James RameyChance are if you’ve recently looked for help while shopping
in a department store, ordered fast food through the drive-thru, purchased
groceries using a self checkout line, or asked technical questions regarding
items at a ‘big box’ retailer, you’ve experienced bad service (and for the
purpose of this rant blog, bad service also includes no service). My own personal experiences as a consumer
have me believing that most companies now consider service to be a ‘luxury
item’ not included in most standard transactions. Whether this ‘no service here model’ is a
result of companies trying to aggressively reduce costs to meet their current
economic conditions or a means of meeting the expectations of price driven
consumers, service is suffering in epidemic proportions.
As a sales professional, the growing trend of ‘no service’ is personally concerning. My livelihood is dependent on providing a value added service to my customers. Like any other professional, I am expected to understand needs; understand concerns; ask questions to clarify points; address constraints; educate and inform about my product; and deliver mutually agreeable solutions. That’s what I do. That’s why I am good at what I do. And thankfully, customers have come to appreciate the high level of service CodeWeavers’ provides throughout the sales process.
As a consumer, I think we all have to be very weary of ‘bad service’. While we all appreciate getting the most for our money, no one claims happiness when they purchase the wrong product for their needs; gets the wrong order in the drive-thru; fails to get a ‘live body’ when calling customer support (or worse fails to get a ‘live body’ they can actually understand on the phone) with their technical questions; or waits for 20 extra minutes for someone to fix the cash register so they can buy their groceries. And while it’s uncomfortable to call out a company on their lack of service, that company needs to know that their bad service isn’t going unnoticed. Likewise, good service needs to be acknowledged and applauded.
Reflecting on service, I am thankful that I work for a company that is driven to provide the highest levels of service it can for its customers. While we are a small (but growing) company, we have invested heavily in providing a support team (MADE UP ENTIRELY OF NINJAS) trained to focus on the needs of the people we call customers. And while trained ninjas may not be unusual in our industry (although I can’t believe everyone employs NINJAS), we receive countless compliments and encouraging responses from customers regarding the service they received from CodeWeavers. And as long as people value good service, we will continue to do our best to deliver it to our customers.
Now, if only I could find someone here in this store to go to the back and see if there is a pair of dress shoes in my size. ANYONE, HELLOOOOOO, ANYONE…. Guess, I’ll have something to talk to the manager about before I go elsewhere.
About James B. Ramey
James B. Ramey is the CEO of CodeWeavers. His life long love of video gaming started at the tender age of six with an Atari 2600 and evolved over time to include Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Apple Mac IIc, Windows PC, and MacBook Pro. When not fiddling with technology, James enjoys cooking, travel, debating politics in the office, and spending time with his wife, daughter, and their two rescue dogs. For the past 20 years, James has worked with clients around the world in best implementing technology to maximize a return on their investment. He is a graduate of Moorhead State University and earned his MBA from the University of Phoenix. You can find James on Twitter at @jbramey.