I went back in today with my wife’s brand new Honda CR-V.  She’d picked up a screw in the tire and it was a simple patch.  It did require a half hour of someone’s time there and materials to repair.  These are OEM tires that were not purchased from Discount, I expected to be charged at least $5 to $10 to fix it which I felt was exceedingly reasonable.  A half hour later I was handed the paper work and the keys and thanked for coming it.  They didn’t charge me a dime.  And it wasn’t like I was treated as a second-class customer.  Quite the contrary, they treated me like everyone else, like someone who was spending $1,400 today on tires.

So, what does that mean?  It means I’m a customer for life.  They’ll match anyone’s prices, even Tire Rack who had my X5 tires for a bit less.  When my Civic needs tires or the CR-V I assure you I’ll be going to Discount and no where else.  When I needed tires for the X5 I went to a Goodyear store and he was convinced that I couldn’t have two different sizes front and rear on my car.  He called BMW to confirm it.  It took an hour to get a price and they didn’t even make tires for my car.  Discount had to order them but they did it that day and had them on Monday and they were installed and ready to roll.  When you buy from Discount they rotate and balance them free and if you have the road hazard they’ll replace them.  My wife used it on her Lexus within three weeks.  She had a nail in the tire and they couldn’t patch it.  Discount replaced a $250 tire and gave her a new road hazard warranty free since it was so quick.  They didn’t need to do it but they did because they truly seem to understand customer service.

So Discount, you have a customer for life.  This time my tires won’t be the massive X5 hunks of rubber so you’re not getting as much of my money but I will tell people that Discount is the only place to go for tires.  Anyone who treats customers as well as you do and values theirs business like you do probably has a ton of loyal customers just like me.  It’s not a coincidence.

Now I understand manufacturing defects happen particularly when you overcharge for something and maximize those profits by making your products in a Chinese sweat shop.  Customer service isn’t about how you treat the customer before the sale, it’s how you treat them when something goes wrong.  Using that as our measuring stick Apple failed miserably.  I first went to the AT&T store in Lone Tree at Lincoln and Yosemite by Target.  I bought the phone here and this would be my third visit.  The sales associate took one look at it and said it was broken and that he’d happily replace it but they had none in stock.  Understandable, it is rather popular.  I decided to try the Apple store at Park Meadows Mall.

When you get the the Apple store on a Sunday it’s packed.  You would think Apple were the biggest retailer of computers and gadgets on the planet judging by the number of people here.  They’re not, not even close but they do make some cool stuff and some horribly over hyped crap.  So I speak with someone at Apple and she looks at the phone.  She inspects it like a doctor using the same thing he’d use to look up my nose.  She takes it into the back and confirms two things; there is no water damage and it is broken.  Great, let’s swap it out and I’ll be on my way!  She then proceeds to tell me I’ll need a “genius” appointment and gets me set up on the iMac behind me to schedule one.

I’m starting to fume.  It’s a simple replacement, take one off the shelf, put my sim in it, and send me packing.  No, I have to make an appointment and the earliest is two days away on Tuesday.  At 6 foot 7 inches and about 250 pounds I can be a very intimidating person but rarely do I get angry.  I’m very understanding almost to a fault.  My wife doesn’t like how much it takes to get me actually mad.  I was ready to toss people through walls.  All I wanted was a working phone.  Two days I’d have to wait without my iPhone which in a week, had become the single most important device I owned.

So Tuesday finally rolls around.  I can only describe it as the longest wait since Christmas when I was a kid.  It didn’t seem like it would ever get here.  I get to the store they’re running 5-10 minutes late which just adds to my frustration.  Once I finally get to the “genius” he takes one look at it and says it’s broken.  He said they don’t have replacement screens so he’ll just replace it.  Between his “analysis”, the paperwork and print out, signing things, and swapping it the process was about seven minutes.  Seven minutes is all it took to make me happy but at the same time it’s all it took to prove that overpaying for your computer and gadgets to Apple may not be all it’s cracked up to me.

I get the sex appeal of Apple, it’s undeniable.  There is an outrageous price premium that comes with that though even though Apple has lowered their prices to more modest levels.  Apple should have the best customer service in the industry, after all what are you paying for?  It’s the same cheap Chinese parts in their computers as in Dell regardless of what Mac fans will have you believe.  As a software developer I find the Unix underpinnings appealing but I can get a Dell and Ubuntu and have Linux under the hood and I find it more usable than the very dated Mac OS X.  If this is their customer service why not go cheap.  At least if it were a Dell I could have called up and had them send me a replacement and sent the defective item back.  The process would have been about the same and I would have felt like the wheels were moving.  Instead Apple messed up and made such a simple task infinitely more complicated.

For the record I own an iMac, a Dell machine with Ubuntu, a Windows Dell laptop, an Asus netbook with Windows and Ubuntu (always in Ubuntu), and a smattering of other laptops and desktops.  I’ll say this, the iMac is nice but it’s not much different from Windows and Ubuntu.  It’s another tool at my disposal to solving problems.

