Everything on the Net is for public consumption. This should be one of Gibbs' rules. You NCIS watchers know what I mean.
This is something I've been told since I first got access to email back in the technological dark ages. The company's IT folk constantly reminded us not to put something into an email that we didn't want the entire world to read. They told us there are no secrets in the electronic world. Digital communication is truly for the masses. I heard this warning long before lawyers began subpoenaing email records or human resource departments started scanning Facebook posts.
Email doesn't go directly from my computer to yours. It passes through several other computers along the way. At each stop, it can be (and is) read by technicians, programmers, and others who are bored or troubleshooting. I heard many stories from night operators who said they read emails during their breaks.
The IRS was in the news on April 10th but it wasn't due to the approach of tax day. The ACLU obtained documents indicating that the IRS doesn't think email is private. (Read about it here.) For that matter, Facebook chats and other forms of digital communication aren't either. My reaction is "yeah, so?"
Where has the ACLU been? If they wanted to argue this, they should have started about thirty years ago. Fortunately for them, they have powerful allies who will fight the fight for them. The companies behind digital communication (Amazon, Microsoft, and Google to name just a few) want prying eyes wandering through their emails less than we do. So changes to the law have been presented in both the House and Senate. Warrants will be required before the IRS or any other agency can obtain certain digital material.
Regardless of the legislative outcome, I'll stick with my own version of a Gibbs' rule. If it can be read by a computer, it can be read by anyone at any time.
Showing posts with label Amazon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amazon. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Monday, October 29, 2012
Big Retailer has Big Problem
A friend of mine recently emailed a complaint to a large online retailer. He received a reply, obviously generated by a computer, that was designed to placate and dismiss. While my friend was aggravated by the lack of personalization, he will continue to do business with the company but will no longer buy the specific product that caused the complaint.
According to marketing guru Seth Godin, if a customer service protocol (your call center/complaints department/returns policy) is built around stall, deny, begrudge and finally, to the few who persist, acquiesce, then it might save money, but it is a total failure.
This particular retailer recently reported a quarterly loss. While I suspect that part of that loss is that people have less disposable income, could some of it be the result of lousy customer service? This company operates on such thin profit margins that it has no financial reserves for providing good customer service. In addition, its formula for low prices and lousy service is spreading as it acquires other online retailers that are successful. For example, my favorite shoe outlet is now part of this behemoth. An employee there told me that the minute the reins passed from the original owners, his benefits were cut.
The only way any retailer can continually undercut the market is to shave costs in benefits, salary, quality, and service. You cannot do it any other way. If we want to pay ridiculously low prices for everything, we must be willing to give up good service and good quality.
I do not fault the retailer. It has made its position clear. I know exactly what this company stands for - low prices. It has been most successful in communicating this to its customers. It is up to us to decide whether or not we find this business model acceptable and are willing to support that corporate behavior by continuing to do business with the company.
Businesses communicate with customers through advertising and through service. We express our pleasure or displeasure with any company by where we spend our money. Perhaps this retailer needs to listen to what we are trying to tell it.
According to marketing guru Seth Godin, if a customer service protocol (your call center/complaints department/returns policy) is built around stall, deny, begrudge and finally, to the few who persist, acquiesce, then it might save money, but it is a total failure.
This particular retailer recently reported a quarterly loss. While I suspect that part of that loss is that people have less disposable income, could some of it be the result of lousy customer service? This company operates on such thin profit margins that it has no financial reserves for providing good customer service. In addition, its formula for low prices and lousy service is spreading as it acquires other online retailers that are successful. For example, my favorite shoe outlet is now part of this behemoth. An employee there told me that the minute the reins passed from the original owners, his benefits were cut.
The only way any retailer can continually undercut the market is to shave costs in benefits, salary, quality, and service. You cannot do it any other way. If we want to pay ridiculously low prices for everything, we must be willing to give up good service and good quality.
I do not fault the retailer. It has made its position clear. I know exactly what this company stands for - low prices. It has been most successful in communicating this to its customers. It is up to us to decide whether or not we find this business model acceptable and are willing to support that corporate behavior by continuing to do business with the company.
