CustomerServiceTrainingBlog.com

In business, EVERYTHING is about your name and your reputation. You could have the best business in the world with the best people and the best products, but if it has a poor reputation, it is destined to fail. In fact, just one bad experience can often cost you a customer or many customers. Let me share a personal story.

For years I followed a guy named Frank haywood and bought many of his products. His blog was informative and his products good. He always responded to questions, e-mails, and such. Plus, he did so in an extremely personal way that was more like talking to a friend than someone in business. I liked that about him and because of that, continued to follow his blog and purchase his products.

Then things started to change. His focus kind of drifted away from his “main business” and that is fine, everyone has the right to do that whenever they find something else more valuable or profitable. I noticed the information in his blog was less information and more sales pitches. Actually the information presented always lead into a “sales pitch” for someone elses product that he was being paid a commission on. Again, no problem there, he is out to make money.

Well, he made an offer to his readers to provide a program of his creation for free if you purchased this other product from him today. His own product would be delviered when it was finished in a “few months” and was supposedly worth over $100. Because I trusted him, I purchased the product even though I really was not going to use it. I purchased it because I wanted his promised product which was something that was exactly what I was looking for. I figured the few month wait was something I could live with.

Well, a year went by and nothing. I sent help desk tickets in and was assured the product would be delivered. Many more months went by until two months ago when I asked for an update. I received no response. Then I submitted a help desk request. These were ALWAYS answered in the past. I received no response this time. I sent a second request and that went unanswered as well.

So here I am as a customer who held a very high opinion of an individual and his business who now realizes that this person, and his business, is not one to be trusted at this point in time. It’s not that he did not provide what was promised, although he has a legal responsibility to do so, but more the fact that he ignores people who purchased this from him and wanted an update.

People need to feel secure especially when dealing with an on-line vendor. that is because they cannot see, touch, or otherwise “check out” the vendor in person or on the phone prior to making the purchase. In the world of Internet business, follow up and responsiveness is everything.

The question is will I do any business with Frank haywood in the future? I will certainly have reservations about doing so because of this situation. Maybe it is all one big misunderstanding and he is sick or otherwise detained, that I do not know. But I keep getting product and blog e-mails from him hawking his latest affiliate commissioned product so someone must be minding the store.

Unfortunately, at least for the near future, I will be very skeptical about anything Frank haywood should promise in his offers. It’s a shame because all he had to do was follow-up. he did not do that and now has placed a huge question mark on him and his business in this customer’s eyes.

That’s really a shame………