Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Even easier way to win the PlayStation 3!!!
The rules to win the PS3 have gotten a little easier. All you have to do is write a message on your Facebook wall (or our LootSlinger page on Facebook) or Twitter saying why you think you should get the PS3. Don't forget to add the #lootslinger so we can find your message. We will choose the most compelling cause as the winner. Good luck and may the best cause win!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
We have a Playstation 3 up for grabs!!!
In anticipation with the upcoming relaunch of lootslinger.com, we wanted to bestow the most amazing video game system upon one of our amazing fans. Lootslinger's roots go way back to a giveaway oriented site, and we just can't seem to let go of the past. Therefore, someone will become the proud owner of a brand new slim Sony Playstation 3 120GB gaming system. This game console not only plays some of the most amazing games, it also plays Blu-ray movies, Netflix streaming, and so much more.
Enough about the PS3... you want to know:
How to enter the contest?
To enter, just post a message on your Facebook wall (or our LootSlinger page on Facebook) or twitter saying why you think you should get the PS3. Don't forget to include #lootslinger so we can find your post. We will choose the most compelling cause as the winner on 3/17/2010 to win the PS3.
Good Luck!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
LootSlinger beta 2.0
Hello fellow LootSlingers!
The relaunch of LootSlinger.com is getting closer and you know what that means - we need to give some stuff away! This time around we're handing out some gadgets (perhaps even an iPad). Details to come next week. I know you folks don't really care about free stuff though - you just want the latest scoop on LootSlinger! So here's the deal: say goodbye to auctions and say hello to the LootSlinger Stand. This is like your very own store. You can even have multiple Stands if you want to separate your items. Your Stand also comes with inventory management tools. People can add items to their shopping cart and buy items instantly or they can make offers. There is a new offer management system that helps Stand owners keep track of the offers they receive.
I know some of you might be saying "but auctions are just so boss, why get rid of them?" To that I'd say "Listen up, Turbo - auctions are whack, man!". These days it seems that people have far less time than they used to. Who wants to wait around for days, maybe weeks, to buy something that they want now? In addition to the delayed gratification argument, who really wins with auctions? Do you think the seller WANTS a buyer to get a great deal on their slightly loved XBOX 360 Elite? So what do they do? They set a reserve price of $260 and charge $39 for shipping. It's no longer an auction. Even eBay sellers are moving away from the auction model by promoting Buy It Now "auctions".
So what are we doing different?
First of all we are staying true to our "lower fees" policy. I can't spill the beans on the exact pricing details right now, but let's just say that there will be something that makes all kinds of sellers happy - and no listing fees at all. As I mentioned briefly above, Stand merchants will have a variety of tools at their fingertips including sales graphs, promotion tools, and Google Merchant Center visibility. We are also integrating more social networking features into the site. Our sellers will have more visibility on Facebook and Twitter. We are also looking into the possibility of working with other sites like Foursquare and Kaboodle to further promote items for sale. One of the most exciting things we are working on is our new developer API. This is going to make it possible for developers to create some really cool applications for the web, mobile devices, TV widgets, anything.
Thats just a sample of whats to come.
We are really excited about these new features (and there are plenty more where those came from). We are not ready to announce an official launch date at the moment, but we will keep the updates coming.
If you want to get in on the giveaways, head over to our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/LootSlinger and become a fan. Details will be announce there shortly.
See you shortly!
Dave
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Should There Be Exceptions To Good Customer Service?
It regularly amazes me how little importance customer service or fair play can have in commerce. Far too often I have come across businesses whose focus appears more about looking after their interests instead of looking after their customer’s. In any transaction that has left a customer with a poor shopping experience, shouldn’t it be a business’ top priority to turn that around? I would think so. However in my own experiences of situations which have gone down these rocky roads, I keep running into the same scenario: The company is focused on retaining the upper hand, sticking to their own customer-unfriendly policies and not giving a moment to consider the effect it is having on their customers.
Good customer service and fair play to consumers have been placed on the endangered species list. That is a reality that we face everyday and it’s shameful.
For the past 20 years (give or take) my career has been focused on the age old art of customer service. Whether on the front lines at the start of my working life, or later when I ventured into the arenas of management, customer service has always been at the forefront. I have experienced, both in previous roles and personal encounters, some great examples of quality and dedication to the art of customer service but I have also encountered far too many poor examples.
I remember them, I have learned from them too, for example:
In this world, I think we have become used to the idea of poor service. We are constantly besieged with it and often there is so little we can do about it we just move on. Sometimes we have an opportunity to escalate an issue. Sometimes that works, although if it does, couldn’t that have been the resolution with the initial representative? Why did it have to take so much more time to resolve? Isn’t our time valuable too in addition to the money we spend? I think so.
Here’s another thought for you, consider the number of times you have asked to speak to a manager…I bet it has happened more due to poor service than because you wanted to congratulate them on having an excellent member of their staff assist you.
Sad isn’t it?
Well, I have also learned that I cannot change other businesses that I am not a part of. I cannot change those poor standards. All I can do is put up with it or I can find other places to shop. We always have that choice don’t we?
I realize I am asking a lot of questions…but here’s why:
I believe excellent customer service should be the norm, the baseline, the constant standard from which every interaction emanates from and that every customer should receive. No exceptions. Regardless of the situation, quality service must be delivered to say (if no other thing) “we appreciate you had a choice, you came to us and we value that.”