Businesses communicate with customers through advertising and through service. We express our pleasure or displeasure with any company by where we spend our money. Perhaps this retailer needs to listen to what we are trying to tell it.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Amazon and Me
I’ve started and abandoned several ideas for postings, primarily because by the time I decided what I wanted to say, the landscape had changed. The publishing industry is morphing into a new beast and as a member of that industry, I am watching with fascination and admittedly, some unease. First, however, I need to address the Amazon situation.
During the last week of March, 2008, Amazon announced that unless certain publishing companies (mine included) use Amazon’s printing company, Amazon will not sell the book. An article in Business Week pointed out that Amazon’s real goal is to print ALL the books it sells on a print-to-order basis. Why? Because warehousing is costly. If Amazon switches to a print-on-demand business model, it will save millions of dollars in warehouse and labor costs. It’s a smart business move on their part and they have the marketplace muscle to pull it off.
There’s one big problem. Amazon’s print company, Booksurge, is not a good printer. iUniverse (my publisher) and others switched to Booksurge’s competitor because of quality issues. The Internet is full of complaints about Booksurge’s poor quality. (Some copies of my first book, Greased Wheels, had green pages that matched the cover.) In addition, Booksurge cannot meet the current demand for the titles it prints. How will it handle the additional production load?
Amazon is playing rough. Unknown to me at the time, during a period in January, the “Add to Cart” buttons on my book pages were removed. In the first week of April, the “Add to Cart” buttons went dark on all the books from a publisher called PublishAmerica as Amazon proved its power.
The marketplace told Amazon what it thinks of Booksurge. It’s unfortunate that Amazon chose to use threats and manipulation to get print business instead of competing honestly for it by providing quality, service and value.
As I said in my first post, as a writer, I deal with communication. For this story, there’s been precious little. I haven’t seen this reported outside the publishing world, with the exception of the Business Week article. Why not? This affects every publisher, every writer and every reader. Consumers will pay the same price for a book of potentially inferior quality.
My bottom line is this: I want to assure my fans that my books are available at many other book selling Web sites. My titles are listed at Baker & Taylor and Ingram Group so they can be ordered through any bookstore. Please remind your friends and fellow readers that Amazon is not the only place to buy books. As things stand now, if they order from Amazon, I cannot guarantee the books will ever ship. By the way, Barnes and Noble has a $25 free shipping program, too.
As always, thank you for your support. Happy reading!
During the last week of March, 2008, Amazon announced that unless certain publishing companies (mine included) use Amazon’s printing company, Amazon will not sell the book. An article in Business Week pointed out that Amazon’s real goal is to print ALL the books it sells on a print-to-order basis. Why? Because warehousing is costly. If Amazon switches to a print-on-demand business model, it will save millions of dollars in warehouse and labor costs. It’s a smart business move on their part and they have the marketplace muscle to pull it off.
There’s one big problem. Amazon’s print company, Booksurge, is not a good printer. iUniverse (my publisher) and others switched to Booksurge’s competitor because of quality issues. The Internet is full of complaints about Booksurge’s poor quality. (Some copies of my first book, Greased Wheels, had green pages that matched the cover.) In addition, Booksurge cannot meet the current demand for the titles it prints. How will it handle the additional production load?
Amazon is playing rough. Unknown to me at the time, during a period in January, the “Add to Cart” buttons on my book pages were removed. In the first week of April, the “Add to Cart” buttons went dark on all the books from a publisher called PublishAmerica as Amazon proved its power.
The marketplace told Amazon what it thinks of Booksurge. It’s unfortunate that Amazon chose to use threats and manipulation to get print business instead of competing honestly for it by providing quality, service and value.
As I said in my first post, as a writer, I deal with communication. For this story, there’s been precious little. I haven’t seen this reported outside the publishing world, with the exception of the Business Week article. Why not? This affects every publisher, every writer and every reader. Consumers will pay the same price for a book of potentially inferior quality.
My bottom line is this: I want to assure my fans that my books are available at many other book selling Web sites. My titles are listed at Baker & Taylor and Ingram Group so they can be ordered through any bookstore. Please remind your friends and fellow readers that Amazon is not the only place to buy books. As things stand now, if they order from Amazon, I cannot guarantee the books will ever ship. By the way, Barnes and Noble has a $25 free shipping program, too.
As always, thank you for your support. Happy reading!
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