As many of you heard, I’m moving across country. I think a lot of people know because my stats show that views of that announcement have far outweighed the number of followers I have across various social networks. Thanks for the clicks and for reading.<\/p>\n
Moving across country, for me, is always a timed affair. I spend more hours planning and orchestrating my move than actually lifting boxes. I bought my car over the Internet and it’s waiting for me when I get there. I’ve reserved my hotel and put a hold deposit down on a house I really like and yes that house has already been added to location networks so future friends can check in there. Moving is also my chance to start new. I sell things and buy things. I’m liquidating by getting rid of some things I can do without or things that can be upgraded for a few bucks more. My computer setup (that so many people have featured on blogs such as “dream setups .com” has been sold to a different friends. I’m having trouble getting rid of the 30″ Dell LCD due to its size and price. Ping me if you’re interested.<\/p>\n
When discussing my buying habits with a friend on Twitter, his question was about my brand loyalty. He made the reference that I stick with a pretty small pool of companies in my buying habits. I’m going to list a few below if you haven’t heard of them.<\/p>\n
Okay, we get it Adam. You’re picky about where you buy from. Why did I choose these specific companies for all of my purchases of those devices. I live in a nation full of choice where every product has over 100 competitors begging for my dollar. I have choice to spend my money where I want. There are some steps to gaining my trust and having me as a loyal customer for a lifetime.<\/p>\n
First impressions<\/strong><\/p>\n These are crucial. First of all, I generally don’t buy your product the first time. Remember, I’m loyal to another company so my first experience generally involves using a friend’s or being in a situation or at a company where they use that product exclusively. Who my friends buy from and what my company uses is a huge factor. That’s only the beginning but first impressions of your product help forge that lifetime of loyalty.<\/p>\n I look at design, comfort, taste, smell and usability but what I’m most serious about is the human touch. Can a real human help me with my problem in swiftly and professionally? If so, your product may not be the best but I’m going to be hooked and will remain hooked until someone shows me better service than you have.\u00a0Loyalty\u00a0programs are the single biggest reason I return to a store or company to give them money. This is why I hope and pray that someone will figure out coupons using my location. Please allow a bar to give me 2 for 1 drinks based on my loyalty at that spot.<\/p>\n I’m not tough to crack. No company is guilty until proven innocent. I give every company equal chances even if I’m loyal to another.<\/p>\n I would have never bought a Ford car until last year when the company gave me two cars each for an entire week with a gas and lodging budget and said, “go have fun. go for a road trip.” Then a few of their VPs read my reviews and tweeted them out. Scott Monty DMed me thanking me for taking that drive. This has a huge impact on me and the first site I visited when thinking about buying a car next month was Ford’s.<\/p>\n When I have account issues, I DM @BofA_Help (Bank of America’s Twitter account). Within an hour, someone calls me and works out my issues. The same goes for AT&T and for Comcast. I am one SMS away from a real human calling me and figuring out my problems. Companies that do this will have me for life. An Assistant to the CEO of Starbucks called me after my complaint about a bad experience on Twitter and they sent me a care package and some other incentives to keep using Starbucks. Even a PR Rep for Guinness beer sent me their anniversary brew and some bar towels as a thanks. These people found me through my loyalty of their brand, through blogs, tweets and Flickr photos. Search for any of these companies on my flickr stream (even shooters’ gun store in Jacksonville) and you’ll see photos I’ve taken there. That’s my way of thanking them for being there for me as a customer.<\/p>\n A Lifetime of Loyalty<\/strong><\/p>\n The product must be up to my standards. If it’s a piece of technology, it has to not break and be reliable. I’ll pay as much as 50% over the price of a competing product if the company is reachable within 5 minutes of something breaking and if that product is reliable.<\/p>\n I also am loyal to companies that have shortcuts to coupons, service and saving money if you’re “in the know.” Did you know that for $50 more, you can buy a computer through Dell Small Business and get 1-3 years of on-site in-person repair of that computer? You can pay a little more and someone on the same day as your hard drive failure or motherboard burning of will come to your house with the part and replace it for you within 4 hours. Not many people know that. HP may have better and cheaper machines and better overal support but Dell will come to my house 4 years from now and replace any part of that machine within 4 hours. That’s service that makes me a loyal customer for life.