Confero President Elaine Buxton Elected To Mystery Shopping Providers Association Board Of Directors

Mar 30, 2009 by Confero Inc.

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Pre-Paid FedEx Prize Package Returns and Invoices

Mar 27, 2009 by Confero Inc.

If you have received an invoice from FedEx for your Confero return shipment, please forward it to incentives@conferoinc.com . We will ensure that this bill is reversed.

You are not responsible to pay any shipping costs. Please do not pay any Fedex bill that you receive.

Background: Last month, we emailed all shoppers who were involved in the national quick service restaurant program that required on the spot prize distribution. About 100 shoppers received bills, in error from FedEx, out of the 8000+ shoppers who participated in the national program in Janaury and February 2009. As you may be aware, shipping is conducted using our client’s account. When our client switched from DHL (after DHL closed late last year) to FedEx, there were some billing glitches that occurred when the switch took place. Our project for this national client was its first major shipping effort using FedEx in 2009 and, unfortunately, most all the glitches hit during this national roll out. In some cases, shoppers were sent bills from FedEx for packages they returned to Confero. These invoices were billed in error and we are working with FedEx to get these resolved immediately. We have been assured that this will be resolved quickly with FedEx. Unfortunately, FedEx cannot tell us which shoppers were billed and which were not. We apologize for any frustration this has caused. We ask that you please work closely with us by forwarding any bill you receive from FedEx to incentives@conferoinc.com.

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Do Tough Economic Times Result in Customer Service Improvements?

Mar 26, 2009 by Elaine Buxton

A business acquaintance recently asked my opinion on the current state of customer service in this tough economy. The reason? She had just returned from some routine business travel and found the customer service, from beginning to end, to be nothing short of effusive. I could not stop her as she sang the praises of the taxi driver, the airline gate agent, the flight attendants, the bell staff, the concierge, the restaurant servers, and on and on. She reported that she felt an obvious, heartfelt appreciation of her patronage from many employees.

What was her explanation of this phenomenon? Perhaps the current economic circumstances have made the service workers increasingly grateful for their continued employment. Surely those who are grateful for their jobs would be grateful for the customers who make their jobs possible. Perhaps this could be the return of unilateral great customer service, where customers feel truly appreciated.

I pondered her observation and tried to find similar situations in my own hometown, to explore her theory in consumer perception on a local level. I found her theory played out well in some businesses, and in others, the opposite effect seemed to be true. Customers were ignored while employees debated who would be given more working hours that week, or discussed the fate of their colleagues who had recently been laid off, speculating about who would “be next,” even guessing how long the establishment would remain open for business. What could account for the differences in scenario?

I suggest: Leadership. Optimistic managers can turn our economic circumstance into opportunity for teaching the true value of customer satisfaction in terms of retention, word of mouth advertising, repeat business, recovery opportunities when something goes wrong, and other possibly positive domino effects. These optimistic employees are really “feeling it”: that appreciation of customers, who are a beginning of all good things that can happen for a business.

The customers themselves are a variable in the economic downturn. Those harder-earned dollars are won and parted with less quickly. This means that an employee’s genuine thank you, a “little-something-extra” attention, or an establishment’s real, heartfelt care for detail really resonates with the customer. Show extra service and appreciation at just the time the customer needs it: what a tremendous opportunity to win customers!

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Mystery Shopping Scam Exposed on NBC Today Show

Mar 24, 2009 by Confero Inc.

As a reputable company with 24 years in business, we are always concerned about scams involving mystery shopping. An NBC Today Show segment discussed the mystery shopping scam that typically plays out like this: the consumer receives an unsolicited email from what looks to be a mystery shopping company. The consumer replies with personal information and accepts a “mystery shop” assignment from the bogus company. This consumer soon receives a certified check from the bogus mystery shopping company, along with an “assignment” to deposit the check and then send funds via Western Union or Moneygram to a person designated on the assignment. The idea is that Western Union or Moneygram are being “mystery shopped” and the mystery shopper can keep a portion of the check amount. Usually, the certified check amounts are $900-2000 with shoppers enticed into performing the shop by being allowed to keep anwhere from $300 to $900. Eventually, what happens is that the consumer is notified by his or her bank that the certified check was not good. The full amount of the check is then charged back to the consumer’s checking account.

If you have fallen victim to this scam, or if you have been contacted by any of these scammers, please file a complaint with the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

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“No Problem” is a Customer Service Problem

Mar 20, 2009 by Elaine Buxton

A recent experience in Orlando International Airport clearly reminded me why the phrase “no problem” could easily be associated with the phrase “no service.’
I had just placed an order at a quick service restaurant, and was handed my order in a bag, along with a cup to fill at a self-service station. At this point in the transaction, I said, “Thank you.” The efficient employee then said, “No problem.”

No problem. It is not a meaningless phrase. “No problem” implies that you did not cause a problem. As a customer of this quick service restaurant, was I expected to cause a problem? Did the employee think I, in particular, might cause a problem? Is it a good thing that I did not cause one? Or was the employee somehow pleasantly surprised?

I took my drink cup, filled my beverage, and turned to walk toward the departure gate. Just a few steps ahead of me, four military service personnel were engaged in conversation. I watched as a civilian gentlemen walked over to the group, shook hands with each service member and said, “Thank you for your service to our country.” Three of them replied with “You’re welcome.” The fourth, interestingly, responded, “My pleasure, sir. Please enjoy the freedom we defend.” The difference was striking.

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