Response Times and Customer Service

[researcher]

Recent threads have led me to wonder what people consider an acceptable response time for good customer service.

 

[sevens one]

If you want "acceptable" than 24 hours is okay.
But I voted for same day. I mean come on- do they want your business or not?
Let me know you care about me as a customer and call me the same day. My jeweler always calls me back the same day.

 

[researcher]

I was also wondering if people's level of acceptability of response depends on what stage of the process they're in, how quickly they need the stone/setting, etc..

 

[strmrdr]

I picked 24hours but next business day is closer to it.
Faster is better however but my cutoff point is the end of the next business day.
Like Iv said before a vendor that has someone available during the peak internet evening hours for immediate responce and advertises the availability could pick up a lot of business.
9-5 does not cut it on the net.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

For jewellery/diamond sales, I feel that within 48 hours is "reasonable"--accounting for differences in time zones and work schedules, etc.

As an aside, when I was teaching at the University, one of the questions in my job interview was "what time frame did I consider "reasonable"/"appropriate" to provide feedback to email questions from my students?" I replied "within 24 hours", and got 5 nods from 5 committee memebers (so I guess it was the "acceptable" answer).

It will be interesting to see what percentage of respondents reply within "24 hrs"--suggesting that expectations differ little regardless of the product delivered and the service provided.

cheers

Sharon

 

[hoorray]

Ok - I'mmoving my response

.

Same day is preferable, but within 24 hours is necessary. If you are actively shopping, and others are responding, you can't wait a week to hear back from someone. Especially in a busy market where stones are selling quickly. There is one vendor who had nice stones, but twice, the 3 days - week+ response time took them out of the running since I kept moving forward, with or without them.

I used to required that my team responded within 24 hours to every inquiry we got. It doesn't matter if it is diamonds or tractors. When people are trying to purchase something you need to be responsive or you will lose their interest. Basic sales/marketing 101.

 

[Mara]

Within 24 hours. If you have email then you or someone else should be checking it and responding it within a day. Whenever businesses email me back 3 days later, I always have to shake my head. It's almost always my BANK or something ridiculous where time could mean money!!

 

[aljdewey]

For me, it depends on a few things. I expect a quicker response to a phone call than I do to an email; email is efficient for some, but when the recipient is overloaded, it's not terribly effective.




I also feel that phone calls demonstrate a more serious buyer. I know there are a lot of serious buyers via email, and that's great....I'm not saying all e-mailers are "tire-kickers". I'm saying that a customer going the next step to pick up the phone would speak a lot to me if I were a vendor.




Generally, I'm fine with 24 to 48 hours (unless I am informed that someone isn't in the office until *x* day, which I'm okay with.)




I realize that any vendor can have an off day or two, and I am a bit more generous with "benefit of the doubt" the first time....and maybe even the time after that.....but I don't have infinite patience. If I get repeated excuses from a vendor every time I call them on their lack of response, I WILL get tired of it and I WILL go elsewhere.




On that vein, I will say that I expect SUPERLATIVE service from a vendor that I've done repeat business with, and if I don't get it, I have *no* compunction with pulling my business and going elsewhere. It's not acceptable to me that 3 days go by without a response to my phone call for *any* reason.....if you're having voicemail problems, then your staff shouldn't be telling me to leave a voicemail to reach you. I am not inclined to chase any vendor around; if I can't reasonably reach you, I'll go to someone I can reach.




So it does all depend for me.

 

[fancyrock]

I think as antsy as any diamond buyer can be.... same day is preferred and appreciated greatly. But I am also fair to allow time for research, so with that understanding in mind, I would accept 24 to 48 hour response.

 

[reena]

i agree with what's been said by most--same day is best, within 24 hours is acceptable. beyond that--no thanks for me.

 

[Diamond Angel]

24 hours

 

[fire&ice]

I voted 24 hours as it can depend on the timing/time zone of the email. But, unless it was a loosey goosey question, I would expect contact within a few hours.

Edited to add: if I have a question about an ebay item, I am usually answered within a few hours. If I'm not answered within a few hours (save bad timing in another time zone), I usually am not answered at all. If an individual seller listing (sometimes) hundreds of items can email me timely, then I think these internet companies can as well - at least with a receipt of email.

 

[Jennifer5973]

----------------
On 10/14/2004 8:56:30 AM Feydakin wrote:

I would like to take a moment and point out that this is where a well run, well stocked, B&M has it all over internet sales.. Walk in with cash (or credit card - or even good credit only), walk out with a beautiful diamond.. All within minutes if you are so inclinded

Seriously though, internet customer service is dodgy at best when it comes to actually providing it.. You are forced to staff your business differently when doing internet sales.. And generally you can run it with fewer people than a physical location.. Which, during busy periods, leads to one person handling many many sales at once..

24 hour service, except on weekends and holidays is reasonable to expect.. But it requires the vendor to have rigid proceedures in place and train to those standards.. That in itself can be a major accomplishment

Steve----------------

The internet can be a great place to get a beautiful diamond at a very fair price. We've seen impressive empirical evidence of this in the hundreds of rings/stones posted on the forum. For those comfortable with internet purchases and those with poor local options, the Internet diamond business is a Godsend. If I did not have a great local jeweler, I'd be all-over it. There are several vendors who seem to work very hard at providing accurate information and comprehensive decision-making tools for consumers to make purchases sight-unseen. The appraiser option is also a great way to go. Periodic lapses in customer service are to be expected...We are all human. It's not the error but what the vendor does to rectify the situation, at least in my opinion, that defines the experience. My jeweler has made mistakes (albeit very few) but it was his above-and-beyond response to these blips that has earned my continued loyalty, in addition to his quality always exceeding my expectations.

So, I do agree that if there is a good local option, it is a great experience. I just think many people don't have great local resources and/or aren't educated enough about diamonds to ferret out the good stones in the local, often cutthroat environment.

 

[researcher]

Thanks for all the responses! I just wondered if people had a different perspective on what was considered an acceptable time to get back to the customer because it came up in recent threads that certain vendors were taking too long to get back to customers. Hopefully PS vendors will now have a better idea of what's considered good customer service by PS members!

 

[goldengirl]

Heh.... there have been a couple times I emailed an ebay lister with questions regarding their auction, and didn't receive a response back until after the auction had ended. I'm not gonna bid on something if I don't have all the information I need to make a decision!

Isn't it kinda the same thing regarding list diamonds? It's a product you're interested in buying, competing against potentially thousands of other buyers to be the first in line. If you can't get to the diamond fast enough...poof, it's gone.

You can be diligent and scour the internet daily looking for that perfect stone, but if your online jeweler takes 3 days to read your email and put in a request for that stone....odds are, if it was a good deal, it's gone.

Especially if you're a selective shopper, like psers tend to be, I can imagine it would get REALLY OLD to lose that potentially perfect diamond over and over to a lack of response on your vendor's part.

Within 24 hours is a must. If you're requesting they pull a list stone, I'd hope it would be faster. I wouldn't do business with someone who left me cooling my heels.