Biggest Customer Relations Mistake - YAHOO! - January 8th, 2013 | SENDING SIGNALS!

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I just couldn't seem to get my yahoo email to function properly, so I clicked on their "Help" link, and received the following generic, callous, poorly-written, insulting message that I have seen in some years of customer service and customer relations management (CRM). YAHOO - You're getting very sloppy, and in dealing with consumers on an enormously-used platform, that sloppiness translates to a lack of caring or just plain stupidity. Perhaps some people will switch free mail services because of your gaffe. There are plenty of free email services in your market space, and after the same demographic:

"Yahoo Accounts is experiencing an unusually high volume of support inquiries at this time. We are working hard to resolve YOUR issues as fast as possible but please EXPECT a DELAY from our NORMAL RESPONSE times."

Notice how they referred to the problem as YOURS (meaning all of their customers), how they didn't even provide a place for me to type in what specific problem I had in mind, or any way in which I could even reach them. No time frame is given. No apology is given. No message of the nature of what is happening to them on a level which is colossal and disrupting all of their customers' service. I might switch to GMAIL, or AOL, or any other number of free email service providers.

They could have said this:

"We are experiencing a disruption in our service at this time, but please rest assured that our technicians and engineers are working to solve the problem. We appreciate your patience with us during this problem. Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience which we know that this must be causing you. We appreciate your being a Yahoo client, and thank you for staying with us. We are optimistic that problem will be resolved within the next ____hours. Once again, please accept our apologies for any convenience, and we are working hard to solve the problem because you are important to us."

As my father once said to me over forty years ago, when the every US business owner had his or her pride, reputation and loyal customers on the line, "The customer is always right. If it weren't for customers we would not have any income. They are our partners in any success we may be fortunate enough to have."

My dad was quite correct. And this basic customer service philosophy helped maintain a higher standard of quality, mutual respect, civility and an overall higher business quality standard in all aspects of commerce. Words are very powerful. They can destroy or create. They can hurt or they can heal. Never underestimate the power of your words.

Following is a list of free email service providers, for your review and convenience:

FREE EMAIL HOSTING SERVICES

This List Was Compiled And Tested On 09.08.2012