<\/p>\n Every 2 weeks, Starbucks sends me a free drink coupon in the mail for my loyalty and they greet me when I come in any of the 5 stores I frequent with “hi Adam. the usual?”When I told my morning Starbucks I was moving they said, “when is your last day? Okay, drinks are on us that day. anything you want.”This Starbucks gets nothing from me after that day. They’re not going to see me the next day but as a thanks for 6 months of spending $5.50 every morning, they’re going to give me a send off gift. I’ll be loyal to Starbucks for life.<\/p>\n Service and company\u00a0accessibility is always more important than product quality but if quality is bad, I’ll do all I can to be a tester to help them improve that quality. It’s a 2-way street. I help them and they help me. At some point, I have to say “goodbye.” I’ve only done this a few times. The folks at Etymotic Research (competitors to Shure) treated me like I didn’t know audio which I don’t. They told me Shures are for people who don’t understand how sound should be received. They told me I’m just a kid with no taste. They gave me some units to test and then charged my card when I\u00a0accidentally\u00a0kept those headphones beyond 14 days. When I gave honest feedback, they cut me off as a press person and simply called me stupid (in a nutshell). I’ll never buy or recommend those headphones again. It’s a two-way street. I’ve spent over $3,000 on Shure headphones since 2005 and will continue to do so and recommend them to friends. Etymotic won’t get my support anymore.<\/p>\n When do I move on? Well, service and support are huge but it’s also the product. If the product is bad, I’m done. United Airlines is an example of bad product but comfort. I understand their website, I have people there to reach out to if things go wrong but it’s a cheap airline and I get what I pay for. I know what to expect. They’re not great but they’re always the same. There’s no up or down and they don’t try to set the bar high so I’m never\u00a0disappointed\u00a0with their service but if Virgin America Power adapters don’t work or I get on a flight that doesn’t have Wi-Fi, expect a few tweets in anger even though I’ll happily board a United flight with zero\u00a0amenities. VA has set expectations and if they take those away, I’ll start to lose loyalty.<\/p>\n The Cost of Loyalty<\/strong><\/p>\n It’s expensive. Perks, freebies and knowing me by name means a lot but the price of this is pretty high. I’ve never been the kind of person that only buys premium products with a perceived better quality and service and I’m not one of those people that hates on a company when my $20,000 Bang-Olufsen\u00a0speaker system doesn’t rock my socks off. Instead, I start with the cheapest set of earphones a company sells or cheapest iPhone case or cheapest and smallest latte and I rate it, reach out to the company and start a conversation. I mention them on Twitter and see if they respond. Over time, I weed out the companies that simply don’t care.<\/p>\n The cost of loyalty is expensive because I generally upgrade to the next best thing a company has. If I’m loyal to Shure and they release a new pair of headphones, I’ll skip meals to buy that new pair. I have to own it. This mentality has slipped a bit lately. I bought an iPad after everyone else and still haven’t gotten an iPhone 4. Ultimate Ears has this $1200 12 driver set of earphones and I haven’t bought those yet. I have the money but haven’t bought them and, for the past 6 months, I’ve been on a 3 year old MacBook and am waiting patiently for a new MacBook Air. I wait these days for things and don’t find myself skipping meals to buy whatever is the latest.<\/p>\n Loyalty as a Business Model<\/strong><\/p>\n I give huge kudos to any company that their success is based on loyalty. It’s hard work. Every job I’ve worked in where I was directly involved with customer interaction would yield high results. I’m not boasting but I love seeing reviews of products I’ve worked on where the person says, “and they’re so responsive, so helpful and so easy to get in touch with. Whoever is running their support team needs a raise.” I’ve gotten letters from ex-clients back when I did IT who said that I was the only person who would answer their calls 24\/7. I’d drop by on my lunch break to make sure they were happy and I’d remember every name of their employees and keep a mental list of their common issues and needs.<\/p>\n This kind of attentiveness to every customer will lead to prolonged success. More companies should do this and more people like me will line up for service, product quality and happiness when it comes to dealing with them.<\/p>\n Thanks, as always, for reading. Sorry but I’m not going to edit this one. If there were grammar mistakes…well sorry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As many of you heard, I’m moving across country. I think a lot of people know because my…\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","csco_custom_appearance":"","csco_disable_excerpt_posts_layout":false,"csco_page_load_nextpost":"","csco_post_video_location":[],"csco_post_video_location_hash":"","csco_post_video_url":"","csco_post_video_bg_start_time":0,"csco_post_video_bg_end_time":0,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[9,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-my-thoughts","category-social-media","cs-entry","cs-video-wrap"],"apple_news_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb3IC4-fE","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3891,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2012\/12\/11\/next-steps-im-moving-again\/","url_meta":{"origin":970,"position":0},"title":"\u2605 