Back in the 1980s our founder, Richard Squire, had a dream – to ski all day and drink great beer every night. Since he lived in the snow-kissed Rocky Mountains, fulfilling the skiing portion of his dream was easy. But the great beer part – at a time when a “micro brew” was a rarity – that was another story. So Richard started brewing his own, more flavorful beers for himself and his thrill-seeking ski pals.

I was introduced to the Breckenridge Brewery not long after I moved here.  Having come from Phoenix, AZ where the brewing industry is less established I was in love.  Back in Phoenix (Tempe specifically) there was a place called Four Peaks that I loved.  They have a great Oatmeal Stout but more importantly, they had great atmosphere.  Breckenridge reminded me of that.  So needless to say, I love the Breckenridge Brewery.

Well the other day our keg was out at home and we needed a replacement.  After five months and 15.5 gallons of Sam Adams Winter Lager it was time for a change.  Around the same time we noticed a Breckenridge Pandora’s Bock at a wing joint we tried.  It was fantastic and potent.  Well I called up Breck and it turns out they keg it at one of their locations and you can buy it.  My love affair just went from a puppy-love crush to waiting outside your house and stalking your every move.  Things are getting serious.  So as a lot of you know, Crowd Rent is on the Twitter.  Turns out so it Breck Brew.  I was singing the praises of their beer one day in 140 characters or less and a relationship was born.  They use it, like we do and many companies, to communicate with customers.  Genius!

We went with a few friends to the BBQ joint on Kalamath and picked up a five gallon keg of the Bock.  Easier to manage, cheaper, and you don’t get tired of it like the half barrels.  Once @BreckBrew found out I had a keg, they offered me a tap handle with their compliments.  I sent over my address and two days later UPS dropped off this beauty:

That’s right, a Pandora’s Bock tap handle to match the beer within. I said now I need to get one for each Breck beer so I can rotate through them.  This isn’t some cheap plastic tchotchke given out to appease customers, this is what they use at the Breck locations I’d have to imagine.  It’s heavy and feels solid in your hand.  This is quality merchandise that I’m sure wasn’t cheap to make.  And what’s funny, it was worth every penny of it.  I took friends to the BBQ joint when we went to get the keg, they’d only been once to the Breckenridge location and they go snowboarding there all the time.  I turned one friend on to and one off of the Pandora’s Bock.  I told another friend who has a kegerator you can get Breck brews kegged there, he’ll be getting lit of the IPA for a few months soon.  I told my story to anyone who’d listen and I’m telling it now to the whole Internet.  All for a tap handle that was likely $25 retail if I had to guess (my guesses are notoriously low).

The Breck brewery isn’t some massive multinational corporation but they’re not small potatoes.  I’m sure this didn’t set them back a lot but at the same time it shows a mastery of the customer relationship management.  I had already been a loyal Breck customer, I’d purchased $50 worth of beer and another $25 worth of food that day.  I would have sung the praises of the beer with our without the handle.  Now, I’m a loyal customer for life.  If I go to a bar with a variety of beer I’ll see that Breck tap handle sticking out and remember how they treated me.  I’ll buy Breck beer and patronize their restaurants when I can.  And most importantly, I’ll introduce new people when I can.  It may not sound like much but you create a loyal army of customers to evangelize your business on your behalf.  Consider Apple customers.  They are the benchmark for rabidly loyal customers.

Apple somehow created this army of fans that are devoutely loyal to a computer.  Most people use computers to get things done.  Apple fans consider it a lifestyle, a state of being.  And they will, often without prompting, offer their opinion on computers, technology, and why Apple is the way to go.  And you know what, Apple’s market share has increased in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.  Microsoft and Windows are enormous and deeply entrenched.  Apple is digging them out of their trench.  Sure Apple advertises but it’s their fans that advertise for free and they do it day in and day out.  If you’ve ever met an Apple fan you know what I mean.  Treat your customers well and manage that relationship with them.  It’s amazing how loyal and dedicated to a brand a customer can be when they’re engaged and treated well.

Over at DSLReports.com they love to wade through the PR doublespeak and marketing FUD.  Basically, it’s a crock.  They went into markets where Verizon wasn’t in and rolled this out.  Well Time Warner is taking a beating and rightfully so.  They sell a product that is getting cheaper and cheaper to deliver and unlike providing water and power, doesn’t get exponentially or even linearly more expensive to provide as demand increases.  What is funny is while Time Warner was saying customers wanted this, they didn’t do it in markets served by Verizon Fios.  If you follow broadband the cable companies called cable internet the Cadillac of broadband and DSL the Hyundai.  Well if cable is the Cadillac of broadband Fios is the F-22 Raptor of broadband.  It’s fiber optic cable jacked into your house for blistering speeds.  It is the reason I want Verizon to buy Qwest and convert the Qwest footprint, specifically the 80134 zip code, and drop some fiber goodness on us.

Well Time Warner has taken note, or at least said they have, and have rolled back their push towards metered billing.  If you’re a Time Warner customer, let them know your disapproval and if you have an alternative, let your wallet do the talking.  I for one use Qwest DSL and get a great 7 Meg connection for $40 a month.  It’s rock solid, no 7pm slow down, and no money going to the Comcast.  I’ll take the Hyundai over the Caddy any day.  Sure I don’t get 15 Mbps for the first 12 seconds of a download but I get 7 megs almost all the time.