They Are Listening...Now's the Time

I recently wrote a review about my experience with Vonage. I still remain a very happy customer with both the product and the customer service. I was very pleasantly surprised when I received an e-mail from Vonage's publicist shortly after posting my blog, letting me know that she had read the review and would be happy to provide any information I needed in the future. In my opinion, this is good customer service and corporate awareness.

Now is the time to Twitter, blog, or just spread the word, about your experiences. Vonage, among other organizations, are listening to their customers. Publicists are being hired to search social networking sites for anything written about their clients, and the leadership in organizations are watching and listening. Reviews are being brought to the attention of the CEOs and they appear to be paying attention to what their customers have to say. This will be the difference between the companies who survive during this economy and those who do not. It all comes down to the customer and the reputation. Make yourself be heard.

A Gumptionista in San Diego fights and wins!

Happy July everyone! I hope you all had a nice 4th and are enjoying the summer.

I just received an update from a friend in San Diego, who recently asked for some advice on fighting a vendor.

"Dear Gumptionista:

I took your advice and sent a certified letter to the President of the company that did the electrical work for San Diego Gas and Electric and broke my thermostat! Guess what??? Today, I got a call from the original person who told me he was denying my claim, that they are now promptly sending me a check to cover the cost of my broken thermostat!! WOO HOOO!!

Thanks, Gumptionista for the awesome advice!"

My recommendation, as always, is to send a certified letter to the President of the company and do not take no for an answer. If you have to threaten that you will report them to the Better Business Bureau, blog, or Twitter about the issue, do it.

Last But Not Least - Beware of the Gumptionista, BMW!

My car lease was coming up in December, so in November I traded in my 2006 BMW and leased a new 2009. My last four cars have been BMW’s. Since I can’t afford a house in California, I might as well drive a nice car. During the lease negotiations, I told the salesman that I had two payments left on my current lease, which they needed to take over. Somewhere along the line, he missed that fact, and when I was handed the paperwork to sign for the new lease, it did not cover the last two payments. I asked about it and he said his “manager” would not agree to that. I was not happy about it, but figured that I would take it up with BMW Financial. I spoke to BMW Financial about two things. One, the fact that the dealership would not take on the last two payments and two, about a dent in the front spoiler, which I was told I would be charged $400 for on my last bill. BMW Financial agreed to split the last two payments with me, but I was stuck paying the $400. I paid my final bill in January however I continued thinking about it and knew that I had to take some action. Finally, after 6 months, I mailed a certified letter to the CEO of BMW North America. I explained the situation about the fact that dealership would not cover payments for a car that they had in their possession, and that I had to pay $400 for a dented spoiler. One of the reasons why I am so frustrated about the dented spoiler is that these cars are built to dent at even the smallest bump. If they are going to have a faulty design, I am not going to pay for what is inevitable. I was at the dealership recently and they did a walk around my new car and told me there is a dent on the front spoiler, and I nearly went through the roof. They need to figure this out, because I am not going to pay for this again. It is only going to get worse over the next three years, too. If you look at any BMW on the road, you will notice damage underneath the front spoiler. I will guarantee it. I requested my money back for what I paid on my final bill. I will keep you posted when I receive a response.

Beware of the Gumptionista, AT&T Wireless!

I hope my hellish day today is not a reflection on what my week is going to be like. My morning started off fine. I drove to my doctor’s office and picked up the sick note to fax to Southwest Airlines so I could get a refund. I haven’t needed a sick note since second grade, but, whatever it takes. I then tried to make a phone call on my cell phone, and lo and behold, nothing. I receive a Call Failed on any outgoing call, and all incoming calls go straight to voicemail. When I try to get into my voicemail, I get a Call Failed. I went to the local AT&T store twice today. The first time, they removed the battery and waited and it seemed to work for about 5 minutes. As soon as I got home, I had the same problem. The second trip to the store, they recommended that I go to the warranty location and get a refurbished phone. Through a friend who works as a Project Manager for AT&T, I was able to get my hands on the e-mail address of the CEO. I sent him an e-mail this afternoon explaining that I am a business owner and this is the only phone I have. I paid a lot of money for this phone a mere 5 months ago, and will not accept a refurbished phone. I requested a brand new phone (Blackberry Bold is what I currently have) and also a month of free service, since the Call Failed problem happens often.

A friend of mine, who sensed that I was going to slit my wrists over this issue, came over after work last night. He is my technical guru friend. As soon as he stepped foot in my parking structure, he lost his cell service. Thank God! I am not crazy after all! He called AT&T via Skype from my house, and was told that a cell tower had been down in my neighborhood since 8:00 AM. They were having issues bringing it back up and expected that it would be up with service back to normal by the morning.

This morning I woke up to the wonderful sights and sounds of Call Failed, again. I decided to get in my car and drive to see where I could get a signal. I got less than a 1/2 block from my house and was able to make a call. I called AT&T Customer Service and talked to them for 30 minutes before they switched me to technical support. Customer Service said that there was no report of an outage, but then Technical Support said there was an outage, and it was expected to be back up in 1 hour. Here we go again. While I was on the phone with technical support, the office of the CEO of AT&T left me a voicemail. I called him back and we discussed my e-mails and the situation. He was a nice guy, and very helpful. He has since called me twice today to give me updates. As of 1:00 PM, my service is still out so needless to say, I am getting frustrated. I am looking forward to a resolution. I supposed I should go back to a home phone for these types of situations, but I am fighting it tooth and nail.

Regardless of the situation or the problem, always go to the top. It may seem like a small issue, but if it's important to you, let yourself be heard. Also, it helps to blog and twitter on these issues. As someone recently told me, companies are starting to pay attention to social networking, because of the press issues.

I'll keep you posted.