Solr books

I admire companies that strive for excellent customer service. I worked at Dayton's in college and learned good customer service there. Verona, the Boss at the time, didn't like that I hid cherry sours by the cash register and popped one in my mouth now and again when no one was around. But my customer service scores were high, so after a while, instead of telling me to knock it off again and again, the cherry sours simply disappeared. Dang.

So, when Solr books wrote me an e-mail asking me to take down negative feedback about a geometry book I had purchased amazon.com, I wanted to.

They told me how the customer was everything, how they continually strive for customer service, etc. But striving for good customer service and actually delivering it are two different things.

The book wasn't what was described - it was only the first 1/4th of the book. It took weeks to get an e-mail answered. It took longer to get the item returned. I had to ask four times that shipping be refunded both ways. And this is good service? I am supposed to say, "Well, OK, you tried." when in fact, they don't seem to have tried at all, just given it a lot of lip service after the fact.

So, I didn't take the feedback down. I did, however, pay a compliment to another business who was, in fact, delivering good service, which was Macy's. Without question, they took items back I had been meaning to return for months. I believe in Karma, even in retail.

Only 112 of the over 400 pages was in the book!

A bit about Canon

I am thinking of getting a wireless printer. It's Cyber Monday and Wal-Mart has a Canon for $49 with a $10 gift card. But that would require two things that I am against: Wal-Mart, and then having to shop at Wal-Mart again.

When I do get a printer, it will be a Canon. I currently have two Canon cameras and a Canon Pixma printer. I am loyal to Canon because, back in the day I owned a camcorder (remember those?), it broke. I sent it back to Canon and they have a 1x fix it free policy. They fixed it and sent it back to me.

I tried the same thing with two (pre Canon cameras) Fuji cameras. They were my first forays into the digital world. I asked them why both cameras were broken, and did they stand behind them? Fuji wouldn't help in any way. So, they're on my list of companies I won't do business with.

In a blog posting in the Harvard Business Review, Rosabeth Moss Kanter talks about how too many companies are looking at short-term profits, not long-term success. She's right! Those companies that pretend to provide good customer service, but don't, are forever on my grudge list.

Here is the posting, which is especially interesting given the recent demise of Twinkies. Five Self-Defeating Behaviors that Ruin Companies and Careers.

And for eye candy, a picture I took with my Canon point and shoot:

Taken with my Canon point and shoot. Canon is a brand I am loyal to.