Does a company's reputation determine if you use them?

~Jessie~

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#21
You are correct that most companies that put out shoddy merchandise could care less to try to fix the problem. However, there are also companies who will make it very obvious that they could care less to fix the issue, which leads to someone having to get pushy to get something accomplished. I wouldn't call that good customer service either. Just my $.02 as always. :)
This is how I feel as well.

Also, if you tell someone from the company that you are unhappy with their products, and then they talk behind your back and turn the situation around on you... well, that wouldn't be a company I'd want to support.

No one should have to argue and push to have to get a refund if they are unhappy with the merchandise they received.

If I ordered a toaster that was supposed to be made out of metal and I get this in the mail, I'd be upset:



And if I call or write to the company and they argue with me about getting a refund, well, that would not make me happy.
 

MisssAshby

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#22
This is how I feel as well.

Also, if you tell someone from the company that you are unhappy with their products, and then they talk behind your back and turn the situation around on you... well, that wouldn't be a company I'd want to support.

No one should have to argue and push to have to get a refund if they are unhappy with the merchandise they received.

If I ordered a toaster that was supposed to be made out of metal and I get this in the mail, I'd be upset:



And if I call or write to the company and they argue with me about getting a refund, well, that would not make me happy.
:popcorn:
 
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#23
You are correct that most companies that put out shoddy merchandise could care less to try to fix the problem. However, there are also companies who will make it very obvious that they could care less to fix the issue, which leads to someone having to get pushy to get something accomplished. I wouldn't call that good customer service either. Just my $.02 as always. :)
On the other side of that is often something we rarely hear about -- the other side: there's a reason for the saying, "buyers are liars." I've caught so many in ridiculous lies in all sorts of different circumstances, whether it was because THEY screwed up and didn't take advice, or they spent money they shouldn't have, or even for the sake of making trouble or just pure malice, even sh1ts and giggles. People are strange on both sides of the counter, but when a company has largely a satisfied clientele you can bet you need to look at the other side for the problem.

The customer isn't always right -- sometimes they're wrong and sometimes they're just assholes.
 

~Jessie~

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#24
Whether or not you think the consumer is in the right or the wrong, pictures say 1000 words.

If I ordered my toaster from Toasty Toasters and Mr. Toast denied sending me a plastic toaster, my camera doesn't lie.

Seriously, if you order this:



and get this:



Then you should NOT be argued with or treated passive aggressively by Mr. Toast. He knows he sent you a plastic toaster that wouldn't toast anything, but still feels the need to defend his product, even though he knows it sucked before it left his warehouse.

And as a consumer, I can easily take pictures of the toaster to show it was not good quality appliance to do what I wanted it to do.
 

~Jessie~

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#26
It was an example :) ... substitute TV, fridge, computer, whatever you want for toaster.

If a company gets a reputation for selling shoddy goods, all I'm saying is that I won't support them.
 

Nefarious

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#27
Absolutely! I would rather spend more and get quality and good customer service than have to deal with someone not taking responsibility for their poor merchandise. I also find it appalling when businesses "sling mud" about their competitors. Nothing will drive me away faster than bad mouthing the competition. Let me be the one to make my own decisions.
 

Dekka

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#28
Ahh I get you. I personally won't buy things that are super over priced. I am happy with well made knock off bags vs over priced name brand things.

I go for quality over 'name'.

LOL I was at Kensington market yesterday, and there were 'diesel' bags for $35. Why pay 135 or more for something that isn't any better quality? LOL I am a poor student.
 

MisssAshby

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#30
Ahh I get you. I personally won't buy things that are super over priced. I am happy with well made knock off bags vs over priced name brand things.

I go for quality over 'name'.

LOL I was at Kensington market yesterday, and there were 'diesel' bags for $35. Why pay 135 or more for something that isn't any better quality? LOL I am a poor student.
The name a business has is typically a direct result of the quality they produce. They go hand in hand with most products.
 

Dekka

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#32
Sometimes, but not always. I have found that a lot of times (in apparel) its fashion. People pay for the name. Yes they can't produce crap, but many businesses charge what people will pay, not what things are worth.

I know of products that are relatively cheap and easy to make that people mark up HUGELY. Like fancy browbands (for horses) you can pay $500 for something that costs maybe 60 dollars in materials and labour.

Shoes are a biggy, the cost of producing them is small, but you pay for advertising and endorsements... not the quality of the product.
 
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#34
The name a business has is typically a direct result of the quality they produce. They go hand in hand with most products.
Not anymore.

We live in a world where people love hype and posturing and buy into whatever they're told is the cool label. It permeates everything, from where we buy our crapburgers to which toothpaste we use to which new car we have to drive and what mattress we sleep on, which athletic shoes we have to have to pretend we're going to run in and what brand of jeans we shove our butts into.

Just look at our politics if you don't think we'll buy anything if it's got the right hype and wears the right clothes and uses the right buzzwords or manages to make us feel like we'll be cooler or hipper than thou if we follow that herd.
 

~Tucker&Me~

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#35
Absolutely, reputation will definitely determine whether I use a company or not.

However, it's also important to be aware that people can have ridiculous expectations and seem to like having something to gripe about. I am careful with who's opinion I am taking because I have personally seen some people shoot down businesses who are reputable because they had one weird/bad experience. And mistakes DO happen... And a reputable company will do what it takes to fix their mistake.

