Who Needs Customer Service Anyway?

I don’t understand why companies provide customer service when they don’t equip those people with the tools and resources to fix problems. It’s especially unnerving when unfixed problems don’t go away.

Take the example of a certain Wendy’s restaurant in Grand Junction, CO. Almost all of their customers are just passing through town and will probably never eat there again. As you can guess, their drive through lane is always backed up, and their employees rank up there with the worst of the worst. The customer experience stinks, and nobody really expects much from them. I don’t go there anymore, and I’m okay with that.

Now let’s take a look at Nordstrom's. They will bend over backwards to ensure that you have a good customer experience. Yes, you’ve got to pay for it, but it sure beats dealing with the hassle when issues arise. One expects a lot from these people, and one will always get a lot. People will always shop there.

Now, for yet another contrast, let’s look at HP’s consumer printer customer service arm. I just purchased a beautiful 4-in-1 printer with built-in wi-fi, and the software stinks. In fact, since installing the software on my computer and my wife’s computer, both have slowed down to a snail’s pace and neither even detects the wireless printer. I’ve spent no less than 15 hours trying to work out the problems, four of them with customer service, and they finally admitted that there were some bugs in the software. They promised to have an expert call me back within two days to fix the problem, but they broke their promise and I’m still waiting for a call back. Now I’m stuck with a problem and am left at the mercy of HP’s technical support team. As I’ve looked in to this problem on various tech support forums, I have seen countless others who tell my exact same story.

I don’t much care if Wendy’s of Grand Junction stinks, and I’m willing to pay a little extra at Nordstrom’s, but I’m appalled that I forked over $350 to HP for something that doesn’t even work and that I’m stuck with tech support who doesn’t keep their promises.

If customer service cannot or will not fix problems, just get rid of them. If however, you want to build a brand, reputation, or culture, hire people who can fix problems, equip them properly, and encourage them to fix problems.

Can anyone recommend a good printer for me?