I was just thinking back to my youth today, and while it sometimes seems a long time ago I can’t help but thinking of how things have changed in such a short time. Growing up in Southern California was not unlike “anytown” U.S.A. We worked hard, played hard, and when it was time to go on vacation we packed up the family GM for the customary two weeks and hit the road for parts unknown. My mother and father insisted we buy American, and it was an easy thing to do because you were buying a solidly made beast of the highway. We were a GM family, but some of you out there could have been Ford or Chrysler families. It matters not because that was just an issue of taste and family upbringing. Kind of like being a Pepsi or Coke house. The products were good quality, the price was right, and the corporations cared about what the customer wanted and what would make them happy. I am not saying it was a scene out of Leave it to Beaver or Father Knows Best, but it certainly was simpler. Things today are no longer simple by any stretch of the imagination, but I am also not saying this is a bad thing in most cases. After all, I wouldn’t be able to “blog” here without the complicated life we live today, but not everything had to change. The lost art of customer appreciation and satisfaction seems to have been crossed off of the curriculum of most business schools in favor of “Bottom Line 101″, “Shareholders 250″, and “Upper Management Bonuses 550.” The last one is taught in both the BA and MBA program.

I guess I was busy this morning lamenting the America we see today, and sad at the thought that I don’t think our parents and grandparents would be proud of us. Those that lived through the depression and fought in WWII gave their lives so that we could enjoy the life that we have today, but somehow, somewhere along the way much of it was squandered. GM, for all intents and purposes, no longer exists as an American company. Chrysler is in the process of being sold to Fiat, and who knows how long Ford will hold on. These were powerhouses of American industry, and now what? Hummers made in China, Chryslers made by a company that hasn’t been able to sell a car in the U.S. for more than twenty years and is not considered to be top notch. What is next?

If we want to ask ourselves why we have to do a combination of things. Yes, we need to look in the mirror, but it is far more than just a turn away from “buying American.” It has been a long time since these companies have given us something worthy of buying. While foreign car companies were being innovative American car makers were giving us more of the same and losing focus on the customer. They were late to the game of hybrids, still producing oversized monsters designed to make soccer moms and underachievers feel powerful, and providing such low quality in order to get the customer buying more frequently. This was not and is not the American way, and yet somehow it became the American business model in a relatively short time for Detroit and others.

Two years ago I finally shook the invisible cultural shackles I had been raised with and purchased my first foreign vehicle, and I have never been happier. The first thing I noticed is that I am treated like a valuable customer; something that had been lost along the way in my years of dealing with GM and Chrysler. Simply said, they stand by their product. The last American car I had happened to be a convertible and when the rag top blew off after only a year and a half they told me it was my problem because it was “not a covered item.” In my foreign car I have been to the dealer twice in two years. Both times were for a “yearly” oil change. That’s right; YEARLY.

My father is still alive at the ripe old age of 78 and will probably live to well over a hundred at the rate he is going. He spent many years in the auto industry and helped to frame my “All American” girl persona. Is he proud of what has happened? No, and the sad part….he also drives a foreign car.

It is very important for vendors and consumers to have a clear understanding of the companies they deal with or purchase from. There are three distinct ways one can do this by way of looking at how a company treats its customers, vendors (partners), and employees.
CUSTOMERS
1. Does the company ignore customers?
2. Does the customer have the perception that they are being given the benefit of the doubt, which is sometimes mislabeled “the customer is always right?”
3. Is the company guilty of poor customer service?
4. Are customers passed off to an overseas call center with no authority to problem solve?

VENDORS
1. Does the company treat its vendors with honesty?
2. Does the company treat its vendors with fairness? (ex: selling fair trade products)
3. Does the company pay vendors in a timely manner

EMPLOYEES
1. Do employees feel undervalued?
2. Do employees feel over scrutinized? (not trusted to do their jobs)
3. Do employees feel expendable?
4. Do employees feel underpaid for the level of work they are doing?
5. Is there high turnover in the company?
6. Is there a consistent pattern of using employees to gain contact lists or knowledge and then letting them go?

If a company fails in one or more of these areas it could be a clear indicator that you would not want to deal with them on any level. The greater implication here is that the business is operating in an unethical manner. Aligning yourself with a company such as this will undoubtedly place a black mark on your reputation in business or have you suffering as a consumer. Additionally, it could also be an indicator of a misuse of company funds, but that will be saved for the next time……

Okay, so this blog could easily have been a rant, but through exemplary customer service it has turned into a rave!

A couple of weeks ago, I had a computer problem, so I took my laptop into my local Best Buy. Through having spent a lot of time in that store, as well as through great advertising, I knew “The Geek Squad” were the ones I needed to speak with. Of course, I have become friendly with the manager because he also sees me in there all the time with handfuls of goodies, and, lo and behold, who should be standing there but Dave, my friendly store manager.

So, Dave convinced me to buy a whole new laptop (great salesman!) and he would fix my old one. Who could argue? Or am I a sucker for buying new goodies? Well…….it didn’t turn out quite as Dave had planned. What started out as a good experience quickly turned ugly. Not only was the laptop not fixed, but it was worse!! So, obviously frustrated, I spoke to the young “Geek” on duty and the manager on duty. The situation went from bad to worse to absolutely deplorable. The two men even got verbally abusive.

Well, although I would love to tell you the goings on of that entire sordid incident I won’t because apparently that is NOT the true Best Buy experience. I had never had such treatment from any store employee and I know that this is not the way any company would want their customers treated.

Here’s the real beauty of the situation: I called the executive offices of Best Buy, knowing that typically 800 customer service numbers are really of no use for major situations and I got a lovely woman by the name of Lisa. She must have stayed on that phone with me at least 30 minutes listening to the awful story. I couldn’t believe that the entire time she had been taking everything down as well as hearing me! What a professional! She assured me she would get the email to Dave and that I should see him on Saturday.

Cut to Saturday: My trusty store manager Dave had been completely unaware of the goings on and had not yet read his email, but I could see him getting angrier and angrier the more I told him about the “incident.” (I could tell Dave was angry because he got professionally quiet). He was just as horrified as Lisa had been and assured me “things” would be handled appropriately, but, most importantly, he wanted to make a customer happy. All I wanted was for the old laptop to be fixed, but after he looked at its current state, he closed the top and said, “No, I am not going to fix this. We are going to give you a new one for all of the trouble.” WOW – I was astounded!!

What’s the moral of this story? Customer service! I have been a loyal Best Buy customer for years now, but guess what? I am more loyal now than ever because they took a catastrophic situation and completely turned it around. I would have been happy with a fix, but Dave and the company went above and beyond. With customer service like that they deserve all the customers they can handle and a successful future!

Reprinted from my blog at a national travel magazine