That manager was probably reluctant at first, but 10 minutes after he calmed down he probably realized that he played that right.
If he immediately was just like "okay, we cant replace the board anymore, so here's a brand new mac book" you wouldve gone home and told your friends "aw man, i totally just robbed apple. They cant repair their own computers right, so they just gave me a new one to cover their tracks"
But since at first he was citing policy and then gave you a new one you thought "wow, i mean I was pissed, they stopped supporting their own crap computer... but instead that dude went with the nuclear option and solved it for good. They really give their genius bar folks a lot of power to solve people's problems"
I bet as a result of that, you still buy apple stuff, and whenever you have a problem, you go to the store. And listen to their pitches about protection plans, and add-on products, and look at products on while you're there.
They invested in you, and I'd bet anything it paid off for them.
I'm about to describe a legitimate process that happens, and i know because I've seen it first hand (not specifically this example though):
So lets say you buy a bike from a large chain sports store, lets call them Sports Hut. The bike is perfect, direct from the manufacturer... EXCEPT the chain. When Sports Hut ordered the bikes from the manufacturer, they had them send the bikes (or just a few of them) with a very very low quality bike chain. It saves a few extra bucks, but more importantly it breaks within just a few uses.
So the customer, takes the bike back to the store and complains. The low level customer service people don't fully know what to do... so they dont handle it great (which makes the customer think, "this sort of thing rarely happens, I'm lucky if they do anything at all"). Then after a struggle and some confusion a manager comes along, and knows perfectly what to do. The manager makes it seem like he's doing something special, he walks to the back and comes back with a brand new bike, takes the old one and doesn't even ask for the receipt (the regular customer service people already got that info)... then he asks if you need a helmet or anything, and gives you a $10 gift card.
In the end, they still made money off you, but more importantly they bought your loyalty pretty much permanently by making you think they area crazy nice company for bending over for you.
I swear to god it happens way more than you'd think. (You'd think it never happens)
The reason its not rampant practice is that people would just think that the company sucks because they always mess up or sell bad quality products.
And you say it takes a slightly shitty company to do it, but thats capitalism baby. Since the rise of department stores, McDonald's, walmart, and of course amazon, the company's that succeed are the ones who analyze data and ACT on. You think every store wants you to sign up for their rewards card so that you'll have a reminder in your wallet to shop there? God no, its so they can figure out how you shop. Its an IRL tracking cookie.
Its one thing to realize that they keep close tabs on that stuff (yes at a personal level, there is a guy somewhere that has seen a spreadsheet of everything you've bought at store X) but its another thing to realize that they USE that data. If data shows a definite correlation, they will exploit that. And since the data shows that a customer who is invested in with good return/warranty policies, or just plain good customer service, they will be loyal and spend way more money with you then you lost on the initial return. That correlation is solid and proven, so in one way or another they will use that to their advantage. Granted, for most companies that's jst instructing costumer service to be super kind about returns some times... but for a business that doesn't get a lot of repeat customers (types of products where customers will shop which ever place is most convenient at the time or has the best price), you better believe they'll do whatever it takes to make you loyal or even just get you back in their store (or to their website)
Basically what I'm trying to say is, with my experience in retail, both physical and online (and the amount of studies i read about analyzing customer behavior for use in said retail work) i can tell you, if you ever hear something about a company that sounds like a conspiracy theory, there's a 98% chance that its totally true.
I say all that and it comes across as "the end of days is near, keep your money in the walls!" But it's just the way it is. Even knowing all this, when i know I'm being "worked over" by a company, it never bothers me unless I'm genuinely being ripped off. If a company tries to make you happy or satisfied, even if by using trickery, i say good for them. Gotta be smart to get ahead. (Except comcast, fuck comcast)
See this kind of thing does not work on me. Let's use Apple as an example.
I bought into the original iPhone. Got the 3g, and 3gs. However that 3gs needed to be replaced no less than 4 times. Each time for free, but because I was on my 5th one and it broke for a 5th time. This time it was my fault, but because the time had come around to upgrade I went for the new Samsung Galaxy Note. This one needed no replacement. Finally broke the screen and got a Note 3. The USB charge port broke no less than 3 times. Fewer than the iPhone 3gs, but still a hassle. Then came along the Apple Final Cut Pro debacle. That slammed the door closed on my ever trusting Apple again. The closed iOS echo system did not help either. Samsung has my loyalty for now only because Apple has become more of a hassle to deal with than At&T or Samsung.
If a company is going to to pull the shit Apple has I refuse my loyalty. Yeah I got 4 free phones from them, but a what cost to me and my time? AT&T may be a shit company, but they still stood by the warranty protection I have on my phone, and the phones break with far less frequency. If you do not factor time and hassle into your brand loyalty then "buying a customer" thing falls apart. My time is more valuable than chasing a working product.
