Sunday, April 24, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Just be like Google...
In compiling wellfarted.com, I have to tell you about my yard-sticks for corporate behavior:
The best companies in America, in my opinion, are as follows:
1. Google. Never, in the history of the corporate world has one company done so much for so many. If every company on this planet behaved as google does, the world would not be in the mess it is in. Simply, google is the poster-child of honestly, integrity and all-around goodness. Google is more than a corporate entity, it is becoming a mind-set and its leaders HAVE changed the world. Admire them? Not only - we all need them.
2. Southwest Airlines: Superb customer service, fun and professional flight crews and an all-round good company. No other airline comes close to SWA. God knows, we needed Airtran to be purchased by this superb outfit. Southwest Airlines - THE BEST airline in America - and no, I do not work for them.
3. O Charley's Restaurants: Superior management and an all-round GREAT deal. You will not have a bad experience here - they give a damn - they get it.
4. The McCarthy Group Florists: The Flower Folks (tm). Locations across ten states and soon to launch the national web site www.thinkflowers.com. CEO Brian McCarthy started the business as a teenager and continues to be as much involved at 'grass-roots' level as he was in the 60's and 70's.
The best companies in America, in my opinion, are as follows:
1. Google. Never, in the history of the corporate world has one company done so much for so many. If every company on this planet behaved as google does, the world would not be in the mess it is in. Simply, google is the poster-child of honestly, integrity and all-around goodness. Google is more than a corporate entity, it is becoming a mind-set and its leaders HAVE changed the world. Admire them? Not only - we all need them.
2. Southwest Airlines: Superb customer service, fun and professional flight crews and an all-round good company. No other airline comes close to SWA. God knows, we needed Airtran to be purchased by this superb outfit. Southwest Airlines - THE BEST airline in America - and no, I do not work for them.
3. O Charley's Restaurants: Superior management and an all-round GREAT deal. You will not have a bad experience here - they give a damn - they get it.
4. The McCarthy Group Florists: The Flower Folks (tm). Locations across ten states and soon to launch the national web site www.thinkflowers.com. CEO Brian McCarthy started the business as a teenager and continues to be as much involved at 'grass-roots' level as he was in the 60's and 70's.
Chase Bank and its British Airways Credit Card: Broken link causes consternation.
I love banks. They tend to keep money safe, which is much better than keeping it in a tea-pot. However, they've been pretty lame of late - you know, destroying the odd economy here and there, bankrupting poor Iceland and then what the hell did Ireland do to be farted on in such a terrible way?
Microcosmic this story may be, but a bank - in this case Chase - got me all bent out of shape and, to this end, they farted really badly.
In essence : British Airways partnered with Chase to offer a stunning deal: Apply for their credit card and be 'rewarded' with 50,000 BA miles after a spend of $2500 during the first three months. NOT ONLY - receive a further 50,000 miles upon the first anniversary of the account's inception. WOW - too good be true - essentially yes.
Upon applying for our cards, my wife and I discovered that when we clicked on the link that should have generated the 50,000-mile rewards card, one was taken to an application for a card which only garnered 25,000 miles. Not so good. So, armed with a boatload of good will, we called British Airways in Florida to explain our tale of woe. The representative, also British I add, empathetically explained that the deal was good, BUT not so good as the 100,000 mile card that he himself had applied for and received the year before. SPLENDID! So, indeed, Joe British Airways guy got the deal of a lifetime, but this was not going to help me. I explained the broken link, which he logged onto and agreed with me - "The link had not been working all week", and he was advising customers to go ahead and apply for the alternative card, which, once approved, would generate the correct amount of miles anyway - 50k. All we would need to do would be to call Chase, and they would credit us with the additional 25,000 miles !
Fart 1: Incorrect information British Airways. We all know (as do I) that a computer generated link to a form offering deal A would not then be processed correctly as deal B. We all know that this would go wrong - as it did.
Even though BA guy was a terribly nice chap, his information was as useful as something rotten floating in a swimming pool.
What happened?
Well, we got our cards and MINE was fine - I got the 50k miles. As for my wife's - NO, she received the 25,000 miles version, as I expected her to (if it can go wrong, it will).
Naturally, Chase Bank were about as helpful as North Korea and they basically farted a couple of answers including:
"We've already had one of our managers tell you you filled in the wrong form".
Wow, the patronizing female will not be named here, for fear of reprisals against her double-digit IQ and, moreover, I don't want Chase Bonk [sic] to send her back to the swamp for fear that she will be eaten.
Two further 'go away' letters further endorses the apathy of Chase Bank.
Fart 2: Chase Bank REFUSED to believe the broken link story. BUT, why would my application be processed correctly and my wife's not? Did my application end up on the desk of someone who 'got it' when my wife's did not?
Essentially - lesson learned. Broken links on the web sites of major corporations such as Chase Bank and British Airways are dangerous ditties. They cause people to become all upset and confused, second guess themselves and generally wonder how anyone gets anything done - ever. There was no resolution to this one - a broken link lost us 25,000 miles, an annual fee and perhaps rewards on other credit cards that we would have gained had we not applied for the British Airways Chase Bank credit cards.
Shame on Chase Bank and shame on British Airways - when you post a link to an offer, make sure the link works and goes to the right form.
Farts? - they both emitted!
Update - Saw a new offer this morning - 100,000 miles ! So, we applied, hoping that Chase will do the honorable thing and upgrade my wife's account to the new one. Naturally, I can assume that the empty suits of Chase Bank will NOT upgrade her and, to this end will send us a generic letter. Oh well.
