Friday, September 15
Customer Service: is the letter dead?
I haven't had to deal with too much of what I'd call traditional customer service. I talk to my wholesale accounts and try to be very responsive to them, but I don't have too many individuals contacting me with questions, concerns or comments. On the other side of the coin, I have spent a fair amount of time contacting other companies regarding business products and supplies. I'm usually quite satisfied with the phone interactions that I have.
People in my family have been know to write letters (actual letters, not emails) to companies when they have an issue. These notes seem to often be met with adequate responses. Since the letters are always to large companies, I have assumed that the fact that they wrote (versus emailed or called) might carry some weight with the response team.
I never write letters to this effect, until a week ago. I finally took the time to write to Timberland regarding a change I think they should make to a coat of theirs that I own. I even sent a photo illustrating my point. It was easy, took about 10 minutes, and was an experiment. I wrote because I like the coat and I like the company (click here for a link to their corporate social responsibility page), and I wanted to see how far a letter would take me.
Here's the reply received (email):
People in my family have been know to write letters (actual letters, not emails) to companies when they have an issue. These notes seem to often be met with adequate responses. Since the letters are always to large companies, I have assumed that the fact that they wrote (versus emailed or called) might carry some weight with the response team.
I never write letters to this effect, until a week ago. I finally took the time to write to Timberland regarding a change I think they should make to a coat of theirs that I own. I even sent a photo illustrating my point. It was easy, took about 10 minutes, and was an experiment. I wrote because I like the coat and I like the company (click here for a link to their corporate social responsibility page), and I wanted to see how far a letter would take me.
Here's the reply received (email):
Dear Aaron,Nice note, but it didn't say anything. A letter didn't take me very far.
Thank you for taking the time to contact The Timberland Company. We at Timberland greatly value your feedback and appreciate your time and your insight.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further questions or comments and again, thank you for contacting The Timberland Company.
Sincerely,
Beth
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