Whats your customer #?

[Dave Siciliano]

So I call Jeppesen today to get a one time update for a Northstar M-3 GPS. See, plane’s been in the shop, it’s going back in for a panel upgrade and the M-3 is slated to go away, but the shop can’t take if for a few weeks; so, I’d like to update the data base so I can fly with it ‘til the panel work is done. Don’t want a one-year deal.

Anyway, I try to get the update on Skybound—no can do. Try Jeppesen’s web site—no can do. So, I call Jeppesen and have this wonderful conversation.

Thank you for calling Jeppsen, this is Diana (fictitious to protect the innocent), how may we help you?

Me: I’d like to get a one time update for the data base on my M-3 GPS. I tried doing it on your web site and don’t see it there.
Her: No sir, you can only do that by calling in. Please give me your Jeppesen customer number.
Me: I don’t know my customer number;….. I have a name.
Her: Sorry sir, we can’t go by that, it’s much easier for us to put in a customer number.
Me: We’ll I can’t remember all these random numbers everyone sends me to make it easier for them. My name is David Siciliano.
Her: Well, this will take awhile; I’ll have to look you up.
Me: Do you have an employee number.
Her: I think I do.
Me: Please give me that number so I can put down who I spoke with.
Her: We don’t give those out sir.
Me: Why not? It would be much easier for me to right down than a name!
Her: Oh, here’s your account sir: is your address this..phone that..zip code this.
Me: Yes. Yes. Yes. Yessssssss!
Her: Well sir, your account number is xxxxxx; you’d better write down in case you need something else from us!
Me: How in the world do you expect me to keep track of your number for me when I have 200 other accounts people have given me numbers for? I do remember my name and address.
Her: Well sir, it’s easy to misspell a name or to enter it wrong; some names sound alike or there are several similar ones; much easier if you remember your customer number.
Me: Can I please get a data base update?
Her: Do you still have Skywatch?
Me: Yes.
Her: O.K., I’ll make the file available to you there.
Skip a couple steps.
Her: O.K., I can sent this to you now; your confirmation number is xxxxx; one time update is $176.
Me: What did you say! Did you say $176?
Her: Yes sir. A full year is $375.
Me: Well, forget the whole thing; I thought it might be $30 or $40 dollars.
Her: Sorry sir.
Me: So I have two Garmin regular subscriptions and two Garmin handhelds I update regularly and you want to charge me half a year for an update on the M-3 until I put more Garmins in another plane.
Her: Sorry sir.

Is this crazy or what? So don’t call and try to get anything done without their proprietary number for you.

So they lose a sale where all they had to do was move data to be downloaded! Marginal business just went in the tank. Thank you Jeppesen.

Best,

Dave (Jeppesen account number xxxxxxx!)

 

[bbchien]

Is this crazy or what? So don’t call and try to get anything done without their proprietary number for you.
So they lose a sale where all they had to do was move data to be downloaded! Marginal business just went in the tank. Thank you Jeppesen.
Best,
Dave (Jeppesen account number xxxxxxx!)

Dave, what you need is personal assistant with whom you can trust with all your numbers (can you say bonded?), as in:
"Christine, would you call Jeppesen and get my database updated?" She calls, claims she is you (takes Cahones) gives the information, and it's done.

Priceless.

The world is full of this idiocy.

 

[wsuffa]

Dave,

Jepp really does hose people on one-time updates.

As for the customer service angle, it's ugly everywhere. In another thread I posted a link to a website about AOL. The guy was trying to cancel his AOL subscription, and he recorded the conversation, then posted it on a website.

And don't even think the airlines are any better. It took 20 minutes on the phone with India to avoid a $10 service fee when Delta's website refused to allow me to ticket an "award travel" reservation that I had already made. The regular customer reps can only do it for the $10. If the website screws up and you want to avoid the "phone fee" you have to take 20 minutes of time on the phone with India.

 

[Ken Ibold]

The world is full of this idiocy.

I handle all of my family's "details of living" stuff. So one day I am calling in a refill for one of my wife's prescriptions. Pharmacy says I need the doc to call it in. So I call the doc, identify myself, ask them to call the pharmacy and say it's OK.

"Are you Catherine?"
"Do I sound like Catherine? No. I'm her husband."
"We can't call it in unless she asks us to."
"I see. Can she ask you over the phone?"
"Yes."
"Hold on."
I put her on hold and went and got my 9 year old daughter, instructing her to say she's Catherine and that she wants the prescription refilled. She did. They did. All was right with the world. Sort of.

 

[Richard]

Dave, I have great empathy for you, but don't get me started! Seems like Bruce provided the succint resolution.

 

[gprellwitz]

All was right with the world. Sort of.

