The difference between BIG and small business.

I’ve had a bunch of customer service experiences lately, good and bad.

The good? Dealing with NewEgg.com.  A few weeks ago I ordered an HD-DVD drive for my Xbox.  When the shipment arrived, I received not 1, but 2 drives.  I of course notified NewEgg of the mistake, and they promptly responded with an RMA and a pre-paid shipping label.

The bad? Middletown Motors (formerly Middletown Volkswagen) – dealing with a representative who simply didn’t care about the issues with my car or being courteous in the least.  Redeemed by the OWNER of the company calling me personally to apologize and sort things out.

The ugly?  Best Buy.  Calling a representative in regard to a price match refund, and dealing with someone who either intentionally or by corporate mandate twisted the policy to make sure I did not get my refund.  My complaint?  It received a canned response.  No real attempt to resolve the issue – just a response saying that they keep track of customer comments so they can track trends and find places to improve.

I’m not sure if NewEgg is as big as Best Buy, but going on my personal experiences with both – the customer service at the Egg is far superior.  They’re prompt, courteous, and attentive.  They’re still hungry – as most small businesses are.  Same with Middletown Motors – they’re a small business – when they address a complaint they do it personally.

Quite frankly, I doubt I’ll ever do business with a company that provides canned responses.  I might pay more by using the little guy (in some cases) but at  least when I call or email them I will have a human being on the other end of the line and not a robot.   That’s the difference between BIG and small business.  With BIG business, you’re a number.  With small, you’re still a person.

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