Consumer Maven

HSBC Credit Card Penalizes Good Payment Practices

I have a friend who went through his own severe economic downturn several years ago.  Disabled after an accident, unable to work and stuck with many, many medical bills, he slowly got rid of his debt, but not without a disastrous effect on his credit ratings.  Things were so bad for him that at one time in his life, he cancelled all his credit cards.  I encouraged him to at least get one card, in the hopes that if he were ever able to be able to fly or drive again, he would need a one.  The way our world works, one really needs to have at least one credit card.  The down side of cancelling your cards and not having good credit is that it becomes difficult to get another card. 

Enter HSBC Bank, otherwise known to a different generation as Household Finance.  After years of struggling, my friend was finally able to get himself on his feet, albeit slowly.  He applied for a HSBC Platinum Card.  He's had this card for about two years.  He has never missed a payment, in fact, he pays his balance off and has never incurred interest expense.  Because of his past financial problems, he checks his online balance twice a month and often, by the time he receives the hardcopy of HSBC's bill for his Platinum Card, the online balance is already zero. 

When he first obtained the HSBC card, his credit limit was rather low, at about $500.  Through his excellent and fastidious payment practices, as of the end of December, 2008 he worked his way up to a credit limit of $4,000.  This was as a result of always paying on time and never being late, much less never incurring interest expense on his part. 

You would think my friend should be rewarded for his fastidiousness.  He has been penalized.  He just called me and he was terribly angry and upset.  He went to make an online purchase, only to have his $150 item declined.  He went online to see if something was wrong with his account.  It was.  Without his knowledge, HSBC lowered his credit limit to some $300.  He called them, since this had to be a mistake.  He was told that a letter went out to many HSBC cardholders and their accounts were re-evaluated based on a number of factors.  Since my friend has school loans, of which he has been making regular payments, and his income as a result of his medical problems is much lower, the only factors they could have used to justify penalizing him had to be low income and his school loans. 

My friend has never missed a school loan payment and he has never missed a payment to HSBC.  He only has one credit card, to HSBC.  It's time he start looking for another card.  When our economy needs people who can afford to make purchases and who pay their bills with no problem, having a credit card company make this impossible for someone based not on reality but some irrelevant formula does nothing to support spurring the economy.  I'm sorry he didn't apply before HSBC arbitrarily reduced his credit limit by 90%, since surely this too, will impact his ability to get another credit card.

Customer Service is why I shop at Zappos

This morning I ordered another pair of Cole Haan Nike Air sandals from Zappos.  This is after returning 7 pairs that I ordered and shipped back, with free shipping round trip.  It's not that I like to run after my UPS guy or haul boxes to the Post Office;  years ago I sprained one of my ankles and subsequently one side of my foot is more swollen on the top.  The tops of my feet are also have very sensitive and the skin very thin, so most sandals create a lot of raw, blisters and other problems, rendering wearing most sandals impossible.  I also walk a lot, so cushioning is also important.  Thanks to Zappos I've found both a Think sandal and this current model and can now  "free my feet" when it's very hot out.

I've heard from many of the Zappos customer service people that they are a customer service company that happens to sells shoes.  They use this as their tag line as well.  Unlike many stores that purport to provide excellent customer service, Zappos actually delivers.  I've shopped with them for many, many years.  When I first bought shoes from them I seemed to be the only person among my friends that did.  Now I often go to my local Jewel  and chat about our best shoe deals with one of the employees there, who also walks a lot and stands on her feet.  In our little shoe huddles, comfort is queen.  She is a new Zappos customer, and enthusiastically raved about their shipping policies and customer service.  To me, there is nothing more exciting in the area of customer service and retail than to find other customer evangelists.

I recently came across an article about the CEO of Zappos in a 2006 edition of Inc. Magazine.   In three years they attained a growth rate of 948%.  Phenomenal you say for a shoe store???  I agree, but even more impressive than their growth is the awareness that CEO Tony Hsieh has of what drives customers to return again and again to a company.

This is the crux of what makes a successful on-line shopping experience:

We all sat around one day talking about what we wanted the Zappos brand to represent. We decided to be about providing the best service; we said, "We're a service company that just happens to sell shoes." But in order for that to happen, we had to control the entire customer experience. We expanded the warehouse to 77,000 square feet and stopped having manufacturers ship directly to customers. It was a scary time--drop shipping was 25 percent of revenue, and we gave it up all at once.

