Hello Fellow WHTers!

When the sign says Customer Service

The countdown's getting critical regarding our move-in date for the new house. One of the remaining larger projects is to finish a wall that includes a door. So, last night, I went to my then favorite Home Improvement store and grabbed a door while it was still on sale. When we got it home and propped it up to the frame we'd built, I scratched my head and wondered why it didn't fit. A little measuring and digging later and we figured out we'd purchased the wrong size door. We relied on the aisle data instead of measuring to be sure the correct door was displayed at the store. No problem. We'll just exchange it tomorrow (today) as the store was closed by this time.

We're so crunched for time that I figured today during lunch would be a good time to exchange the door for a correct sized one. I run to the new house and my son and I pack the door and take it to the store. When I walked up to the Courtesy counter with the door and explained the situation, the young lady said, "Just go get the right door and I'll do an exchange for you". That sounded perfect. So we went and made sure we got the correct sized door this time, grabbed a few more items and went to the desk to make the exchange and new purchases.

The worker compared the doors, pushed some buttons and said, "That'll be $3.19 for the difference on the door". I was a bit startled and repeated the price back to her. "$3.19? "Yes", she said. "$3.19". I was still a little startled and sprang back with, "Oh. Wait. You're serious! $3.19 for what? I'm making an exchange." "That's a different product" she says. "Different product? It's the same manufacturer. It's the same door, a little smaller." I was confused.

"It's a different size door. One of them costs a dollar more than the other." as she defended her position. Even after explaining to her that all size doors in this group were one price I said, "I'll pay you $3.19. But know that if I pay you $3.19, I will never be back in this store." "That'll be $3.19" she repeated.

I paid it. But as soon as she handed me the change, I still couldn't understand why I needed to pay it. I told her that I was utterly flabbergasted that she would choose such an avenue with anyone, let alone someone who's been a long and loyal customer. I had spent over a thousand dollars in this store in the last month alone. She was adamant in her stance but did afford me the opportunity to speak with her supervisor. "Yes. I would love to speak with your supervisor".

I won't bore you with the details of that encounter, because this story's too long already. I'll just sum it up to say that it took 50 minutes to attempt an exchange of a product. And this store lost a customer over $3.19 that should have never come into play.

I drove down the street and purchased the door and other supplies from their competitor. When the sign above the desk says Customer Service, do you expect service? Our first featured thread asks a simliar question about advertised 24/7 support.

We're still reading and sending tweets @WebHostingTalk.

Thanks for listening. And I'll see you on the forums.

Dennis Johnson (aka SoftWareRevue)
iNET Community Coordinator

Got suggestions? Send me an e-mail:
suggestions@webhostingtalk.com

Hot threads in the community

Web Hosting Talk Premium Membership

Get a 15% Match on advertising at Hosting Catalog!

Premium Members of Web Hosting Talk are able to receive an exclusive 15% match on advertising at HostingCatalog.com, where you can have your listing appear in the Sponsored Link footer of WebHostingTalk. How valuable can this benefit be for Premium Members?

Say you make a monthly deposit of $100 at Hosting Catalog and receive the 15% match each time. Over the course of a year, that adds up to $180 in free advertising! Plus, if you deposit more than $100, your match will be even larger! All for only the $49.99 cost of a Premium Membership!

What are you waiting for?

Become a Web Hosting Talk Premium Member now and Start Saving!

Web Hosting Wiki Spotlight

Call to action

In marketing terminology, a call to action is text that invites readers to do an action that the website owner, author, or advertiser wants readers to do. The action might lead to a sale, get readers to sign up for or download something, or perhaps help readers become more informed. Every link can work as a call to action. Calls to action can also be non-hyperlinked text directing people where to read or what to do.

"Click here" is a common call to action, but it doesn't tell readers what to expect if they click. The following examples of calls to action can help motivate readers to take the desired action:

Read the rest of Call to action.

See WHTwiki's featured article list.

There are over 200 community-authored articles about the web hosting industry in the Web Hosting Talk community wiki. Lend your experience and expertise in the wiki today!

Get to know the Community

	net
	Community Liason Member since 3/1/2003	Forum Posts: 3,287

In this issue...

When the sign says Customer Service WHT Premium Membership

Follow WHT on

Spread the Word!

Do you know someone who might be interested in receiving this newsletter?

Did you miss an issue of the Insider?

Don't worry. Visit our Newsletter Archive section of WHT for past issues of the Insider.

WHT Quick Links