I'm lucky, since my wife's name is "Leslie." Since it's gender neutral, I can cover (almost) any business she needs taken care of. With her permission, of course!

 

[gibbons]

Dave, what you need is personal assistant with whom you can trust with all your numbers (can you say bonded?), as in:
"Christine, would you call Jeppesen and get my database updated?" She calls, claims she is you (takes Cahones) gives the information, and it's done.

Priceless.

The world is full of this idiocy.

The true beauty of this solution is that it gets charged to your corporate credit card, which your personal assistant pays, and you never know how much is costs. Your blood pressure remains in the proper range, you get your database update, Jep gets their pound of flesh, and your new personal assistant has a job. Now that's an elegant solution. You go Dr. Bruce!

 

[SkyHog]

Happens all too often, Dave. Its sad.

 

[bbchien]

Now that's an elegant solution.

And of course, what is really happening is that we are being converted into a third world nation. This is how my mother's Father, doing business in Shanghai China in the mid 20s and 30s managed affairs.

 

[jdwatson]

that's the good thing about circles...

I've had good service from Jeppesen. I think they know they have a winning product compared to the "free" stuff out there. I cannot blame them for exploiting it while they can. Isn't that the American way ?

 

[Dave Siciliano]

Dave, what you need is personal assistant with whom you can trust with all your numbers (can you say bonded?), as in:
"Christine, would you call Jeppesen and get my database updated?" She calls, claims she is you (takes Cahones) gives the information, and it's done.

Priceless.

The world is full of this idiocy.

Oh! Beginning to see I'm not in an exclusive club here!

Irony is Claudia is my personal assistant and was on vacation this week--professional at being put on hold---45 minutes to ask the telephone company almost monthly how the bill could be different when we have the same comprehensive plan--taking two days to purchase a refrigerator from Sears when we knew what we wanted before going and just W A N T E D it! Air conditioning repair guy the other day that would arrive sometime between summer equinox and beginning of winter.

In my business, title companies that can't read a contract well enough to do a closing statement; we did everyone over again so long they just call us now and ask for our numbers to do their statement!! Going to a site tomorrow to explain to a "construction guy" how he completely screwed up the grading of a lot. My construction guy explained it to him; my assistant explained it, now the president has to go out (and has called his boss, his bosses boss and now a third echelon mental giant--this guy can't even read a grading plan!!

Anyway, there is a thing called incremental profit. If a hotel has empty rooms late at night, if they rent any additional rooms, for any amount, it's better than leaving the rooms empty. All the overhead is already there. In this case, they just flat missed a sale that they would not otherwise get. That they don't have someone that can look at it that way will come back to get them at some point.

Best,

Dave

 

[bbchien]

Anyway, there is a thing called incremental profit. If a hotel has empty rooms late at night, if they rent any additional rooms, for any amount, it's better than leaving the rooms empty. All the overhead is already there. In this case, they just flat missed a sale that they would not otherwise get. That they don't have someone that can look at it that way will come back to get them at some point.

Best,

Dave

"Incremental profit? Whassat? I get paid no matter what I do...."

Remind me to bonus my staff.....

 

[Steve]

Attempted to register a new cellphone on line tonight (same phone that could only be ordered online)...failed due to "Invalid Serial Number" entered exactly as printed on the box and the phone itself. After several pages of searching for a support email address I found a "question" form that I filled in as follows:

The UTSTARCOM world of better communication does not include a data field in its online registration form that recognizes a valid format for a CDM8910 serial number. 6060022218 is printed on the box my cell phone came in (purchased 6/6/06, possibly an omen in itself) as well as the phone itself yet when entered in the online registration the registration fails due to "Invalid Serial Number." I certainly hope that this does not reflect the "unlimited" service and support I can expect in the future from the UTSTARCOM family of business entities.

The auto-acknowledge states I should get a response within 24 hrs. We shall see what that might be...

 

[wsuffa]

Anyway, there is a thing called incremental profit. If a hotel has empty rooms late at night, if they rent any additional rooms, for any amount, it's better than leaving the rooms empty. All the overhead is already there. In this case, they just flat missed a sale that they would not otherwise get. That they don't have someone that can look at it that way will come back to get them at some point.

The "incremental profit" problem is that there is then no incentive to become a regular (subscription) customer. The airlines used to discount seats for folks who wanted to standby - now they just overbook and charge folks who want a last-minute seat a punitive price. A lot of hotels are getting that way, too, they're going to nonrefundable deposit (see Gaston's string).

Software companies have the same "incremental profit" issue. And folks like Microsoft charge way more for one-off copies than they do for corporate licenses. Look at the profitibility.... and the cash hoard that MS has built.