For anyone who hasn't shopped at Zappos, it's a Class One online experience.  Their website is easy to navigate, and their search parameters actually return relevant and useful results.  As with Amazon.com,  there is a way for customers to provide input that others can read and there is also an option to be told when a shoe that is out in the size that you want is back in stock.   Because shoe sizes, widths and arch support varies not only from brand to brand but across styles, the customer input facility is a valuable tool in making purchasing decisions.  Their photos also provide multiple views of the shoes, which have in the past helped me make decisions to buy or to not buy a particular shoe. 

Because of Zappos, I've tried brands that I normally would not have purchased, such as my Cole Haan Nike Air slides.   Personally I dislike going into shoe stores.  The fumes alone have contributed to me purchasing shoes I needed to later return.  With Zappos I can shop from home, wear them all day inside the house to make sure my feet aren't looking or feeling like torture victims, and make a decision based on a "try on time" that is more realistic in approximating actual use.  Returns are also done online, and you can easily check to see if your return is recieved and credited, in the event that you haven't received their email notifications.  Credits process from their end in a timely manner, no "60-90 day" credit excuses from Zappos, which is not what I can say about many other companies who somehow expect a customer to want to come back to them when they hold onto their money when a refund is due. 

CEO Tony Hseih got it right when he said, "We interview people for culture fit. We want people who are passionate about what Zappos is about--service. I don't care if they're passionate about shoes."  With online retail, service is where the store atmospherics are created, with each transaction and with each company encounter, whether online or on the phone.   

When Good Security Goes Bad or "Human Firewalls go Bonkers"

When I decided to purchase a new television, I shopped online and found the company I wanted to order from.  Crutchfield.  They are known for their customer service, and my uncle, who has purchased many things from them, swears by the quality of their service.  I tried using both their email and live help, and was able to resolve any other questions that I had.  I decided to go ahead and order.

To expedite matters I just decided to use my debit card.  Usually I would use a credit card but because I was doing some online banking, I had transferred the funds over to my checking account.  On Wednesday I decided that everything was good to go.  Unfortunately "go" wasn't "going" very smoothly. 

Crutchfield has a policy of verifying your card with the banking institution that issued it.   I rarely use the bank card that I decided to use for my fateful purchase.  When Crutchfield called, my bank refused to provide any information, and the transaction was therefore declined.  I emailed my personal banker, only to find out upon following up with a phone call, that she was no longer employed there.  Another bank employee took the call, and she told me she was the person Crutchfield contacted, and that she could not divulge any account holder information.  The bank thought that it would be a balance inquiry.  I told her that all Crutchfield wanted was to verify that I am the person who indeed is making this purchase.  I was told that for security and privacy reasons, I would need to sign a disclosure form giving them permission to verify my name/address/phone number and card number.  While it is great that my bank protects my privacy, since I already was on the phone with them this seemed to be overkill!!!  I faxed the signed authorization, and both Crutchfield and I thought we were finally good to go.

We tried to go forward but ended up going nowhere.  Crutchfield told me they couldn't't get the transaction to go through, that it was being declined.  With one phone connected to Crutchfield, I used another phone to call the bank.  Apparently my bank is extraordinarily good at keeping their account holder's funds safe, and in the bank, as evidenced by my not being able to get my money out!  I had briefly thought about just using a credit card, but by now I was determined to complete the transaction the way I had initiated it.  The bank employee asked me how much the purchase was.  Apparently they have limit as to how much an account holder can withdraw per day using a debit card.  While this is great if you are being forced at gunpoint to withdraw your funds, since I called them I found this rather inconvenient.  Unfortunately it was also immovable. 

The bank representative suggested either breaking the transaction up in two days, or using an ACH transfer, which would be a direct debit to my account.  My Crutchfield customer service guy contacted another department to find out if either could be done, and unfortunately it turned out to be that neither type of transaction could be done.  He did have the idea that I could get a gift certificate and apply it to my purchase so that the balance due that would hit my debit card would be less than my bank's daily withdrawal allotment.  Wanting to expedite this, I bought the gift card on a different bank's debit card, really testing the boundaries of processing.  Two hours later that transaction still had not been completed.  I called Crutchfield and it was held up because it needed to be verified, AND I had to call back from the phone number associated with my card.  By 6pm Friday evening, I still had not received the e-gift card. 