Some of the things people get pissed off about or get their panties in a wad over are just so ridiculous and unreasonable... I work in customer service - I know :yikes:
 

Beanie

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#36
The customer isn't always right -- sometimes they're wrong and sometimes they're just assholes.
It doesn't really matter if the customer is wrong or an asshole, the customer is STILL always right. A while back, we had a listener send an e-mail complaining that "the office was closed WAY before 5pm when I showed up to get my tickets." This was a lie. I was up front until almost 5:05 the day in question, and when I pulled out of the parking lot to go home, I looked over to where the customers park, and there was nobody parked the customer lot at that time. The promotions director was here even later and he said nobody came to the door. Who knows when she really showed up but our best guess is sometime after 5:30.
But we still apologized and made an extra effort to get her tickets to her. The GM even offered to drive out of town and personally deliver the tickets to her.

It really didn't matter that she was wrong. You take care of your customers... you just do. If you don't, that's not good business. It's of course someone's choice as a business owner not to take care of their customers - but it's still not good business. And I wouldn't do business with a place that had that kind of reputation. I've seen people in a business be rude to somebody else, not me, and it still makes me not want to do business there. Nothing is going to stop them from being rude to me too, so why would I? I was as a trial this past weekend and the club chairperson and club secretary were standing outside the ring talking about another exhibitor... and I made a mental note not to ever enter one of their trials again. So unbelievably rude.


Anyway that is slightly off topic, LOL. I suppose the answer to the question is yes, usually. I do have to admit that when I go to Wal-Mart I don't really expect stellar customer service, so it would take quite a poor experience there to make me not want to shop there anymore LOL. I know what I'm getting when I go there...
 

~Tucker&Me~

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#37
It doesn't really matter if the customer is wrong or an asshole, the customer is STILL always right. A while back, we had a listener send an e-mail complaining that "the office was closed WAY before 5pm when I showed up to get my tickets." This was a lie. I was up front until almost 5:05 the day in question, and when I pulled out of the parking lot to go home, I looked over to where the customers park, and there was nobody parked the customer lot at that time. The promotions director was here even later and he said nobody came to the door. Who knows when she really showed up but our best guess is sometime after 5:30.
But we still apologized and made an extra effort to get her tickets to her. The GM even offered to drive out of town and personally deliver the tickets to her.

It really didn't matter that she was wrong. You take care of your customers... you just do. If you don't, that's not good business. It's of course someone's choice as a business owner not to take care of their customers - but it's still not good business. And I wouldn't do business with a place that had that kind of reputation. I've seen people in a business be rude to somebody else, not me, and it still makes me not want to do business there. Nothing is going to stop them from being rude to me too, so why would I? I was as a trial this past weekend and the club chairperson and club secretary were standing outside the ring talking about another exhibitor... and I made a mental note not to ever enter one of their trials again. So unbelievably rude.


Anyway that is slightly off topic, LOL. I suppose the answer to the question is yes, usually. I do have to admit that when I go to Wal-Mart I don't really expect stellar customer service, so it would take quite a poor experience there to make me not want to shop there anymore LOL. I know what I'm getting when I go there...

I think this is a matter of opinion and ONE way to run a company. Example: my dad had a customer who were complete a**holes to him. He runs a business that provides consultations, sells products, and provides ongoing technical support for those products. When said customer refused to pay the bill and argued over the number of hours worked (which btw were very well documented), my dad lost a considerable amount of money. So does he suck it up and agree with this customer because they are 'aways right'?

What he did do was negotiate a different price (so his loss was not AS bad), inform the customer that after this transaction they would have to find another company to use for support, and changed all his company policies to better protect himself and his employees. My dad typically has customers for long-term, and therefore did not have extensive contracts and policies because he liked to believe the best in people and did not think customers would try to cheat him or take him for granted.

People like that, especially in businesses where you create long term relationships, are not worth your time and will create more stress then what the gains are worth.

I think it's a shitty world where the customer is ALWAYS right. It's one thing to be flexible (like the situation you described, Beanie), but you need to stand up for yourself too and know your value and worth.
 
M

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#38
I think this is a matter of opinion and ONE way to run a company.

I think it's a shitty world where the customer is ALWAYS right. It's one thing to be flexible (like the situation you described, Beanie), but you need to stand up for yourself too and know your value and worth.
This. I do not let my customers walk all over me. I'm not a complete asshole, but I'm a lot more likely to go above and beyond if people treat me with a little decency and respect. And you know what I've found? Customers respond to that. Usually for the better. And on the rare occasion that someone decides they'd rather take their business elsewhere... Well, I keep party poppers stocked in all the registers. And we give them a nice sendoff. And no, I'm not making that up.
 
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#39
This. I do not let my customers walk all over me. I'm not a complete asshole, but I'm a lot more likely to go above and beyond if people treat me with a little decency and respect. And you know what I've found? Customers respond to that. Usually for the better. And on the rare occasion that someone decides they'd rather take their business elsewhere... Well, I keep party poppers stocked in all the registers. And we give them a nice sendoff. And no, I'm not making that up.
It's true, her customers love her. And bring her food.
 

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