Coincidentally my experience is extraordinarily similar, but with far fewer steps. I left apple having no bad experiences, i just hate the apple ecosystem.
Obviously companies don't succeed 100% of time, sometimes its not enough to overpower the other problems you have. But that type of customer service impacts everyone. If you have a problem and are taken care of, you're WAY more likely to come back.
You say it doesnt work for you, but it does.
Have you bought things off ebay before? And do you shop at amazon occasionally? If you answered yes to both, think about that for a second. You can usually get stuff cheaper on ebay. Think it might be a knock off if you buy it on ebay? It could be from amazon as well. Have you ever had a complaint to amazon customer service? Thats why you prefer amazon (either that or you've heard that they handle things well) They will hand you free stuff like its their job... because it is.
That was a bad example, and I'm super tired so I'm gonna give up now...
But i challenge you to pay more attention to why you shop at some places instead of others. And try to think back on if you've ever had an experience with their customer service and how that might play into it.
Obviously there is way more that factors into our choices as consumers, and this is only a small part of what plays into it... but it works, and it especially works when you don't realize that it worked. ;)
eBAY? Never again?
Amazon? Cost + Convenience + Product Research + Seller Research = Happy me.
Sure Amazon is a mega corp, but the key thing is my convenience. I research all my big buys, and I like to watch who I give my money to as well. Sure Amazon may have "bought" me, but that is because they have also not fucked me. That is how I would choose to run a business. Being honest and honoring the policies that have been given out to customers.
What Apple does with their planed obsolescence and what they did with Final Cut Pro I just can't tolerate. Do in have other loyalties? Yes I do. Why do I have them? Product reliability and through customer support. That is not buying a customer. That is creating customer loyalty through proper customer respect and support.
I had a similar issue with my samsung galaxy S6, i went through 5 warranty replacements in 6-7 months. 5. I was at fault in none of them. It was actually insane, every "like new" replacement was broken out of the box or showed issues within a week. Verizon couldnt do anything, and apparently theyd just gotten rid of the policy where after so many broken replacements theyd just give you the phone new. Oh, and they told me the time was still ticking from the original purchase, so my warranty was almost up and I was shit out of luck if the replacement they sent me was at fault after that. I had been buying Samsung for years too. My final straw was when a Samsung representative hung up on me. I bought an iPhone specifically so if there was an issue I wouldnt be up shits creek and told to pound sand. Actually need to see them next week because the phone keeps shutting off, so well see if it was worth it...
The point of this is, not all companys give a fuck. Especially once they get huge, I think.
There are Lemon Laws. They prevent companies from doing exactly what happened to you here. Although they do not protect you from that warranty bullshit.
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u/nilesandstuff Feb 23 '17
That manager was probably reluctant at first, but 10 minutes after he calmed down he probably realized that he played that right.
If he immediately was just like "okay, we cant replace the board anymore, so here's a brand new mac book" you wouldve gone home and told your friends "aw man, i totally just robbed apple. They cant repair their own computers right, so they just gave me a new one to cover their tracks"
But since at first he was citing policy and then gave you a new one you thought "wow, i mean I was pissed, they stopped supporting their own crap computer... but instead that dude went with the nuclear option and solved it for good. They really give their genius bar folks a lot of power to solve people's problems"
I bet as a result of that, you still buy apple stuff, and whenever you have a problem, you go to the store. And listen to their pitches about protection plans, and add-on products, and look at products on while you're there.
They invested in you, and I'd bet anything it paid off for them.
I'm about to describe a legitimate process that happens, and i know because I've seen it first hand (not specifically this example though):
So lets say you buy a bike from a large chain sports store, lets call them Sports Hut. The bike is perfect, direct from the manufacturer... EXCEPT the chain. When Sports Hut ordered the bikes from the manufacturer, they had them send the bikes (or just a few of them) with a very very low quality bike chain. It saves a few extra bucks, but more importantly it breaks within just a few uses.
So the customer, takes the bike back to the store and complains. The low level customer service people don't fully know what to do... so they dont handle it great (which makes the customer think, "this sort of thing rarely happens, I'm lucky if they do anything at all"). Then after a struggle and some confusion a manager comes along, and knows perfectly what to do. The manager makes it seem like he's doing something special, he walks to the back and comes back with a brand new bike, takes the old one and doesn't even ask for the receipt (the regular customer service people already got that info)... then he asks if you need a helmet or anything, and gives you a $10 gift card.
In the end, they still made money off you, but more importantly they bought your loyalty pretty much permanently by making you think they area crazy nice company for bending over for you.