Doug
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12:45:11 am on May 11, 2001 | # |
I’ve been on an unexpected hiatus the last week or so. This has been due to a combination of my new computer being delvered and a nasty summer head cold I managed to acquire from somewhere. The computer is great; the cold considerably less so. Between the two of them, I ended up being unable to post much for a few days.
Unfortunately, I’m not having a particularly good night tonight, either. Thursday evening appears to be a banner night for telemarketers for some reason. Even more frustrating was tonight’s interaction with the Science Fiction Book CLub, where I’ve been a member for twelve years. What’s the deal with companies these days? We’re deluged with more and more advertising and marketing every day, companies go to extreme efforts to milk every last conceivable penny of profit out of us, but the quality of service we receive just keeps going down. It may be quixotic on my part, but I just refuse to stand for it. Here’s the text of the e-mail I sent tonight to the editors at SFBC:
“Dear SFBC staff:
I have been a member of the SFBC for about a dozen years now. I fulfilled my book comittment years ago, and have stayed with the Club because of the quality hardcover books you’ve always offered at great prices, and the excellent customer service. There have been many times when I’ve seen a newly release book that I want in a bookstore, but passed it by in order to buy it through SFBC.
Unfortunately, today’s SFBC is not the SFBC I joined many years ago. Things seem to have changed, and not for the better. At the end of last year, I suddenly started receiving e-mail inexplicably inviting me back to the Club, claim that “things have not been the same since you’ve been gone!” Since I’d never left, I found this to be a bit odd. After a couple of months had passed, I noticed I hadn’t received any mailing from SFBC in quite some time. I logged on to the Club web site, only to discover that somehow I was no longer a member!
After repeated attempts to actually reach a live person at the in-aptly named Member Service Center resulted in endless chains of phone menus but no person I could speak to about my membership, I e-mailed Member Services. After a couple of days, my account was reactivated, and I began receiving mailings again.
As frustrating as your phone system was, I could accept one error in 12 years. Mistakes happen, it did get cleared up, and I was ready to forget it. Then the e-mailing started. Twice a week or so I began to get notices of “Special Offers” in my Inbox. Since I didn’t recall ever giving SFBC permission to dump SPAM in my e-mail, I was a little annoyed at this. After a few weeks of receiving SPAM, you sent me an e-mail survey asking my opinion about the e-mail marketing. “Ah hah!” I thought, “Here’s my chance to tell them to stop!” Imagine my surprise when the question about how often I wanted to receive e-mail advertisments from you didn’t include the choice “Never!”
Nonetheless, I was resigned to continue getting your SPAM, since I did have a business relationship with you and it’s no more than every other company is doing these days. I still enjoyed the books and the great prices, so I’d just grin and bear it.
A couple of weeks ago, I received you latest mailing. After looking through it, I decided not to purchase any of the Featured Selections, but did have an interest in the latest Linda Nagata book, “Limits of Vision.” As I’ve done the past couple of years, I jumped on the web site and clicked on the Members Area link to respond to the mailings. The site timed out; I couldn’t view the page. I tried again, and again. Still no luck. I could access other sites, but not the Members Area of SFBC.com. I waited a couple of days. I’m a technology professional, so I know sites and servers can occasionally be down. Still no luck. After several more tries, I finally managed to access the site and log in. Unfortunately, now that I was in, I was told there were no Featured Selections for this account! There was no way I could complete my order.
Since I’d already thrown away my return envelope (I haven’t needed one for two years), I now had no choice but to try and navigate the maze of the Member Service Center phone system. I called the number on the back of the order form. Instead of ringing, I hear a phone company recording telling me the number has been changed. As you might imagine, my frustration was increasing by the minute. I read for relaxation and pleasure, and dealing with SFBC was turning into an exercise in neither.
I called the new number, and immediately entered the IVR system. I pressed the options that should have allowed me to speak to a human, but was told no people were available - I should call back during the hours that I normally am at work. Incredibly, rather than returning me to the menu to make another choice, the IVR system hung up the phone. I called back, navigated the system to refuse the Featured Selections, but decided to definitely NOT order the Linda Nagata book. After all, Dealing with SFBC to place a simple order had already consumed at least an hour of my time and cost me two long-distance phone calls. That’s too high a price to pay for a book I can order from Amazon with a single mouse click.
I apologize for the length of this note, but I wanted you to understand what my experience has been like as one of your customers in the last few months. Rather than treating me with the respect and attention a long-term customer should expect, you’re choosing to deluge me in marketing material I don’t want and making it more and more difficult to do business with you. I can’t imagine my experience is unique, either. I’ve been in business long enough to know that for every customer who tells you they’re upset, there’s ten who don’t say anything and just take their business elsewhere. Fool that I am, I’m hoping that this letter will provoke positive action that allows me to remain a member, rather than a lot of platitudes about how moving the Member Services Center has resulted in confusion, etc.
From the Member newsletters, I’ve always had the impression that SFBC editors were genuine SF fans, with a real interest in and concern for the members. I’ll eagerly await your response to see if I’m right about this. You’ve lost a sale, I hope you don’t have to lose a member.
Sincerely,
Doug Miller”
I should add that while I was on the phone for the first call to Member services tonight, trying to madly scamble for something to write their new number down, Ameritech chose to break in with an advertisement for Caller ID, making it totally impossible to actually hear the new number from the recording. Has every company in the country gone insane?
I’m getting very, very tired of all these marketing droids being constantly in my face, constantly clamoring for my intention, constantly interrupting me and pulling me away from things I think are more important than whaatever message of the moment they’re spewing. I’m tired of all the money being spent on these hollow marketing campaigns while functions like customer service and quality are starved for resources, cash, and qualified people. It’s insane that I should have take extreme steps, and buy extra products and services (like Caller-Id and Privacy Guard) to keep the people from invading my home, my time, and my peace of mind. It’s certainly a joke that our elected representatives, when faced with a choice between legislation that protects consumer privacy and legislation that allows even more invasion of our lives by the leeches, they will unerringly chose to support the leeches.
So, I’m declaring war. From here on out, every opportunity I have to make a stink about this I’m going to. I’m going to pass out copies of The Cluetrain Manifesto and ask telemarketers how much they’re willing to pay me to hear their pitch. I’m going to write letter, both to companies and to my representative. I’m going to do my damnedest to be a crotchety old man towards all these idiots. And the next time I meet someone with a Marketing MBA, I think I’ll knee him in the groin.
