Time left in Bush's term

Days
Hours
Min.
Sec.
Countdown clock provided by BushsLastDay.com

Project Insomnia

Project Insomnia is many things, but in this context it is simply a "braindump" of whatever I happen to be thinking/reading/watching/doing at the moment. Parental guidance suggested.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Confessions of a Switcher (part 2)

This is part 2 in a theoretically infinite series.

Two weeks in and I am finding myself really happy with the Mac, with OS X and with life in general. OS X's Unix-y roots means it's very hackable and its popularity means there is lots of good open-source or otherwise community-supported software out there, plus it seems most of the software I used in Windows has Mac versions. Just a short list of the third-party (i.e. not Apple) software I'm using so far:
("w" means used on Windows, otherwise it's new to me)


I've just installed and am trying out VMWare Fusion, which pulls the Boot Camp Windows XP partition into a virtual instance running inside OS X. It seems that the only way to install some software onto the Windows Mobile device is by running an installer in Windows, and I don't want to have to reboot into XP via Boot Camp just to do that.

Labels: , ,

|| Andrew, 2:34 PM || || link ||

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Followup on DirecTV

Following up on the DirecTV post from Sunday:
'Absolutely,' she says, 'I'll set up that free installation and the included HD dish for you right now.' Yes! 'I can schedule your installation for Tuesday afternoon between noon and 4, will that work?' Yes! Done and done.

The installer showed up at noon precisely, was extremely competent and professional, not only installed the new HD dish and HD-DVR but stuck around a few minutes to give me the basics on using the new unit, and petted Watson. D* ftw!

Labels: , ,

|| Andrew, 2:27 PM || || link ||

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Combined Customer Service experiences post

Today's Unbelievably Bad and Triumphantly Excellent Customer Service posts are combined because they are both from the same company and occured within minutes of each other.

A little background: I've been a very happy DirecTV subscriber for ten years. We currently have a Philips DSR704 DirecTV-TiVo receiver in the upstairs guest room, and we're buying a new TV for the living room. Tonight, I bought a new DirecTV Plus HD-DVR at Best Buy and called DirecTV --right from the Best Buy parking lot--to schedule installation, because I want it done before Thursday (Thanksgiving) so we can watch the National Dog Show in glorious HD.

First, the Unbelievably Bad: I say "schedule installation" to the phone-bot and am connected to Chase or possibly Jason--I can't tell because he mumbled. We establish who I am and my account details and then I tell him why I'm calling: to schedule installation of the HD-DVR I just picked up. He pauses and then goes off into several minutes of telling my why my purchase was a bad idea--buying it at Best Buy instead of ordering directly from him--because now I'll have to pay for installation plus pay for the special HD dish; if I'd ordered from him, he says, installation and the dish would be free. I ask him if this is standard for everyone who buys DirecTV equipment from Best Buy and he says no, it's because I'm an existing DirecTV subscriber. Most people who buy receivers or DVRs are new subscribers and installation is free for new subscribers. I take a minute to process this and then remind him (politely) that I've been a loyal customer for ten years including two moves, and can he waive the installation fee for me? Absolutely not, he says, citing some contractual obligation between DirecTV and Best Buy that I don't care about. Around now he also tells me there's no chance of installation for at least two weeks. I tell him I'll consider what he's told me and call them back, and hang up.

I sat and thought for a few minutes. I was sure Chase/Jason was wrong about having to pay for installation. After all, DirecTV isn't even selling their boxes anymore; the boxes are now on semi-permanent "lease", subject to recall/replacement at any time, and remain DirecTV's property. This means that I'm now paying for a service, like cable TV or DSL, which always have free installation. I was also doubtful about the installation date estimate. So, I tried a little Call Center Roulette, and that's where the Triumphantly Excellent experience happened.

This time I am connected to Brigitte--cheerful and clear-spoken--and we go through the same information about what I bought and that I need to have it installed. "Absolutely," she says, "I'll set up that free installation and the included HD dish for you right now." Yes! "I can schedule your installation for Tuesday afternoon between noon and 4, will that work?" Yes! Done and done. "Anything else I can help you with?" I tell her I'd like to talk to her supervisor to pass on what a great experience this call was. Back when I was doing software tech support over the phone, this happened once in a while, where happy customers wanted to compliment me to my boss. Most times, the only time the supervisor is called in is to hear complaints, so this time I am careful to let her (Shannon) know what a terrific CSR she has in Brigitte and that everything worked out perfectly. I don't mention Chase/Jason because at this point it would only depress me. Shannon says it's a pleasure to hear a compliment once in a while and I tell her it was a pleasure for me to be able to give it.

I think the lesson to be learned here is the importance of Call Center Roulette--if you don't like what the CSR is telling you, and especially if it seems unreasonable or illogical, thank them politely, hang up, and call again hoping for a different CSR. The way the call-forwarding systems work, the person you just talked to should get another call right away, so if you wait a minute or two you should be assured of getting someone else. This time, it worked.

Labels: , , ,

|| Andrew, 7:29 PM || || link ||

Sunday, November 11, 2007

GOOD customer service example of the day

And the winner is: REI in the new Charleston Road shopping center in Mountain View. I'd purchased a Freestyle Tracer pedometer before the ToT race so I could measure my pace through the course; at home, the treadmill tells me how fast I'm going and how far I've gone, so I wanted something similar. The pedometer did its job, but the plastic clip broke off halfway through the race and I ended up having to hold it in my hand the rest of the way. I wanted to exchange it, but of course, I'd lost the receipt. However, I had joined the REI Co-op around the time I'd bought the pedometer so I hoped that the purchase would be recorded somewhere.

When we entered the store, I looked around for the "customer service" desk, usually one solitary register manned by the one person in the store who can accept returns or do exchanges. Not the case at REI; every register can do returns and every employee can process exchanges. The transaction was indeed linked to my Co-op membership and the only wait involved was the cashier waiting for me to grab a new pedometer from the rack for an instant exchange. Well done!

Labels: , ,

|| Andrew, 4:54 PM || || link ||

"Project Insomnia" and "project-insomnia.com" ™ & SM; site contents © Andrew Rich except where noted.