My e-gift card arrived via email on Saturday morning, as did a call from Hunter, my now favorite Crutchfield employee.  Together we suffered the effects of security policies, systems and procedures that are ostensibly in place to protect the consumer from unauthorized transactions.  His system did not show the gift card number yet, so I read it to him, and we were able to FINALLY get the transaction to go through.  This translated to over 3 days of effort to get a basic online purchase to be completed.  It was truly one of the most frustrating experiences I ever had, yet this frustration was due to two companies with policies in place that are designed to protect the consumer. 

Would I want these policies changed by either company?  No, not really.  Next time I'll just give up and use a credit card, but I'd have to keep my fingers crossed that the transaction goes through.  A month ago the card company from one of my credit cards called to say there was fraudulent activity on my card.  My card was automatically canceled by the card company and once I verified on the phone (thankfully I didn't have to jump through as many hoops as one of my bank's required) they reissued a new one.  Of course any orders I had outstanding that were waiting to ship and then be billed were declined, too. 

What disturbs me regarding all of this is that:

1).  These procedures are all a sign of our current times, where financial and credit fraud are so abundant that companies need to put in place increasing safeguards to reduce fraud and identity theft.

2).  That credit cards rule.  I once tried to not have a credit card, and it quickly became evident that in our modern world, that just isn't possible. 

3).  One of the positives about debit card use is that their transactions do not impact your credit report.  How three companies suddenly became the "be all" method that allows consumers to get credit, rent an apartment and buy a car when none of this was permissioned by the consumer has always been a sore point with me.  Related to this, I dislike and disrespect the fact that our privacy in this country is "for sale," as data miners and companies sell information (and misinformation) about us for a fee.  All of that is easily downloaded so people who have no business trying to get into our business don't even have to get up out of their chairs to invade our lives with any semblance of informed consent on our part.

4).  Anyone who had experienced severe financial difficulty and who does not have a credit card probably experiences a substantial amount of frustration and inconvenience if they need to rent a car, make purchases of expensive but necessary items and if they basically need to do anything that those of us who have credit cards take for granted.  The irony is that for many, the concept of "going into debt" every time one uses a credit card is so disconnected from reality, (that is, until the bill comes), versus looking into your wallet and seeing that you have less cash.   

Yet all of "this" is where we are today, and "this" is what we have, as a society, become. 

Eddie Bauer Petite polos

Eddie Bauer does it right for us gals needing petite tops.  The problem with petite summer tops for me is that I do not have the body type that clothing manufacturers usually create their patterns for.  I am short.  I have wide shoulders.  Worse yet, I dislike form fitting summer tops that fit like swimsuits.  I like my tops to be loose and to drape.  For me, nothing adds to summer humidity and discomfort more than having a skin tight article of clothing on.

I've shopped at almost every imaginable type of store you can think of, looking for petite large tops that I feel comfortable in.  It  doesn't matter whether the store is budget, low end, high end, trendy, classic, whatever... I've consistently had the same problem except for one particular store, Eddie Bauer.

For example, I recently received a very cute, sleeveless top from one of my favorite stores.  This company knows enough to make petite tops a bit less long in the torso, and to take the sleeves up, but like most companies, it is totally clueless about sleeveless tops.  I've even called them and was told that they list all the measurements so obviously the arm hole thing is my fault.  Talk about missing the point of a customer call!!   That company rep even bristled when I suggested they reduce the size of their gigantic arm holes.

Case in point, here was my top from this particular company:    The length was perfect, the drape, perfect.  The shoulder distance, perfect.  What was my complaint???  The armholes are so gigantic that you could see the entire length of the band of my bra when I had my arms in anything but plastered flat against my sides.' 

I had ordered some sleeveless polos to replace my old ones that just wore out, and decided to buy from Eddie Bauer, since I recalled that they were the only ones that didn't seem to make sleeveless armholes for petite tops that were more suited for a sumo wrestler.  They arrived Friday.  Not only did they fit perfectly, but having a free show from armpit to armpit will no longer be an issue.  Best of all, they are available in some great summer colors!

T-Mobile Service or Save OUR SMS

For years I had been a Cingular customer, even before they were Cingular (when they were called Cell One).  Over ten or so years of service I became increasingly unhappy with them.  Several years ago I finally got so disgusted that I changed service, something I usually don't do lightly. 

