Sep
28
2009
Reap the Benefits of Good Customer Service
Author: LindaRecently, it was recommended to me to purchase the e-book 31 Days to Build a Better Blog by Darren Rowse. He was offering the book for 1/2 price for a 24-hour period in honor of his anniversary as a blogger. It sounded interesting, so I decide to check into it.
I followed the link that I had been given. I was able to learn a little more about the offer and what was included in the e-book. It sounded interesting; add to that the fact that he offered a money back guarantee and I figured I had nothing to lose by ordering it.
I placed my order and paid for my e-book. I was then emailed the link so that I could download my copy of the e-book. I was more than a little disappointed when I realized that I was not able to open the file that I had downloaded; instead I received the message that the file was corrupt and could not be opened.
I checked back on the original page where I had read about the e-book for a link to support to see if they couldn’t help me in my efforts to download my copy. In checking around, I didn’t find a support link, but I did see a link for Darren Rowse’s email. There was also a note saying due to the large number of emails received he was not able to personally answer many of his emails but he did read them.
While this didn’t sound very hopeful, I didn’t see any alternatives so I decided I would send him an email and hope that it would eventually be read and maybe he had a support person who would help me out. I sent my email on Thursday night and hoped that I might get a response at the beginning of the following week. I cannot tell you how surprised I was to get an answer within 10 minutes of sending my email from Darren himself.
He told me that this had happened a few times before and he told me what usually worked for others. I was very impressed to get a personal answer so quickly, but it didn’t end there. He sent me a second email to inquire if I had been successful in downloading the e-book and if not, that he would be happy to refund my money. Happily, eventually I was able to get a copy of the e-book.
My intention in relating this incident is not so much to say that everyone should run out to purchase this e-book but to draw attention to the power of providing excellent customer service. I know that his timely and helpful response and his thoughtful follow-up will certainly make me more likely to purchase products from him again.
Frequently in recent months, I have read on the forums about people’s experiences that are negative with some aspect of their trading business; I am often left with the impression that customer service in the Freebie World is not at the level it should be on more occasions than ought to be considered acceptable. Recently, I have seen numerous complaints about less than stellar customer service by freebie networks, offer companies, or forum owners.
While it seems obvious, I just wonder if these individuals realize the power of providing outstanding customer service to both current customers and potential customers. Not only is customer service a great marketing tool, it also costs very little in terms of time and money. Add to that it can have a powerful viral effect.
Two good examples of this recently occurred on the forums. There were two traders who posted about separate incidents that occurred between them and a freebie network. Both of these individuals received what they considered such outstanding service that they felt compelled to post about it to let others know of their positive experience. In both cases the owner of these freebie sites not only gained a loyal customer who will surely continue to use their network but they also will most like get many new traders who will begin to use them as a result of reading about the great customer service that another trader received.
For my part, I have decided that from now on I will definitely take the time to post to let others know when I have experienced great customer service. By the way, the two freebie networks were zeropricetags and freebiez-r-us. You should give them a try if you have not already done so.