Executives of the World: You Can't Hide, So Don't Try

July 27, 2008
I read any number of blogs on a daily/weekly/monthly basis, and am constantly cycling them out of my Reader as they lose relevance, become stale etc. One that I haven't been able to shake is The Consumerist -- basically, it's a very well-read blog ...

I read any number of blogs on a daily/weekly/monthly basis, and am constantly cycling them out of my Reader as they lose relevance, become stale etc.

One that I haven't been able to shake is The Consumerist -- basically, it's a very well-read blog dedicated to sticking up for the consumer. Posts include PR disasters of various kinds (note to manufacturers: the standard response of "We're taking this very seriously" ensures that a Consumerist article will be written about your company, which has the opposite effect of what corporate management intends). These tales of tracking down and solving thorny customer service problems and warranty issues are often darkly humorous, but the blog seeks to instruct as well as entertain, and recently posted this "how-to" primer on becoming a "customer service ninja."

For public companies, put the stock ticker symbol in Google Finance and pull up the profile page. The corporate office should be listed under Company Facts.
Call the corporate office.
Ask for a transfer to the office of the CEO.
You will likely get an exec. assistant but that's good. Voice mail is ok, too.
Give succinct summary, including identifying details like order numbers and confirmation numbers.
Remain nice.

"Within a day, you should get the phone call equivalent to the holy graila call back by someone on the executive service team."

Just as you are trying to get granular information on your customer, they have vast amounts of information about you, and if they want to apply this knowledge to get a message back to the source, then they will find a way. (And they may not always follow that last bullet point.)

Are you aware of this, and are you resourcing it?

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