I switched to T-Mobile.  This also allowed me to enjoy being online at their many hotspots, and freed me from being 'stuck' in the office while needing to work.  Now, I-Pod in hand, I have other uses for my T-Mobile service as well, none of which is the focus of this blog.

I have a habit of wanting to keep a record of correspondences, whether they are emails or text messages.  Since I am a prolific texter, this has begun to present a problem, especially since my telephone, not my SIM card, stores text messages.  I use a Nokia phone.  I found this out the hard way after using a SIM card reader and finding only my phone book. 

Wanting a quicker way to get an answer, I emailed T-Mobile's tech support when I couldn't find an answer online on their site.  I should have just gone to the Nokia website, which is exactly what their tech support could have just said.  Instead, they were nice enough to suggest I go to the Nokia site to download PC Suite, where I could then backup and export my SMS text messages.  And yes, they also suggested that I refer to my Nokia User Manual, but not before they were customer service oriented enough to tell me what I needed.

Anyone with a Nokia phone who wants to save or export their SMS text messages can download PC Suite free.  Downloading it will also install the drivers needed to recognize your cable, if you choose to connect that way versus via Bluetooth.  The OEM cable I originally bought did not work - my Nokia phone would not recognize it, and when I received my Nokia cable I immediately saw why (the pin connectors).

In conclusion, I've called T-Mobile many times, and except for once, I have never been dissatisfied or disappointed with the quality of help that I received.  I can't say that for ANY other telecommunications company I've dealt with, and there have been many.  Thanks, T-Mobile!

Cliptomania Clip on Earrings: Revisited

I love businesses that not only try to "get it right" but do things so well that they create customer evangelists.  I've written about Cliptomania before, but after a recent experience with them, I felt it only appropriate to revisit this small and growing company.

We recently  interviewed Candy Santo, one of the owners of Cliptomania and would like to share our interview with you.  For the uninitiated, Cliptomania is the place on the Internet to find ear rings for us girls who do not have pierced ears.  They not only have a stellar selection for all ranges of budgets, but an equally interesting selection in terms of colors, gemstones, and fashion needs.

Consumer Maven:  Can you tell me more about when and how you got started?  What was your inspiration for  starting your business???

Candy Santo:  The idea for Cliptomania arose from my husband's attempt to find me  nice earrings for our 30th anniversary in 1998.  We were living in the New York metropolitan area and not only could he not find anything, but they laughed at him at Macy's.  He thought that maybe this was a need that an Internet store could fill.  Our oldest was already out on his own and our daughter was in college and he thought a small Internet business would be a good counter to the empty nesting. 

After a year of study and planning, we opened our online store on Thanksgiving Day 1999.  Looking back, we were so naive that it is a miracle that we are still in business!  Had we tried it just 2 years later when online selling had taken off and start-ups were much more difficult and expensive, we're pretty sure it wouldn't have worked.   It helped that neither of us quit our day jobs and business was light enough then that our daughter could help while continuing her studies. One of our best assets, however, was my several decades of non-profit management which provided a good knowledge base for growing our little business.

Consumer Maven:  Are you in  partnership or sole proprietership?  What are your overall goals in terms of business growth?

Candy Santo:  Where we are now with a customer base of approximately 20,000 is something we never imagined and on most days more than half our customers are first timers so it looks like there's more growth ahead.  In addition to the 3 owner/operators (Christy & I are now full-timers & then some) Cliptomania - an LLC - employs 2 full-time and 5 part-timers.

Our primary goal is to be the Kleenex of clip earrings.
Secondary goals are:
... to provide a range of styles that makes it possible for a customer to find at least 2 pair of earrings they want to buy whenever they come into our store; 

... to image and describe the earrings in such a way that the customer gets what they expected (that this goal is being attained is demonstrated by the fact that less than 5% of what we sell is returned to us.)

... to provide outstanding customer service, giving customers the feeling they are shopping in a good local jewelry store

We couldn't meet these goals - particularly the range of products offered - if we were making them ourselves. So at any given time I'm dealing with at least 40 manufacturers, importers and designers.  I have a core group that have been key parts of our success as they have been willing and able to provide products that meet the unique needs of an Internet store.

Thank you Candy, and thanks for a great shopping experience!!

