January is normally the slowest month for retail sales. Thank God! Ironing out the kinks of a newly created anything is tough. Ironing out the kinks of this new store is especially taxing, since the combination of slow download/upload speed, even slower PC performance, entirely new area of eBay I’m unfamiliar with, new interface rules to remember, etc., means I have little time to spend on customer service.
Yes, I’ve made a couple of sales. The first was to a total newbie, from Italy, no less – first purchase, no feedback. The second alerted me to a major goof-up in my instructions for downloading eBooks, which meant revising all my listings to give the RIGHT instructions for downloading my files.
Now I’m off to the bank to open another account for PayPal micropayments on sales of less than $12 US. I’m sure there are more headaches ahead, but I’m looking forward to the eventual automation of so much that I am doing by hand – and foot!
Showing posts with label customer service. Show all posts
Showing posts with label customer service. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Another customer service tale.
After a busy, productive day with much good feedback from others online, I drop by the corner market just before work. I chat with the counterman, who's the spitting image of a guy who is the most miserable person I've known in quite a while. As I turn to leave, Bill, the counterman asks, "You have a minute?"
My default response, when asked this is, to silently start counting down: 59, 58, 57, until I reach 0 and cut 'em off in midsentence. Bill reaches into his pocket and says, "You made a purchase a few weeks ago." He pulls out his wallet. "You forgot your change." He handed me a five dollar bill.
This made my day. Talk about each employee being a "brand manager"! And his name! Oh, the irony/synchronicity!
My default response, when asked this is, to silently start counting down: 59, 58, 57, until I reach 0 and cut 'em off in midsentence. Bill reaches into his pocket and says, "You made a purchase a few weeks ago." He pulls out his wallet. "You forgot your change." He handed me a five dollar bill.
This made my day. Talk about each employee being a "brand manager"! And his name! Oh, the irony/synchronicity!
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Growing by leaps, bounds and short hops - not necessarily in that order.
Hit several landmarks today. In eBay:
•Made the Top 5,000 Reviewers - funny, that makes the little icon thingie smaller. How about the top 000,000,005,000?
•Got my new feedback "star". I am unsullied, at this point. No negatives.
From eBay:
•Found a self-financing business strategy which I had posited MUST exist. Replies from the Universe can be swift and apposite.
•Got some more eBooks with resale rights that actually appear resellable. Found others that showed me what NOT to do in terms of listing, re-branding, etc.
•Met a crazy guy from the Netherlands that practically fell all over himself to oblige me, customer service-wise. See post below this one.
The biggest leap forward is the change in type and kind of attention I've been getting, both here and in other venues. At first, it was friends and family. Now it's those who are new to me, curious, a little wary and much more experienced in dealing with open online environments. Most of my online experience was in static domains, where I was a big fish in a small pond. Here, one needs to be more circumspect and definitely less arrogant than I am accustomed to. I may have a lot to be arrogant about, but myriads upon myriads here trump me!
Hmm, maybe the humility thing is the biggest leap. Nah, I'll tackle that tomorrow!
•Made the Top 5,000 Reviewers - funny, that makes the little icon thingie smaller. How about the top 000,000,005,000?
•Got my new feedback "star". I am unsullied, at this point. No negatives.
From eBay:
•Found a self-financing business strategy which I had posited MUST exist. Replies from the Universe can be swift and apposite.
•Got some more eBooks with resale rights that actually appear resellable. Found others that showed me what NOT to do in terms of listing, re-branding, etc.
•Met a crazy guy from the Netherlands that practically fell all over himself to oblige me, customer service-wise. See post below this one.
The biggest leap forward is the change in type and kind of attention I've been getting, both here and in other venues. At first, it was friends and family. Now it's those who are new to me, curious, a little wary and much more experienced in dealing with open online environments. Most of my online experience was in static domains, where I was a big fish in a small pond. Here, one needs to be more circumspect and definitely less arrogant than I am accustomed to. I may have a lot to be arrogant about, but myriads upon myriads here trump me!
Hmm, maybe the humility thing is the biggest leap. Nah, I'll tackle that tomorrow!
A customer service tale.
It's nice when you get more than you paid for. It's even better if you find an "aha" moment, and connect with someone. I was poking around eBay in the eBook category, and found a listing for 9 recipes for 1 cent. I duly made my purchase, only to find that the "eBook" was actually a list of links to the seller's Guides for recipes. I was a bit taken aback, then intrigued. This seller had just monetized his Guides. See my post below, "2007 - I'm ready".
