December 2008 - Otis Regrets... or not

Need customer service? Call a salesperson.

So I got a new iPhone for Christmas! Gift from my wife, but it’s hard to handle somebody else’s details so placed the order myself… a refurbished 16 GB from AT&T at a $50 savings, with guaranteed 2 day delivery, what could be better? But when the phone did not arrive today as promised, I realized such smooth service from a wireless company was too good to be true. And took a leap into the AT&T customer service rabbit/rat hole.

I jumped in by clicking through to the “order status” link on my confirming email. The web site said ATT had no record of that order. I called the customer service number on the email (800-331-0500) and after I provided much information to gain access to a rep, got a recording “we are unable to transfer your call.” Here’s an idea! I have a landline account so I’ll login in that way and see if I can talk to somebody. I get a message “we are unable to accommodate your request at this time.”

So I am stuck, right? No, I have one avenue left which is where I recommend you go whenever you are met with a customer service roadblock: call the SALES department. Unlike customer service or tech support, they will always have plenty of people to answer their phones. And they have the clout to get in through a back door to the customer service department when a lowly customer would be denied.

The sales guy was prompt and helpful. My order did exist but its status was “pending” because of “credit review”… this for a 20 year AT&T customer who never has paid a bill late. He cancelled the order for me and I guess we are both better off. Though in this economy it would certainly seem that AT&T would want a few thousand dollars in guaranteed commitment from me.

Macworld is dead

Trade shows are a bonanza for the tech-focused copywriter. In a couple of frenzied days you can see dozens of presentations, stuff several tote bags full of competitive literature, and eavesdrop to see what makes your target prospect’s face light up when the demo guy presses the hot buttons related to blade servers or email encryption or some similar arcane topic.

Sadly, in person trade shows are getting harder to justify when it’s so easy to just get information online and see demos on YouTube. Comdex was my favorite show but it took a hiatus after 9/11 and never came back. Networld/Interop kept shrinking to smaller and smaller spaces at the Las Vegas Convention Center and eventually moved to the Mandalay… still cool t-shirts, though. And now Apple announces it is pulling out of the Macworld show held annually in San Francisco in January.

Macworld was always an odd duck to me, being a Mac user. Back in the 90s when a guy nicknamed “Der Diesel” ran the company, it was mainly a place to pick up software bargains. (This was before online commerce.) There’s very little sold on the floor in recent years and it has a very cultish feel, with a huge Apple temple that occupies about a third of the space and thousands of people lined up to try the newest laptop or music device which they could just as easily find out about in an Apple store. The sponsor, IDG, says the show will go on without Apple but no way. Stick a fork in it, it’s done.

Meanwhile, I am off to the Consumer Electronics Show in a couple weeks which though down a bit from its peak, has prospered by absorbing castoffs from other shows. Now you can see many of the more businesslike IT vendors alongside the robots, gamers and giant screen TVs.

Meme marketing with Netflix

My wife’s always been in charge of our Netflix queue, but I recently got my own account. This gave me the opportunity to discover something most folks are very familiar with—what it feels like to peel back that red sheet as the first step toward a positive experience.

Opening the Netflix envelope is a meme—a cultural experience that can be readily understood and transferred from one individual to another. And it can be useful to marketers because when you understand a meme, you can piggyback on it to present your own message in a way that echoes that meme.

I paid close attention to how you deal with that end seal and the slight confusion (for that first-timer) of opening the flap in a way that would not destroy the postage paid envelope used to send the DVD back. I lingered on the tear-off sheet I was discarding, wanting to make sure I did not throw away something that might be either an order confirmation or a savings coupon.

So here’s an idea. What would happen if you sent out a direct mailing in a similar format to the Netflix envelope, maybe selling a magazine subscription? You wouldn’t want to fake the look of the Netflix… you’d get sued, plus recipients would be angry at the bait and switch. Rather, you’d echo key components of the experience—like the feeling of peeling back the flap.

You might get a positive subliminal reaction… the reader sniffing something good in the offering… that would translate to a better opening rate for your mailing and a more careful reading. If you did it right, people wouldn’t notice at all you were emulating Netflix. That’s good meme marketing.