Good Customer Service Isn’t Necessary Anymore

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Uh-huh. And if you believe that, I have some fine beach-front property here in Arizona to sell you real cheap!

When I first started internet marketing I was extremely paranoid about providing ANY personal information to anyone. I had heard so many horror stories about identity theft, scams, and dishonest ripp-off artists lurking in every corner of the internet that I thought it would be best to remain as anonymous as possible. So I tip-toed around everywhere.

However, as I started exploring various business models and opportunities, I became more familiar with the territory and realized a significantly important fact. Most people on the internet – just like everywhere else in the world – are honest folks just trying to make a living. It became pretty obvious also what sites and offers to avoid.

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In the offline world we all use our common-sense and our basic instincts to protect us from unscrupulous people. We're very careful about where and from whom we make purchases. For example, nearly everyone makes their purchases from businesses who openly display their wares in a welcoming looking storefront or office, rather than from someone selling sound systems from the trunk of his car.

We look for quality products, a good price, and a reasonable guarantee that the product will perform as described. We expect the seller to make things right if there is a problem, either by offering a refund, or – more often in the case of physical products - a replacement of the defective product.

In other words, the more open, honest, and forthcoming a business appears, and the better we are treated when there is an issue, the more likely we are to do busines with them. It is no different on the internet. So I have stopped tip-toeing around. I am open and honest about who I am and what I do, just as I would be if I had an offline business. I want to earn the trust of people who visit my sites, and I want to offer good products and good service in return. Most internet marketers do the same.

I have made many purchases in my internet marketing journey, consisting of digital and physical products, as well as services. There have been a few times when I was disappointed in my purchase, but there was no scam or fraud involved, so I just let it go. There have been a few situations when I asked for a refund or cancelled a recurring billing.

I am happy to report that in all but two instances my request was honored right away with no questions asked. In one instance I was offered another product in place of receiving a refund, but upon my refusal I was given an instant refund. All of these vendors acted professionally and offered good customer service.

That's why it is so jarring when good customer service practices are ignored. I recently had a negative experience with a digital product i purchased for resale from a team of marketers…two names you would probably recognize. It didn't work right. Yes, it could be fixed manually, but I PAID for it to work automatically. I sent 2 emails to 2 different addresses and a support ticket to yet another address – all of which I had to research to even find – and I heard not one word for over 3 weeks.

By the time I heard back from one of the team members…not the one I had emailed, by the way…it was too late. Even though he offered to manually fix the problem himself - conveniently ignoring my second option, which was a refund – his reply came too late. My trust has been broken, and I don't want to represent his product now.

I realize that sometimes things happen. Sometimes we just make a mistake. So this could have just been one of those times. Except I did a Google search on their names, and there have been many similar complaints of requests for customer service being ignored. I will be watching them…and if I witness further disregard for other people's money, I will let you know who they are.

Whether poor customer service is a result of incompetence or sleazy practices makes little difference in the bottom line. You lose trust and customers either way.

So my plea to you new marketers out there is this. Treasure your customers – and potential customers – as if they are gold. Because they are.

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