Gyaan Sutra On entrepreneurship and technology

We hear about it all of the time.

The age of monopolies is over. Your organization will never have the same kind of power over its customers ever again, because they, have now found a voice of their own. We hear that the customer now has some real powers in the relationship, and they strive to get more. If you can’t give it to them, you are going down, and fast.

One aspect of providing a more usable customer service environment is to talk in a language which people understand. Unlike the regular, we will get in touch with you soon, you need to come up with something much more human, if you want that customer to stay.

Though it is the common belief that as companies start getting larger, they start losing their humanity, and start becoming corporations. But today I had the chance to view a beautiful email sent by one of the biggest of internet companies - Amazon. The customer went on to call it the ‘Best Customer Service Email’ they had ever received. So if you need to write emails for your company too, do read it. It might give you a much better idea about what we really should be doing.

Dear Mr. Hildebrandt,

Hello from Amazon.com.

My name is Autumn Walker of Amazon.com’s Executive Customer Relations. Jeff Bezos received your email and has asked me to reply on his behalf, taking any action necessary to assist you.

I understand and fully empathize with your desire to write epic novels using the “HP Pavilion TX1305US Notebook PC” offered in the “Amazon Customers Vote” promotion. I had similar hopes of producing my own work of greatness when I cast my vote.

Perhaps fortunately for the general public, neither I, nor any of my colleagues whom I was ready to beg from, won this round. (Come to think of it, I don’t think we won *any* rounds.) It is important, however, that your genius be heard.

I am unable to take one of the fully claimed and purchased laptops away from its winning owner to provide you with this deal, nor will we be discounting other $1000.00 items to the fire-sale price of $299.00 offered in our “Amazon Customers Vote” promotion. As I’m sure you are aware, promotions are for a limited time only and cannot be extended.

I share your wonder that neither you nor any of the other 18 bloggers participating in your thread did not win the “Out & About” round. As a matter of fact, I was quite vociferous in like-minded protest. Perhaps the response I received to my own objections may clear this matter up somewhat: when I stoutly declared that some member of my voluminous family should have statistically won something, I was reminded of a common thread in our “Customers Vote” forum which states buying a lottery ticket only marginally increases one’s chances of winning the lottery.

Take heart; Norman Mailer wrote all of his novels by hand. And you’ve surely heard the phrase, “the pen is mightier than the sword”? It would sound absurd to substitute “laptop” for the word “pen.”

In the meantime, since fate has conspired against me as well, I will continue the process of gathering material for my novel, (also known as staying employed.) This means that I will certainly be on hand to help you find exactly the right Sharpie should you wish to persevere in your brilliant endeavor. That is, until next year’s “Amazon Customers Vote” promotion…

Despite this setback, I eagerly await the publication of your novel, and can assure you that I will be among the earliest purchasers at the bookstore.

Here’s wishing you the best of luck in next year’s promotion!

Regards,

Autumn Walker Executive Customer Relations

Amazon, I love you.
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This is just what we should be doing. Talking to our clients like the people that we really are.

But this is the question that you really need to ask yourself. Can you do this at your company? If not, you have something new to do.