I'm not condoning what Jepp is doing, on the contrary, I agree with you that their individual update prices are too high for the SkyBound service. They realize that people who need a one-off will pay for it, and those who don't really need it will do without. Jepp is geared to the "big" user. Someday, perhaps, we'll have some competition on the database side.

 

[MauleSkinner]

Ah, the memories this brings back

I had an issue with Jepp a number of years ago relating to my CFI renewal that caused me to opt for another provider.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I got a form letter from Jeppesen, over a photocopy of a stamp of the president's signature, saying that they missed my business (that was actually for another product taht I no longer needed), and if I had any problems, please contact him directly.

Well, that set my blood to pumping and my word processing program to processing! I wrote a nice, two-page letter outlining on page one the trails and tribulations in trying to straighten out the CFI renewal, and page two outlining several other customer-service-related incidents over the previous year (including having to explain how to find the proper subscription AFTER I gave them my customer number), and I sent it off thinking "well, that was a fun exercise".

Whattayaknow...couple of days later, I got a letter (a form letter again, but actually SIGNED) stating that my letter had arrived on the president's desk, with copies forwarded to the appropriate department heads.

Sure enough, a few days after that, I got a call from someone with the longest title I have ever seen in my life. I spent 45 minutes explaining more customer service issues (it was all customer service--I had and have no issues with their products...well, except their 135 training products ).

Unlike most of this type conversation I've had, I actually felt that there was some resolution, and in most cases I've noticed an improvement in their customer service.

Besides, I now have a direct phone number to call and complain if I have more problems

Oh, and no offense to Dave S, but I DO know my customer number...but then I deal with them fairly often.

Fly safe!

David

 

[gmwalk]

Dave,

Jepp really does hose people on one-time updates.

As for the customer service angle, it's ugly everywhere. In another thread I posted a link to a website about AOL. The guy was trying to cancel his AOL subscription, and he recorded the conversation, then posted it on a website.

And don't even think the airlines are any better. It took 20 minutes on the phone with India to avoid a $10 service fee when Delta's website refused to allow me to ticket an "award travel" reservation that I had already made. The regular customer reps can only do it for the $10. If the website screws up and you want to avoid the "phone fee" you have to take 20 minutes of time on the phone with India.

Don't even get me started on the airlines. I just got back from a trip to Palo Alto this week. I took a United red-eye from SFO to Boston; it was completely filled. I had reserved a window seat weeks ago. I got on the plane and took my seat (13a) and I was all settled in when the ticket agent comes to me and says there's a problem with my seat. She said someone else has it reserved and wants it. I show her the boarding pass (it says 13a) I show her my itineray from last week that says 13a. She says that I'm sorry about the problem, but you will have to move. I said to her I have this seat, I have the docs to show I reserved this seat. ---Lots of tense dicsussions ensue, no more window seats available, long story short, to avoid being removed from the plane as a "troublesome" passenger" I take a $50 travel voucher and move to an open aisle seat.

I know the airlines overbook airplanes, but how can they overbook seats! I had even checked in and confrmed that seat and hour before the flight!

 

[gkainz]

I would wonder what criteria would require "you" to move to another seat vs the other guy? That would tend to kinda torque my jaw a little (a little more than all the other crap we get dished out to us via commercial aviation in the last few years)

 

[gmwalk]

I would wonder what criteria would require "you" to move to another seat vs the other guy? That would tend to kinda torque my jaw a little (a little more than all the other crap we get dished out to us via commercial aviation in the last few years)

I don't know why he was more special than me. I was pretty ****ed off about it, but I was getting anywhere with her about it. I was more upset at myself latter for giving in, but I did want to get home.

 

[Greg Bockelman]

I would wonder what criteria would require "you" to move to another seat vs the other guy? That would tend to kinda torque my jaw a little (a little more than all the other crap we get dished out to us via commercial aviation in the last few years)

I was wondering the same thing. I thought possession was 9/10ths the law in that case.

 

[wsuffa]

I know the airlines overbook airplanes, but how can they overbook seats! I had even checked in and confrmed that seat and hour before the flight!

I had the same problem with an airline out of Dallas one time. Gate agent assigned me an aisle seat, all was good to go. They then came on the plane and threatened to have me arrested if I didn't move to a center seat.

Boarding passes mean nothing.

 

[ausrere]

Sounds like a conversation I've been having with a VoIP telephone company. I call and complain that when people call my main number, they get a message that says the number is not a working number. Outbound calls work fine. I call customer service and report the problem. They tell me that tech support would call me back on my main number to trouble shoot the problem. Ahhh...how? I ask. "Oh" she says....they'll call me back on my alternate number to trouble shoot the problem. Two days go by and I get an email from tech support telling me that they have been trying to contact me at my main number, but could not reach me as the number appears not to be a working number. DUH! Morons.