unfair charges). To replace my outgoing cable service, I purchased a TV antenna on Amazon.com. After a few shipping delays, it finally arrived on Monday.

After opening the box and inventorying the parts, I realized that a few pieces were missing and one crucial part was broken. I was dismayed. The “savior” of my personal TV experience was defective and incomplete on arrival. I searched the box for the warranty and manufacturer contact information.

After I located the paper detailing the lifetime warranty, I called the phone number included. As the phone rang, I fully expected the typical customer service run-around and frustrating call center scripts. I mentally prepared myself for the upcoming battle which would pit my wits against a powerless employee. But once the call was answered, my preconceptions flew out the window.

I was immediately connected with a pleasant lady who listened patiently to my poor attempt to describe the missing and broken parts. She worked with me for about five minutes as we both made sure that we understood what parts were affected and then asked for my address and contact information so she could ship out replacement parts right away. No returning of the defective parts before they would help me; no accusations or implications of fraud from the employee; no “I’m sorry, I cannot help you” excuses. I received only outstanding customer service from a local, English-speaking, pleasant lady who did nothing but try to help me as best as she could. That’s how customer service should be!

I want to tip my hat to Antennas Direct. They are one of the few companies I’ve run into lately that prided themselves on customer service and didn’t make me jump through any hoops in order to use their guarantees. Apparently, they’re a local company – just on the other side of St. Louis from me. I don’t know how much more business I’ll need to do with them (how many whole-house TV antennas do you need anyway?), but I hope to run into them again.

Kudos, Antennas Direct. You’ve made me happy I dropped my Charter Cable.

Photo by: ailatan

(c) 2007-2009, That One Caveman, http://www.thatonecaveman.com

Photo by: Gerard Girbes

This time last year, I called to complain about what I felt was an unfair increase in my cable bill. I only had basic cable and internet and they were going to raise my rates over 10%. Instead of making me pay more, the phone operator found a way to move me to a promotional plan that actually gave me more – expanded basic and digital service – and would cost me less. Well, that plan ended this week and what was a $60/month outlay suddenly ballooned to $100/month. Needless to say, I didn’t want to continue paying that amount.

When I arrived home from work last night, I called up Charter Communications and after a short wait, I asked the phone representative (Yvonne from Wisconsin) if there was anything she could do to help me reduce my cost. What I was trying to imply – but should have stated directly – is that I thought $60 was more than enough for the benefit I was receiving and I didn’t want to pay more than that. Instead, I got something else altogether.

After about three minutes of complaining at her computer, verbalizing all the codes she was entering in the system, and trying to make small talk, the first plan Yvonne finally offered me was a promotion that would “only” cost me $80/month that would provide me nothing more than what I was already receiving. Once I finally convinced the lady that my goal was to spend less and instructed her to only check for plans that cost no more than was I was paying before, things became a little uncomfortable.

For the next ten minutes, she clacked away at her keyboard without saying much. Occasionally she would pipe in with a, “No, I can’t offer that,” or a, “This package doesn’t apply,” but mostly she was silent. When it became clear that there were no packages (that she would offer me) in that price range that included the expanded basic service (and my daughter’s beloved Disney channel), I inquired about dropping to just basic TV. “I don’t know why you’d want to downgrade. You know you’re only going to want it back and then you’ll have to pay for it to be reconnected,” she lectured me. “Your daughter is going to miss her shows and you’re going to just come back up.” That’s when I really got annoyed. The conversation from that point went about like this:

“Honestly,” I told her, “the basic TV package doesn’t offer me much more than I can get with an antenna. All I’m paying for is the standard local broadcast stations, a public access channel, and a bunch of home shopping networks. Out of 26 channels, I would only watch the ones I could get for free otherwise. So why should I even bother moving down to basic?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t trust those antennas. My son-in-law thought he could do the same but I warned him… Within a few months, he came to me asking if there was any way I could help him waive his reconnect fees. It doesn’t matter how good of a signal you think you could get, you’re just going to want your cable back,” Yvonne, the Charter Communications representative warned. “I strongly recommend against dropping your cable because you’ll just end up paying the reconnect fees when you inevitably come back.”

What she didn’t know is that I’ve already tested two different antennas and found that I can access all the digital signals coming from Saint Louis quite clearly – even from within my house.

“I really don’t care to argue about this, but I already know that I can access everything I want with an antenna. Let’s just cut TV service altogether and just stick with the internet,” I decided.

Yvonne replied, “Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you. All I know is that it’s not as good as cable and I don’t want you to have to pay the reconnect fees when you come back.”

“Trust me, at this point I’m not interested in coming back. What my antenna can’t pick up, I’ll search for on Netflix. What I can’t find on Netflix, I’ll find on the internet. I don’t feel like arguing this anymore.”

“Ok then, I’ll schedule the appointment. There will be a $13 fee for the truck to come out and disconnect your service. Don’t be afraid to call us out when you realize I was right and you decide you want your cable back. Thank you for calling Charter Communications.”

That sign-off was the last straw. Now, I am not only going to drop my cable TV service, I’m going to drop Charter cable altogether. Charter has been nothing but a thorn in my side for the last 6 years I’ve been a subscriber, anyhow, and this insulting and argumentative conversation provided the extra motivation I needed to tell them to shove off. They raise rates for no reason and consistently reduce the number of channels they offer me in an attempt to lure me to higher-priced premium packages.

The first thing I did when I got off the phone was to go online and order an antenna to install in my attic. After a bit of research, I settled on this TV antenna, a signal booster to help distribute the signal throughout the house, and a digital converter box for my older TV (using one of the government coupons). In just four months, my savings from dropping cable will more than pay for this new equipment. Hopefully the antenna will arrive before the cable shutoff date, but at this point I really don’t care – I just want Charter gone.

As far as dumping internet as well, I mentioned to the Charter Communications representative that AT&T is offering DSL in my area for $30/month with a free DSL modem and an extra $100 bonus for switching from cable – and that rate is guaranteed for 24 months. Even after telling this to the phone representative, they weren’t moved to match any part of it. After the work in my basement is finished and my media distribution equipment is all in place, I’ll call Charter and tell them to take a hike for good and sign up for AT&T DSL.

Last night was unpleasant. In the end, I was left with a waste of a 30-minute phone call, a healthy dose of frustration, a bitter taste in my mouth, and an extra bill of $13 for them to come out and disconnect my video service. I can’t wait for my antenna to show up so I can enjoy free TV and a clear digital signal. Hopefully AT&T’s DSL service will work out, but only time will tell for that. Even so, it’ll take a Herculean effort for Charter Cable to win me back, now.

(c) 2007-2009, That One Caveman, http://www.thatonecaveman.com