Cliptomania:  http://www.cliptomania.com

The Consumer Maven isn't the only fan here!  Check out the Tamale Chica Chronicles for another customer evangelistic perspective.

Robbins Brothers Jewelers Lincoln Park

A friend of mine has a family member who was hired by a jewelry company that opened up three stores in the Chicago area.  Two are in the suburbs and one is in the city.  When my friend’s family member was first hired, this person was enthusiastic, excited and passionate.  This is about the days that led to the dying of this passion. 

From what I was told, of the three stores, the Lincoln Park location was expected to be, no pun intended, a crown jewel.  A jewelry store in Lincoln Park would easily be expected to fit that billing, considering the high income level and demographics of that neighborhood.  When Chicagoans think of Lincoln Park, they think of young, upwardly mobile professionals, people with high incomes and a good amount of disposable income, and those who are able and willing to spend money on luxury items.  When we Chicagoans think of Lincoln Park, we think of north Halsted, Clark street, and in the general fashionista districts  close to DePaul.  It is that walkable area best served by high foot traffic. 

Herein is problem number one:  location, location, location, or rather, lack of it.  Their  "Lincoln Park" is actually not in the Lincoln Park that we think of, but on the 2100 block of North Elston.  This is an area best reserved for those planning a big box retailer trips by car.  Location wise, this is not Lincoln Park in terms of Trixies and the trendanistas and people who normally walk to their boutique stores. 

This leads into problem number two.  Besides their obviously stellar poor choice in geographic location, there appears to be a problem in effectively reaching the demographic of 'buyers of engagement rings.'  I was told that they were advertising on stations to reach 20-30 year olds.  This is an interesting choice, since people get married at all ages.  WE also know that the boomer market is graying and this segment is in the remarriage market.  Also, people delay their marriages, often focusing on developing their careers first, creating a demographic segment that easily ranges from 30-40 plus.  In marketing WOM (word of mouth), one doesn’t just want to reach the end consumer, because brand awareness is important for 'influencers' as well.  Influencers can be parents, friends, mentors, relatives, as well as consumer experts, etc. 

I was told that they did do “something” in the area of public relations, so I agreed to take a look at it for this person.  If they are spending money on marketing for the Chicago store, it doesn't appear to provide any long range benefit (read: brand building), nor does it appear to have any strategic focus.  It appears to have been done just for attention, otherwise known as publicity.  This included publicity during their opening day (Lincoln Park), and ramping up some attention getting aspects for Valentine's Day.   One shot publicity events are not brand builders.  Effective marketing is all about creating the customer experience, which also goes to creating an atmosphere by employees.  If employees are unhappy and disgruntled and are treated unfairly, or there is a perception that they are being treated unfairly, this creates a pallor.

Enthusiasm and passion are energies that translate from employees to the store and create 'atmospherics.'  There are other things that create atmospherics too, but employee 'energy' is a big part of it, and if it's faked the customer feels it, which encourages them to flee.  That creates negative "word of mouth," and no business strives for that.  This is a company that really need to invest money in developing a marketing strategy and public relations (not publicity) campaign and implement the type of programs that will make their company stand out and give people a reason to go to the Lincoln Park store.  The way things look right now, it's NOT a destination store.

Why are we writing about them?  Because a business that opens up effects not only the people that work there, but their families and the community is serves.  In this one example, a family member of a dear friend of mine was affected by their poor decision making.  Their errors in decision making led to downsizing and people losing their jobs, which in turn has effected their families.  We are also posting this blog on the oft chance that someone who is in their corporate headquarters is not well informed about what is going on here in Illinois, and wonders why a store in a supposed "hot" locale is yielding cold sales.

John Okumura

I was sad to hear about John Okumura, a man who lived honestly, honored his committment to quality and was one of the best of his generation of architectural woodworkers.  We recently found out about a memorial website that was done by the family, and we'd like to share it with you.  The beauty of the work that he produced is more than evident, as he put his energy and life force into all of his creative endeavors.  He is, as one of his past employees commented, considered the "Mr. Miyage of Japanese architectural woodworking."  Click here to check out the memorial website of the work of John Okumura.  Our heartfelt condolences to the family.  Because of what he did for a living, we are grateful that there is certainly one of his works, the Japanese wood joinery and gate at Osaka Gardens in Chicago's Jackson Park, that we can all enjoy.  The beauty and splendor of traditional wood joinery, right here in Chicago...who knew???