DISQUS

Caddell Insight Group Blog: Customers are talking: companies are investing in customer satisfaction, and it shows

  • ameyer32 · 5 months ago
    Normally I look forward to your posts, but I have to say that here, I don't understand where you're coming from. Sprint is the most abysmally horrible telco among a group of abysmally horrible firms. If they saw the number of calls with complaints decrease, it's only because their customer gave up complaining voted with their feet and left.

    Normally I don't comment when I disagree, but in yesterday's Sprint conference call, their own chief executive said: "Sprint’s marketing continues to be dragged down by public perception of poor service quality, the chief executive, Daniel R. Hesse, told investors in a conference call." http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/30/technology/co...

    It is just about impossible to imagine a company with a worse public reputation for quality and customer service, but if I had to pick one, it would be The Cheesecake Factory.

    Now, I'll admit, I'm biased here. I think their food is disgusting, their service is horrible and their restaurants are filthy and loud. There is not a kind thing I have to say about Cheesecake Factory. This situation is made worse because one of the key people at a key customer loves name brand places and consequently drags me there ever month of so. Every single time my opinion gets worse, I despise the place more and I think their quality, service and cleanliness get worse. If a place is going to be pretentious, it should not be disgusting.

    You didn't write the WSJ piece, but it just does not jive with reality. Restaurants and businesses are closing left and right. Sprint, which is one of the great stories of American reinvention. (SPRINT stands for Southern Pacific Railroad Interstate Telegraph - or something close to that) They are over 100 years old and have survived changes and reinvented themselves many times, but now they are clueless and deserve to be destroyed - creatively or otherwise. Likewise, if Cheesecake Factory is hearing pleasant stories, I don't know who they're talking to.

    If you're pitching telling stories, don't pick these examples. There's a serious disconnect between ACSI and reality. Maybe they're taking a lesson from J. D. Powers. J. D. Powers keeps giving General Motors awards for quality. I hope they're getting well paid.