After a bit of messaging back and forth, the seller gave me a 99 cent refund! That's 98 more penny eBooks I can buy! I also contacted eBay about the listing, wondering if it's okay to auction off your own Guide. The thought never occurred to me. I hope he PUTS THOSE GUIDES BACK UP, PRONTO! The Guides weren't any kind of violation.
It turns out the seller is a young guy in the Netherlands, who is addicted to eBay, generally buys and has a Chinese eBay store. I don't think he's Chinese - offering an eBay store in Chinese is free for a year! Plus, he's a bit NUTS! I like him a lot. Anybody who has an animated .GIF of Einstein can't be all bad!
If it turns out that auctioning off your own Guides is legitimate, I may have found a self-funding income stream. I just won't call them eBooks. That's neither here nor there, really.
The real value of this whole experience is the connection. The world really is flat.
After a bit of messaging back and forth, the seller gave me a 99 cent refund! That's 98 more penny eBooks I can buy! I also contacted eBay about the listing, wondering if it's okay to auction off your own Guide. The thought never occurred to me. I hope he PUTS THOSE GUIDES BACK UP, PRONTO! The Guides weren't any kind of violation.
It turns out the seller is a young guy in the Netherlands, who is addicted to eBay, generally buys and has a Chinese eBay store. I don't think he's Chinese - offering an eBay store in Chinese is free for a year! Plus, he's a bit NUTS! I like him a lot. Anybody who has an animated .GIF of Einstein can't be all bad!
If it turns out that auctioning off your own Guides is legitimate, I may have found a self-funding income stream. I just won't call them eBooks. That's neither here nor there, really.
The real value of this whole experience is the connection. The world really is flat.
Sunday, December 24, 2006
A "little" eBay business? There's no such thing!
While some people think eBay is nothing more than the biggest yard sale in the world, the truth is that no business is a "little" business. That mindset means that you don't think much of yourself, your customers or your reputation.
If you have no previous retail experience, it's understandable that you might not believe that you are as important as the biggest retailers - but you are! For one thing, your customers are the same - they are people. These people have one thing in common: they are the most important people in the world, to themselves. They expect (and demand) to be treated as if they are the most important people in the world. In other words, "the untrammeled selfishness of the retail customer cannot be underestimated."
It used to be true that being a "go-getter" was the most important mindset for a person who wanted to succeed in life. That's changed. The most important mindset is that of a "go-giver". The more you offer your customers in good value, help, freebies and good communication, the more you can expect return business. Fast replies to questions, reasonable return policies and generosity of spirit make you valuable to those who not only buy from you, but recommend you to others.
Take the time to hunt around for information on retailing, managing a business, doing research, etc. Take a course or seminar on running a small business. Talk to business owners about their business (especially if you frequent thrift shops, flea markets, consignment stores and the like). Find out what the day to day concerns of face-to-face business owners are, because they'll often be the same for you.
Perhaps you might take a step back and ask yourself, "What am I trying to accomplish?" Most of the things we do are means to an end. What are your end values? Mine are Harmony, Trust and Fulfillment. Struggling to find out what, in the end, is most important to you is a worthwhile struggle. The end result will inform you as to the best way to use eBay to reach your end values.
I sincerely hope this helps.
Vince
If you have no previous retail experience, it's understandable that you might not believe that you are as important as the biggest retailers - but you are! For one thing, your customers are the same - they are people. These people have one thing in common: they are the most important people in the world, to themselves. They expect (and demand) to be treated as if they are the most important people in the world. In other words, "the untrammeled selfishness of the retail customer cannot be underestimated."
It used to be true that being a "go-getter" was the most important mindset for a person who wanted to succeed in life. That's changed. The most important mindset is that of a "go-giver". The more you offer your customers in good value, help, freebies and good communication, the more you can expect return business. Fast replies to questions, reasonable return policies and generosity of spirit make you valuable to those who not only buy from you, but recommend you to others.
Take the time to hunt around for information on retailing, managing a business, doing research, etc. Take a course or seminar on running a small business. Talk to business owners about their business (especially if you frequent thrift shops, flea markets, consignment stores and the like). Find out what the day to day concerns of face-to-face business owners are, because they'll often be the same for you.
Perhaps you might take a step back and ask yourself, "What am I trying to accomplish?" Most of the things we do are means to an end. What are your end values? Mine are Harmony, Trust and Fulfillment. Struggling to find out what, in the end, is most important to you is a worthwhile struggle. The end result will inform you as to the best way to use eBay to reach your end values.
I sincerely hope this helps.
Vince
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