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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: customer service

customer service stories: 14 news summaries

Lawsuit Hits BoA for '1,784 Billion, Trillion Dollars'

Man requests cosmic sum to compensate for bad customer service

Sep 25, 09 4:46 PM CDT
(Newser) - An angry customer is suing Bank of America for "1,784 billion, trillion dollars" over service he found less than satisfying, Reuters reports. Dalton Chiscolm filed the suit for "inconsistent information from a 'Spanish woman,'” a judge says. "He apparently alleges that checks have been rejected... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Bank of America • lawsuit • frivolous lawsuits • customer service

10 Webapps Worth
Tweeting About

Create chatrooms and manage voicemail with these lesser-known programs 

Sep 19, 09 5:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - Not all webapps are blessed with Twitter’s marketing push and word-of-mouth, so Lifehacker profiles a few worth tweeting about:
  • TinyChat: Connect with up to 12 people using live video in a chatroom. The rooms aren’t password-protected for non-paying chatters, but did we mention it’s all for
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Internet • iPhone • smartphones • voicemail • customer service • Web apps • Twitter

(Newser) - Having workers in their golden years is key to the Golden Arches' success, according to a British study. Researchers found that customer satisfaction levels were 20% higher in outlets where people over 60 were employed. The boost comes from the older workers' better people skills, strong work ethic, and influence... More »

MORE ABOUT:
elderly • McDonald's • age • fast food industry • customer service • employee

(Newser) - Many credit card users are getting to the register only to discover that their cards have been canceled—without a word of warning, the Wall Street Journal reports. With credit tightening, many issuers give only a cursory rationale for the drops, and then only by mail weeks later. And... More »

MORE ABOUT:
credit card • credit market • credit crisis • customer service

(Newser) - United Airlines’ dismal service and financial stature may soon send it to Chapter 11, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a “teachable moment,” Shaun Rein writes in Forbes. Herewith, three lessons:
  • Loyal customers return: "Consumers are more price sensitive in this economy,
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
bankruptcy • airline industry • United Airlines • transportation • air travel • customer service • employees • morale • brand loyalty

 Struggling Airlines 
 Pitch Clean(er) Planes 

As customers become more valued, so does customer service

Jan 29, 09 1:48 PM CST
(Newser) - United Airlines used to give its planes’ interiors a thorough cleaning only every 6 months to save cash. But with carriers now fighting for every passenger, cleanliness has become a crucial weapon, the Chicago Tribune reports. Some United planes now get “heavy” cleans every two weeks. “People don’... More »

MORE ABOUT:
United Airlines • recession • air travel • airline passengers • airplane • customer service • financial crisis • cleanliness • customer loyalty

Picking Up on Frustration, Call Centers Move Back Home

Dell support defeats language barrier

Dec 11, 08 12:28 PM CST
(Newser) - A new service from computer-maker Dell spotlights a customer-service trend: US-based call centers catering to American consumers. Dell users frustrated by language-barrier-induced difficulties they’ve encountered while on the line to India or the Philippines can pay $12.95 per month, the Washington Post reports, for access to a domestic... More »

MORE ABOUT:
outsourcing • call center • Dell Inc • customer service • tech support

(Newser) - A diner who leaves a 10% tip these days is likely a tightwad, a tourist, or a victim of terrible service, but that same 10% tip would have been perfectly acceptable in the '50s. The going rate for gratuities has steadily crept up over the decades, studies find, hitting 15%... More »

MORE ABOUT:
servers • restaurant • tipping • customer service

analysis

 Outsourcing Still Alive and Well 

Rising costs of business are more powerful than 'backshoring' trned

Oct 22, 08 9:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - Reports of the death of outsourcing have been greatly exaggerated, three specialists in the field write in strategy+business. While a few big companies such as Dell and Apple have scaled back on customer service operations overseas, these decisions remain the exception to the rule, no matter what you read in... More »

MORE ABOUT:
outsourcing • Globalization • customer service • offshoring • backshoring • backsourcing

Big Brother Is Watching...
and Talking Back

Comcast redefines customer service by reaching out to bloggers

Jul 25, 08 8:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - Some bloggers who have vented online about their Comcast cable service have gotten a surprising—and, for some, a creepy—response: a reply from a customer service agent. Like a growing number of companies, Comcast monitors social network sites, public blogs, and message boards for complaints, but now it's taking... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Comcast • message boards • blogger • cable industry • customer service • complaints

Troubled Sprint Woos
Angry Subscribers

New CEO tries personal approach
with customers, staff

Jul 8, 08 9:52 AM CDT
(Newser) - Facing upset customers, merger fallout, and peeved execs, Sprint’s new CEO started the job with his work cut out for him. The company has the sector's highest rate of customer dissatisfaction. But by getting personal with patrons and employees, new boss Daniel Hesse is fighting to save the company,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
cell phones • Sprint Nextel • telecommunications companies • customer service • Daniel Hesse

Sprint Tries
to Open Up
to Customers 

Struggling telco's CEO seeks suggestions for improvement

Jun 9, 08 10:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - You won’t get Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse if you email “Dan@Sprint.com,” but you will get the company’s attention, reports the New York Times. In an ad campaign designed to get Sprint in touch with its customers, Hesse asks “If you could change... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Sprint Nextel • Sprint • wireless industry • customer service • Dan Hesse

OPINION

 Pushy Waiters
 Should Put
 a Cork in It 

Overzealous waiters can kill an evening of good wine

May 28, 08 3:08 PM CDT
(Newser) - Barbaric waiters are storming the dinner table, "butting in and pouring wine without being asked" and expecting diners to hurry up and pony up to replace the drained bottle, laments Christopher Hitchens in Slate. Leaving punchlines and evenings in tatters, their unsolicited interruptions aren't just a sign of bad... More »

MORE ABOUT:
wine • eating • manners • customer service • etiquette • customs

Friendly Service Cuts Bank Robberies

FBI finds personal attention unnerves would-be felons

Jan 6, 08 12:50 PM CST
(Newser) - Bank employees are thwarting robbers in Washington state, not with steel bars or alarms—but with broad smiles and enthusiastic handshakes, reports the Seattle Times. The number of bank robberies in the state reached a 20-year low thanks to FBI training program "Safecatch," which teaches bank personnel to... More »

MORE ABOUT:
crime • Bank of America • Washington • bank robbery • Safecatch • First Mutual Bank • customer service

14 Stories


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