Next Steps: I’m moving again","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"December 11, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I took some time last night to read over things I wrote in the move from San Francisco to New Hampshire in 2010. I also read a few things written in 2008 as I went to San Francisco from Florida. I hate moving. No one loves it but I grew\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Announcements"","block_context":{"text":"Announcements","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/announcements\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3801,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2012\/08\/06\/rethinking-social-networks\/","url_meta":{"origin":970,"position":1},"title":"\u2605 Rethinking Social Networks","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"August 6, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I owe a lot to The Internet; my current paycheck being just one of the small things that is a direct result of being always connected. I've shared a lot with the web. Millions of glimpses into my life have made their way to the web directly and indirectly. I've\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ideas"","block_context":{"text":"Ideas","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/ideas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snapping a Photo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm6.staticflickr.com\/5098\/5564098807_456009b827_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm6.staticflickr.com\/5098\/5564098807_456009b827_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm6.staticflickr.com\/5098\/5564098807_456009b827_z.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4045,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2014\/04\/03\/moving-again\/","url_meta":{"origin":970,"position":2},"title":"Moving….again","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"April 3, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Before everyone goes crazy about me moving back to California, I\u2019m staying in New Hampshire. I realize the last few posts about the west coast would leave some of you to think I\u2019m going back to California or maybe even home to Florida. My sister is graduating from high school\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Life"","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lake Mascoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm4.staticflickr.com\/3790\/13521711444_2b7522a0fa_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm4.staticflickr.com\/3790\/13521711444_2b7522a0fa_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm4.staticflickr.com\/3790\/13521711444_2b7522a0fa_z.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5630,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2016\/03\/25\/technology-my-new-home-network-2016\/","url_meta":{"origin":970,"position":3},"title":"Technology: My New Home Network (2016)","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"March 25, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"In 2014, I spent a lot of time researching and implementing a new home-network. I wanted a network that could really help me achieve anything without being held back. I\u2019m really happy with the results of those efforts and they\u2019re still paying off. Anywhere in the world, I can VPN\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Technology"","block_context":{"text":"Technology","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"New Home Network Equipment","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1574\/25157668734_99d8779bde_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1574\/25157668734_99d8779bde_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1574\/25157668734_99d8779bde_z.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3900,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2012\/12\/31\/moving-into-my-first-home\/","url_meta":{"origin":970,"position":4},"title":"\u2605 Moving into my first home","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"December 31, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The first time I moved out on my own was in 2007. It was March and I joined Twitter shortly after. It's a shame I didn't tweet back when I lived at home with my Dad. It would be interesting to see how the younger me perceived paying a piece\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Life"","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":974,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2010\/08\/19\/im-moving-garage-sale-time\/","url_meta":{"origin":970,"position":5},"title":"\u2605 I’m Moving – Garage Sale Time!","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"August 19, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm moving. It means starting fresh. I'll buy the newer version of this stuff (new iMac, 27\" Apple Display, Canon S95) after I move but I\"m just trying to save money on the moving truck and have more cash in my pocket upon arriving in a new city. With that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Announcements"","block_context":{"text":"Announcements","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/announcements\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/970\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}