Linda's Marketing Leverage Blog

That really WAS easy!

I placed a small order online with Staples yesterday. Expected delivery in 3-5 business days. It showed up on my doorstep today, less than 24 hours from when I placed it. This was free shipping, too--not any kind of expedited extra-charge delivery.

There are a couple of key points here:

• Great customer service really does make you stand out from the pack
• Set expectations lower, then when you exceed them you look great. (If they'd told me it would be here in 24 hours, I'd have been skeptical and disappointed if they were late).

You Can't Make This Stuff Up!

Ever wonder how clueless some businesses can be about customer service, basic business strategy and lacking in just plain common sense?

Check out this list of the 101 Dumbest Moments in Business, courtesy of Business 2.0 Magazine.

My favorite (although it was hard to choose) is the Comcast cable repair guy who falls asleep on a customer's couch, while waiting over an hour on the phone for support help from HQ. The customer records this and puts the video out over the web. The cable guy is fired, but we don't know whether or not the customer ever got his system fixed.