My wife and I were out this weekend for a little date. A friend had enthusiastically recommended a restaurant, Chevy’s, and Suzanne had eaten there before so she was eager to take me. One problem: any time someone “enthusiastically recommends” something, I’m automatically skeptical. Something in me simply balks at near-unbridled enthusiasm. So I went in with both eyes (critically) open.

Read the rest of this entry »

Last week I wrote about PC Magazine’s redesign of their print edition and some of the readers’ responses. The editors’ response to the feedback was encouraging as well, indicating that, yes, the publication was hearing readers loud and clear. Today I received an e-mail invitation to join PC Mag’s “advisory panel” — coincidence? The message included this paragraph:

Your feedback is incredibly useful to us as we bring you the most complete and exciting magazine devoted to technology and computing at home, at work and on the go. We only invite a small sample of readers to participate in the panel, so your participation is key to our accurately representing the preferences of our readers.

Once again, my hat’s off to this publication.

Technorati Tags: PC Magazine, readers, customer experience

PC Magazine’s print publication recently underwent a significant redesign and readers, as they do, spoke up. New sections on automotive technology and home media (TVs) have been added. In addition, the typeface styles, sizes, and colors have been modified. Some readers like it, some don’t. PC Mag editor Jim Louderback responded in the May 23 issue:

We received a lot of feedback about our new fonts. They are, in fact, bigger, but some still find them less readable. Sorry! We’re increasing the font size, and revisiting some of our color choices to improve readability. We’ll continue to cover PC-style computing in all its forms, but don’t worry. Getting the most out of Windows- and Intel-compatible systems remains at the core of what we do.

How do you win a loyal following? Listen to your customers.

Technorati Tags: customer service, PC Magazine

James Stoup at AppleMatters offers some thoughts on the Apple store experience in contrast with the Wal-Mart shopping experience:

No, Apple is so successful because [it] is the anti-Wal-Mart. It has small stores, staffed with very responsive (on average), well trained, happy people. And the products it sells are [always] of high quality. In addition, Apple offers a wide selection of free services to anyone who walks in [the] door. These services include the [extremely] helpful “Genius Bar” along with lots of kid-friendly activities for busy parents. The results speak for themselves.

The implication is that the profitability of Apple’s stores suggests that its retail model is better than that of Wal-Mart. On the other hand, Wal-Mart is quite profitable as well. Sure, the service at W-M is lousy but the stuff is cheap. At the end of the day, consumers appear to love their everyday low prices irrespective of how they get treated.

Technorati Tags: Apple, Wal-Mart, customer service