Another happy customer

More than any other single factor, I believe that customer service is the foundation that any company stands on. I believe that good service is even more important than price (within reason) when selecting a vendor.

So, when I have a good experience with a company's support staff, I'm going to post about it here.

I'm going to start with Motorola. I called to get a replacement ear clip for my H500 Bluetooth Headset, and the man I talked to on the phone was very pleasant and helpful. They had several reasons they could have refused warranty service: I bought the headset on EBay and got an OEM pack (it was just a sealed plastic bag; this is how the headsets are delivered when you buy a phone/headset combo), the clip isn't a warranty item, and it was broken because of "excessive mastication." You're not supposed to chew on a Bluetooth headset. (No, it wasn't me. It was my (at the time) 2 year old daughter. The spot she chewed on finally wore through. All I wanted was to buy a replacement clip. I even told the guy: "I don't think it's under warranty," but I checked the order date anyway: April 26, 2006 (it's April 4 today.)

Despite all that, he's sending me a free replacement ear clip at no charge, not even for shipping.

Update 4/11/2007: I got a package in the mail today. They actually sent 3 of the clips for my headset, a gray one, a beige one, and a black one.

Thanks, Motorola!

[More happy support:]

I also dealt with Creative Labs on a number of occasions. Every time I have, I've had great service. My two most recent calls were to get remote controls for a speaker system and a media player. The speaker system came from a pawn shop, and the remote wasn't with it. I didn't expect Creative to stock a 5 year old remote, but they had one. Then I ordered a remote for my Zen Portable Media Center. The guy had to search to find it, but he found one.

In both cases, the rep stayed on the phone long after my issue was handled and talked to me about the company and the products. I felt like a valued customer, not a talking wallet.

What amazes me is that even though CR is based in Singapore, they hire US workers to man phones in the US for US based callers. That makes me feel like they take support seriously, instead of just calling it "overhead" and trying to pay as little as they can get away with for support staff.

My hat is off to Creative Labs.