Comments on: Shouldn’t “contact us” offer an opportunity for personal contact? http://www.rvtradedigest.com/interactive/2007/02/02/shouldnt-contact-us-offer-an-opportunity-for-personal-contact/ Welcome to RV Weekly where the editor of RV Trade Digest will be updating you on the latest news, trends, and products important to the RV industry. Fri, 21 Nov 2008 01:02:03 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: Bob Zagami http://www.rvtradedigest.com/interactive/2007/02/02/shouldnt-contact-us-offer-an-opportunity-for-personal-contact/#comment-722 Bob Zagami Mon, 12 Feb 2007 02:53:06 +0000 http://www.rvtradedigest.com/interactive/2007/02/02/shouldnt-contact-us-offer-an-opportunity-for-personal-contact/#comment-722 Kevin brings up some good points here. I'm also amazed at the number of companies that do not have any kind of program established to measure customer satisfaction and identify positive and negative aspects of the business relationship. In my "real world" career we use the Zoomerang (www.zoomerang.com) for quick surveys if we have critical issues that demand immediate feedback and we also employ a professional customer service firm that calls everyone of our customers that meet a specific dollar value per month or per year to make sure we are completing their work in accordance with a signed Statement of Work that signed by both the customer, the sales rep, and our production operations manager. Kevin brings up some good points here. I’m also amazed at the number of companies that do not have any kind of program established to measure customer satisfaction and identify positive and negative aspects of the business relationship.

In my “real world” career we use the Zoomerang (www.zoomerang.com) for quick surveys if we have critical issues that demand immediate feedback and we also employ a professional customer service firm that calls everyone of our customers that meet a specific dollar value per month or per year to make sure we are completing their work in accordance with a signed Statement of Work that signed by both the customer, the sales rep, and our production operations manager.

]]> By: Kevin | InteractRV http://www.rvtradedigest.com/interactive/2007/02/02/shouldnt-contact-us-offer-an-opportunity-for-personal-contact/#comment-717 Kevin | InteractRV Sun, 11 Feb 2007 03:24:22 +0000 http://www.rvtradedigest.com/interactive/2007/02/02/shouldnt-contact-us-offer-an-opportunity-for-personal-contact/#comment-717 Greg, Thanks for sharing your experience. I find usability issues like this so often, it's kind of scary, but important to remember that many business decisions, Internet related or not, are based on what someone thinks works best vs. finding out what really will work best. We've been testing some short/sweet feedback surveys on some dealers websites in the last months. It's amazing what you can learn just by asking the prospects/customers using your website what they think. Keep up the good work! Greg,

Thanks for sharing your experience. I find usability issues like this so often, it’s kind of scary, but important to remember that many business decisions, Internet related or not, are based on what someone thinks works best vs. finding out what really will work best.

We’ve been testing some short/sweet feedback surveys on some dealers websites in the last months. It’s amazing what you can learn just by asking the prospects/customers using your website what they think.

Keep up the good work!

]]> By: Bob Bishop http://www.rvtradedigest.com/interactive/2007/02/02/shouldnt-contact-us-offer-an-opportunity-for-personal-contact/#comment-713 Bob Bishop Sat, 10 Feb 2007 16:31:48 +0000 http://www.rvtradedigest.com/interactive/2007/02/02/shouldnt-contact-us-offer-an-opportunity-for-personal-contact/#comment-713 Greg, What a great article. Thanks for sharing the hoorendous experience with all of us that are developing companies and businesses and working on setting up our web sites and the responses that customers deserve and expect. Greg,
What a great article. Thanks for sharing the hoorendous experience with all of us that are developing companies and businesses and working on setting up our web sites and the responses that customers deserve and expect.

]]> By: Bret Folkman http://www.rvtradedigest.com/interactive/2007/02/02/shouldnt-contact-us-offer-an-opportunity-for-personal-contact/#comment-706 Bret Folkman Fri, 09 Feb 2007 16:19:41 +0000 http://www.rvtradedigest.com/interactive/2007/02/02/shouldnt-contact-us-offer-an-opportunity-for-personal-contact/#comment-706 Greg, what a great article, I just tried to communicate with Xantrex, where the customer service is just as good as a recording. I had an emergency command center for the local county Sherrif's department down and needed a part. I kept being told " we cannot guarntee that a next day shipment will go out that day." IT was just before 2:00 p.m.Eastern time. In asking for the shipping department I was given a canned statement, in getting a supervisor I got the same canned statement. After 45 minutes of hearing the same thing over and over again and not getting anything but the "canned statement" I thought I would just talk to the rep at the upcomming trade show in Las Vegas, I could not talk to the reps, they were busy talking to the guys in the booth next to them. Maybe I will try the website... by the way, there was only one major emergency the County could not respond to while the vehicle was down, I hope the family of the people who were lost in the Utah mountians with tempratures below freezing can understand why the vehicle they pay taxes for could not be there. Greg, what a great article, I just tried to communicate with Xantrex, where the customer service is just as good as a recording. I had an emergency command center for the local county Sherrif’s department down and needed a part. I kept being told ” we cannot guarntee that a next day shipment will go out that day.” IT was just before 2:00 p.m.Eastern time. In asking for the shipping department I was given a canned statement, in getting a supervisor I got the same canned statement. After 45 minutes of hearing the same thing over and over again and not getting anything but the “canned statement” I thought I would just talk to the rep at the upcomming trade show in Las Vegas, I could not talk to the reps, they were busy talking to the guys in the booth next to them.