Decided to register the mis-spelling of the name chasebsnk.com, which now points to this blog. Pissed? Oh sure. I shall let you know how if we get the card.
In the meantime....have good Easter folks.
Microcosmic this story may be, but a bank - in this case Chase - got me all bent out of shape and, to this end, they farted really badly.
In essence : British Airways partnered with Chase to offer a stunning deal: Apply for their credit card and be 'rewarded' with 50,000 BA miles after a spend of $2500 during the first three months. NOT ONLY - receive a further 50,000 miles upon the first anniversary of the account's inception. WOW - too good be true - essentially yes.
Upon applying for our cards, my wife and I discovered that when we clicked on the link that should have generated the 50,000-mile rewards card, one was taken to an application for a card which only garnered 25,000 miles. Not so good. So, armed with a boatload of good will, we called British Airways in Florida to explain our tale of woe. The representative, also British I add, empathetically explained that the deal was good, BUT not so good as the 100,000 mile card that he himself had applied for and received the year before. SPLENDID! So, indeed, Joe British Airways guy got the deal of a lifetime, but this was not going to help me. I explained the broken link, which he logged onto and agreed with me - "The link had not been working all week", and he was advising customers to go ahead and apply for the alternative card, which, once approved, would generate the correct amount of miles anyway - 50k. All we would need to do would be to call Chase, and they would credit us with the additional 25,000 miles !
Fart 1: Incorrect information British Airways. We all know (as do I) that a computer generated link to a form offering deal A would not then be processed correctly as deal B. We all know that this would go wrong - as it did.
Even though BA guy was a terribly nice chap, his information was as useful as something rotten floating in a swimming pool.
What happened?
Well, we got our cards and MINE was fine - I got the 50k miles. As for my wife's - NO, she received the 25,000 miles version, as I expected her to (if it can go wrong, it will).
Naturally, Chase Bank were about as helpful as North Korea and they basically farted a couple of answers including:
"We've already had one of our managers tell you you filled in the wrong form".
Wow, the patronizing female will not be named here, for fear of reprisals against her double-digit IQ and, moreover, I don't want Chase Bonk [sic] to send her back to the swamp for fear that she will be eaten.
Two further 'go away' letters further endorses the apathy of Chase Bank.
Fart 2: Chase Bank REFUSED to believe the broken link story. BUT, why would my application be processed correctly and my wife's not? Did my application end up on the desk of someone who 'got it' when my wife's did not?
Essentially - lesson learned. Broken links on the web sites of major corporations such as Chase Bank and British Airways are dangerous ditties. They cause people to become all upset and confused, second guess themselves and generally wonder how anyone gets anything done - ever. There was no resolution to this one - a broken link lost us 25,000 miles, an annual fee and perhaps rewards on other credit cards that we would have gained had we not applied for the British Airways Chase Bank credit cards.
Shame on Chase Bank and shame on British Airways - when you post a link to an offer, make sure the link works and goes to the right form.
Farts? - they both emitted!
Update - Saw a new offer this morning - 100,000 miles ! So, we applied, hoping that Chase will do the honorable thing and upgrade my wife's account to the new one. Naturally, I can assume that the empty suits of Chase Bank will NOT upgrade her and, to this end will send us a generic letter. Oh well.
Decided to register the mis-spelling of the name chasebsnk.com, which now points to this blog. Pissed? Oh sure. I shall let you know how if we get the card.
In the meantime....have good Easter folks.
Priceline.com
Generally, Priceline offers some outstanding deals and their system is generally efficient. However, their 'no cancellations' whatsoever policy is a mess. Firstly people's itineraries change, often through little or no fault of their own. Their auto-attendant 'customer service' menu is difficult to navigate and once the customer IS transferred, a person based outside of the USA (in most cases) reads from a script. Unless one asks to be transferred to a USA-based supervisor, then any appeal will fall on deaf ears. Even then, cancellation, if granted is difficult and costly.
For companies such as mine, which spends thousands of dollars a year on travel, Priceline could afford to follow the superior example of its competitor, Hotwire.com, whose 'Hotwire Express' department recognizes that big spenders such as us occasionally require changes or cancellations.
Is it not better to allow a national company such as ours a designated number of cancellations per year, rather than abject NO 'answers'. Priceline's product is excellent, apart from their 'We have your money, now go and pound sand' policy if changes are requested.
Take the lead of one of America's best companies Priceline - Southwest Airlines; whose product is inexpensive and customer service unrivaled.
For companies such as mine, which spends thousands of dollars a year on travel, Priceline could afford to follow the superior example of its competitor, Hotwire.com, whose 'Hotwire Express' department recognizes that big spenders such as us occasionally require changes or cancellations.
Is it not better to allow a national company such as ours a designated number of cancellations per year, rather than abject NO 'answers'. Priceline's product is excellent, apart from their 'We have your money, now go and pound sand' policy if changes are requested.
Take the lead of one of America's best companies Priceline - Southwest Airlines; whose product is inexpensive and customer service unrivaled.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
How well does your company fart?
Unfortunately for some, there are many companies out there whose decisions are nothing more than corporate farts. BUT, it is the quality (and often the comedy) of these farts that deem, or not, a post to be worthy of being published on wellfarted.com, indexed by perhaps the greatest company in the world - Google - and remaining there. If you wish to nominate a quality corporate fart, then add your comments, and our editing team - myself and my cat - will either say that the same is 'well farted', or else it will disappear.
Mark
Mark
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