Customer service

We stayed at a hotel last night. I called up the telephone, the manager said hello. He said what's eating you, I said that's what I'd like to know. ~ Homer & Jethro

Customer service is always around. It's either great, good, tolerable or awful. I'm always amazed when the service levels are awful. Why? That's why I love "Undercover Boss". The employees don't find out they were working with the CEO until it's too late. Mostly, they find good service, but I did see an episode where they fired a girl. Right on National Television. How do you put that on a resume?

I want to tell you a story about amazing customer service I received recently. We all know how difficult it is to choose the right cable or satellite company to serve our needs.

We had Comcast, and I was OK with them until the bill began getting bigger than Melissa McCarthy. I called to try and get the bill lowered, but to no avail. So, I stopped their service, which didn't phase them one bit. Comcast - F

I then called a Dish Network franchise in Twin Falls, Idaho Magic Valley Satellite. Dish was offering the exact same programming for $49 per month (I was paying $129 to Comcast), with a two year contract that locked in that price, plus we would get a free Ipad! Where do I sign?

So, I signed up with them and told them I wanted the $49 package, with the Ipad. You could either get the Ipad, or have $20 per month taken off each month for the first year. So, the installer came out, as scheduled, was very non intrusive, finished up and, before I signed, I verified that I would pay the $49 per month Ipad package. Yes. Good to go.  Installer - A

Everything was great, except the Ipad didn't arrive. I called Dish Network Corporate, and they told me that I hadn't ordered the $49 package, but the $29 per month first year package. It took me all day to get to the most rude person working in a consumer environment. He said that while he saw THEIR error, there was nothing he could do because it hadn't been reported within ten days. Dish Network Corporate - F

Mind you, it took 4 - 6 weeks for the Ipad to arrive, so how could I report that error within ten days? So, I called Majestic Valley Satellite, in Twin Falls. They looked into it and tried to work with the corporate office, only to get the same response. I thought it was nice of them to make the attempt on my behalf. Majestic Valley Satellite - A

Two days later, the owner of Majestic Valley Satellite called me and said that because I ordered through them and corporate made the error, he was going to personally buy us an Ipad and we still get the $29 price. Amazing! Now, that's what I call World Class Customer Service! We received the Ipad, as promised, and I am a very satisfied Majestic Valley Satellite customer. Majestic Valley Satellite - A+

Those of you who live in Utah and Idaho, look these guys up and NEVER place an order with the corporate offices, always with local dealers.

If you work with the public, please be fair with us. We don't expect world class service, just a fair exchange between customer and company. Is that too much to ask?

See you tomorrow.