Maybe I will try the website… by the way, there was only one major emergency the County could not respond to while the vehicle was down, I hope the family of the people who were lost in the Utah mountians with tempratures below freezing can understand why the vehicle they pay taxes for could not be there.

]]> By: ggerber http://www.rvtradedigest.com/interactive/2007/02/02/shouldnt-contact-us-offer-an-opportunity-for-personal-contact/#comment-704 ggerber Fri, 09 Feb 2007 13:55:59 +0000 http://www.rvtradedigest.com/interactive/2007/02/02/shouldnt-contact-us-offer-an-opportunity-for-personal-contact/#comment-704 I actually did have a voice mail waiting for me the other day from Alex at Nextar. He suggested that I visit their website and right click on any photo I need and save it to my computer. He then rattled off a contact number so fast that, despite listening to it multiple times, I could only understand nine of the 10 digits. The problem is that web photos are sized at 72 dots per inch to decrease the time it takes to load a page. Publications, on the other hand, require images at 300 dots per inch in order to better form an image on a printed page. I did send them a snail mail copy of the blog a week ago. My guess is that it's sitting on a desk waiting for someone to return from a trade show in order to open it. I actually did have a voice mail waiting for me the other day from Alex at Nextar. He suggested that I visit their website and right click on any photo I need and save it to my computer. He then rattled off a contact number so fast that, despite listening to it multiple times, I could only understand nine of the 10 digits.

The problem is that web photos are sized at 72 dots per inch to decrease the time it takes to load a page. Publications, on the other hand, require images at 300 dots per inch in order to better form an image on a printed page.

I did send them a snail mail copy of the blog a week ago. My guess is that it’s sitting on a desk waiting for someone to return from a trade show in order to open it.

]]> By: Bob Zagami http://www.rvtradedigest.com/interactive/2007/02/02/shouldnt-contact-us-offer-an-opportunity-for-personal-contact/#comment-699 Bob Zagami Fri, 09 Feb 2007 00:23:22 +0000 http://www.rvtradedigest.com/interactive/2007/02/02/shouldnt-contact-us-offer-an-opportunity-for-personal-contact/#comment-699 What amazes me even more is that Greg posted this on February 2nd, and we have still not heard from the folks at Nextar. You can't tell me that somebody in this business has not phoned, faxed, written, or e-mailed them all or some portion of this thread. I guess they are still hiding under their desk hoping that nobody notices! Somebody put a lock in the door and put them out of their misery. What amazes me even more is that Greg posted this on February 2nd, and we have still not heard from the folks at Nextar. You can’t tell me that somebody in this business has not phoned, faxed, written, or e-mailed them all or some portion of this thread. I guess they are still hiding under their desk hoping that nobody notices!
Somebody put a lock in the door and put them out of their misery.

]]> By: Rick Jones http://www.rvtradedigest.com/interactive/2007/02/02/shouldnt-contact-us-offer-an-opportunity-for-personal-contact/#comment-697 Rick Jones Thu, 08 Feb 2007 23:21:32 +0000 http://www.rvtradedigest.com/interactive/2007/02/02/shouldnt-contact-us-offer-an-opportunity-for-personal-contact/#comment-697 What you described is very common. I usually go to a competitor who makes it easier to find information about their products or services and a contact number. Finding contact names is out of the question. What you described is very common. I usually go to a competitor who makes it easier to find information about their products or services and a contact number.

Finding contact names is out of the question.

]]> By: Milton Stevens http://www.rvtradedigest.com/interactive/2007/02/02/shouldnt-contact-us-offer-an-opportunity-for-personal-contact/#comment-696 Milton Stevens Thu, 08 Feb 2007 23:09:13 +0000 http://www.rvtradedigest.com/interactive/2007/02/02/shouldnt-contact-us-offer-an-opportunity-for-personal-contact/#comment-696 Our industry is all about our customers having fun with family and friends. Our goal is to make sure our systems and processes do not interfere with their fun. We all hope our competitors do not understand that. But that would not be good for our industry. Our industry is all about our customers having fun with family and friends. Our goal is to make sure our systems and processes do not interfere with their fun. We all hope our competitors do not understand that. But that would not be good for our industry.

]]> By: Karl F. Muller http://www.rvtradedigest.com/interactive/2007/02/02/shouldnt-contact-us-offer-an-opportunity-for-personal-contact/#comment-694 Karl F. Muller Thu, 08 Feb 2007 22:01:49 +0000 http://www.rvtradedigest.com/interactive/2007/02/02/shouldnt-contact-us-offer-an-opportunity-for-personal-contact/#comment-694 Great story....can you imagine what service would be like AFTER you bought the product! Great story….can you imagine what service would be like AFTER you bought the product!

]]> By: Randall Jeremiah http://www.rvtradedigest.com/interactive/2007/02/02/shouldnt-contact-us-offer-an-opportunity-for-personal-contact/#comment-691 Randall Jeremiah Thu, 08 Feb 2007 17:38:53 +0000 http://www.rvtradedigest.com/interactive/2007/02/02/shouldnt-contact-us-offer-an-opportunity-for-personal-contact/#comment-691 I have had similar bad experiences trying to contact companies. I wish all companies would have some sort of contact number (need not be toll free but it is nice) for questions or needs that are not able to handled online. I have had similar bad experiences trying to contact companies. I wish all companies would have some sort of contact number (need not be toll free but it is nice) for questions or needs that are not able to handled online.

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