I came across this Internet infograph on the http://www.makeuseof.com/ page and had a couple of thoughts just burst out of my head.

The US ranks 22nd overall in the world in average Internet connection speed. With the highest number of Internet Service Providers, the greatest number of data centers, servers and Web sites hosted, how do we rank so low in average connection speed?

I think that the size of the country has one thing to do with it. We’re a large country compared to the top 10 countries in the average connection speed list. But I don’t think size has everything to do with it. I think when it comes down to it, as much as we want competition to be allowed in business, there’s actually not very much competition taking place. I think we’re seeing a little more of the “set a trend and then follow it” standard by Internet Service Providers. Otherwise I think we’d see offers higher Internet connection speeds. The speeds are there, you can get it for businesses, but for residential Internet connections, the offered packages are subpar.

It’s the same with cell phone providers. I got my first cell phone back in 2000 (yes, I was a late adopter), and my plan back then was 200 minutes a month, free nights and weekends for about $40 per month. Flash forward to 2010 and my cell phone plan it a little bit better but nothing spectacular.  I used to think that by now we’d see unlimited minute plans for $30-40 per month but it’s still not here. I know that there are some providers that have a version of that plan, but it’s not mainstream yet. You’d think that competition would have created these great service packages but the competition hasn’t been as fierce as we’d like it to be.

Anyone over 18 years of age today deals with junk mail. If you don’t get a lot of junk mail you’ve either already taken the chance to opt out of receiving those credit card and other junk offers or if you haven’t then someone at one of your previous addresses is getting all of your junk mail.

Junk mail poses series of problems. Annoyance of every day having your mailbox full of trash is one. The other is the security risk it poses from having unwanted individuals going through your mail or even your trash if you don’t dispose of the junk properly. Dumpster diving, what kids used to do to find useful items that had been thrown away is now the weapon of choice for identity thieves.

I wanted to share 3 quick and free ways to drastically reduce the amount of junk mail and stop those annoying telemarketing calls that we’re plagued with. The following sites offer free ways to opt out of those mailers and put your phone numbers on the telemarketers do not call list.

https://www.optoutprescreen.com

https://www.donotcall.gov

https://www.dmachoice.org

• Don’t feel restricted by policies. If a customer wants a refund after 40 days (10 days past our 30 day refund deadline), just give it to them.
• Requiring a receipt for a return is ludicrous. You have complex systems for tracking inventory, stocking, pricing, serials, etc. yet for me to return something I need to prove that it came from you by showing you a receipt? Please.
• When a customer is frustrated over chat or just isn’t getting it, sometimes it helps to give them a call.
• If a customer is upset, forget the policies. Give them a full refund. Give them extra SANs on their UC cert. Give them a extra time on their cert.
• If a customer is angry that the product doesn’t work like they thought it would (even if it is a known incompatibility), replace it, better yet give them a new product that works free.
• If a customer goes out of their way to write an email and thank us, send them a package with something free.
• Respond quickly to emails and chats. Give customers on the phone the attention that is needed to quickly resolve the problem.

Winning customers centers on the idea that your customers are not just the customers from the moment they walk in the door to your business or visit your Web site, etc. They are the customer 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They are always the customer. Companies have started to treat people as one time customers, and not as life-long customers. People are loyal to themselves first and if you don’t take care of them, they will go elsewhere.

Remember:

• People don’t know good service until they get it. When they receive good service they go “Wow,” and make the choice to switch to the new service provider.
• The customer is NOT always right, but they are ALWAYS the customer.
• Don’t take the easy way out and say NO, find a way to say YES.
• Don’t hide behind a policy, do what’s right.
• 99.6% of the customer were good compared to those that were bad, why create policies to hurt those good customers?
• Nordstroms once took back and refunded a pair of tires. Nordstroms doesn’t even sell tires. They won that customer.
• Just because we make a special situation for one person, doesn’t mean that everyone else will want that too! Make that customer happy.