Steve Johnson on product management

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Product management evangelist and guitar player.

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working with customers

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your opinion matters to us... except when it doesn't

Got this one in email:

We are happy to assist you with the availability of [product].

We regret to inform you that [product] has been discontinued. We understand your disappointment in discovering that your favorite product is not currently a part of our product line.

Customer feedback regarding our products and services is always welcomed and appreciated. We strive for excellence in both our merchandise and our customer experience, and we continually evaluate current and future trends, as well as customer response and reaction. Your opinion matters to us and will be part of the ongoing assessment of our web site offerings.

TAG: working with customers

Filed under  //  working with customers  
Posted by Steve Johnson 
 

Managing stakeholder expectations via Product Council « Software Product Manager by Gopal Shenoy

So is there a way to manage these expectations and make sure there is a clear product direction? I have been using Product Council meetings to successfully do this.
via productmanagementtips.com

Customer councils (or customer advisory boards) are great for discovering problems from those who use your products.
For more on advisory boards, see http://www.pragmaticmarketing.com/publications/topics/03/0305sj/

Filed under  //  working with customers  
Posted by Steve Johnson 
 

Booking mistakenly sent to TripIt support

With so many addresses in your email list, it's easy to send an email to the wrong person or wrong account. We all do it once in a while. But what about vendors? How many support or sales teams get emails intended for someone else?

Img_tripit-logo_gif-sm
TripIt is a wonderful service that I've been using since 2008. Just forward all your travel confirmation emails to plans@tripit.com to setup and maintain your itineraries. It's already a great product but their product teams have also been monitoring support logs to mine for additional requirements. Here's a common user problem:

It looks like you may have mistakenly sent a booking confirmation email to our support email address (support@tripit.com or feedback@tripit.com). Please forward your original confirmation email to plans@tripit.com for processing.

Sometimes when we suggest making support@tripit.com a "safe sender," our customers inadvertently (and understandably) use our support address instead of plans@tripit.com when forwarding booking confirmation emails. You might take this opportunity to add plans@tripit.com to your address book as well to prevent any confusion in the future.

If you were trying to contact our support team, please reply to this email and a member of our support team will get back to you as soon as possible.

How 'bout you? Are your customer support people encountering product problems that you're not hearing about? Go check with your support team. They are in communication with users (not buyers) and frequently have some insights on how to make your product even better.

Filed under  //  working with customers  
Posted by Steve Johnson 
 

Spirit Airlines to become first to charge for carry-on luggage

Spirit Airlines has become the first airline in the USA – perhaps in the world – to say it will charge fliers for putting carry-on bags into its overhead storage bins. That news came this morning as part of a complicated new fee and fare scheme Spirit announced. As part of that effort -- which Spirit describes as "progressing to the next phase of unbundling" -- customers must pay to join Spirit's "$9 Fare Club" to get access to discounted fees and fares. Tucked away in that somewhat convoluted release is the mention of the carry-on fee. 
via usatoday.com

Once again, a company is focusing on their own desperate attempt to make money while completely ignoring the customer experience. The list of airlines I won't fly has increased by "1".

Filed under  //  working with customers  
Posted by Steve Johnson