Tone of voice, empathy, product knowledge, system knowledge, courteousness, dedication, ownership, respect…there is a long list of skills necessary to resolve some customer service problems, true, but anyone entering a profession that requires those skills should have them, display them and utilize them at every opportunity.
And just as importantly, every business should actively promote those standards and ensure they are what their customers are receiving. No exceptions.
My new role, as Vice-President of Product Development, is giving me an exciting opportunity to create something I have always wanted to do…establish an environment of service excellence that treats superb quality driven customer service as the norm. For LootSlinger, it is imperative that when our customers, our people, call or email us they feel the value and the respect that we have for them. No exceptions.
That is the norm, the baseline and the constant standard. No exceptions.
I’ll save you the trouble of asking me the obvious question…ahem…“Sounds great Steve...but how will you accomplish this and if you do, how long till it wears off like so many others?”
For starters we know what this should be and what it should not. I’ve listed a few examples above, campfire horror stories just waiting to happen to the unsuspecting consumer. We know what this must be and from day one, that is the direction we are going in.
It is the only direction we can go in.
We are building a team to make sure that standard is set, too. We’re building it by carefully selecting the people who join the LootSlinger family, by giving them the ability and the resources to actually help people (not just re-route them elsewhere, to infinity and beyond), by creating a highly respectful and positively charged atmosphere to work in and by making sure that each and every case is handled individually, thoroughly and fairly. No exceptions.
I’ll say it again in case there are any doubts…I believe that good service to our customers, our people, is the baseline standard. If I was a new member to LootSlinger, that is what I would want to receive if I ever had the need for it. Therefore, it is unthinkable to expect any other person to accept anything less.
Good customer service and fair play to consumers have been placed on the endangered species list. That is a reality that we face everyday and it’s shameful.
For the past 20 years (give or take) my career has been focused on the age old art of customer service. Whether on the front lines at the start of my working life, or later when I ventured into the arenas of management, customer service has always been at the forefront. I have experienced, both in previous roles and personal encounters, some great examples of quality and dedication to the art of customer service but I have also encountered far too many poor examples.
I remember them, I have learned from them too, for example:
- I have learned that, sadly for many, good customer service is an expense that some companies believe they can do without.
- I have learned that often good customer service relies solely on the attitude and disposition of the representative you are dealing with, and if they want to treat you poorly, their employers are unconcerned.
- I have learned that in far too many cases the human element has been removed completely. I see this often with online businesses. Replaced by a quagmire of endless recorded telephone loops, endless email exchanges (which can be so easily disregarded, yes?) or the absence of a contact number to anyone at all even if you have no other option but to call. Oh, they probably have a telephone number you could use perhaps, but only if you can find it after laboriously trolling through page after page of “help pages” to find it.
- I have learned that customer service can be tiered to what kind of customer you are. If you are a low revenue generating customer, then you get low quality service, but if you are a high-tier one, or considered of elevated value, then you could obtain access to high levels of support or service. And by higher levels I mean actual customer service.
In this world, I think we have become used to the idea of poor service. We are constantly besieged with it and often there is so little we can do about it we just move on. Sometimes we have an opportunity to escalate an issue. Sometimes that works, although if it does, couldn’t that have been the resolution with the initial representative? Why did it have to take so much more time to resolve? Isn’t our time valuable too in addition to the money we spend? I think so.
Here’s another thought for you, consider the number of times you have asked to speak to a manager…I bet it has happened more due to poor service than because you wanted to congratulate them on having an excellent member of their staff assist you.
Sad isn’t it?
Well, I have also learned that I cannot change other businesses that I am not a part of. I cannot change those poor standards. All I can do is put up with it or I can find other places to shop. We always have that choice don’t we?
I realize I am asking a lot of questions…but here’s why:
I believe excellent customer service should be the norm, the baseline, the constant standard from which every interaction emanates from and that every customer should receive. No exceptions. Regardless of the situation, quality service must be delivered to say (if no other thing) “we appreciate you had a choice, you came to us and we value that.”
Tone of voice, empathy, product knowledge, system knowledge, courteousness, dedication, ownership, respect…there is a long list of skills necessary to resolve some customer service problems, true, but anyone entering a profession that requires those skills should have them, display them and utilize them at every opportunity.
And just as importantly, every business should actively promote those standards and ensure they are what their customers are receiving. No exceptions.
My new role, as Vice-President of Product Development, is giving me an exciting opportunity to create something I have always wanted to do…establish an environment of service excellence that treats superb quality driven customer service as the norm. For LootSlinger, it is imperative that when our customers, our people, call or email us they feel the value and the respect that we have for them. No exceptions.
That is the norm, the baseline and the constant standard. No exceptions.
I’ll save you the trouble of asking me the obvious question…ahem…“Sounds great Steve...but how will you accomplish this and if you do, how long till it wears off like so many others?”
For starters we know what this should be and what it should not. I’ve listed a few examples above, campfire horror stories just waiting to happen to the unsuspecting consumer. We know what this must be and from day one, that is the direction we are going in.
It is the only direction we can go in.
We are building a team to make sure that standard is set, too. We’re building it by carefully selecting the people who join the LootSlinger family, by giving them the ability and the resources to actually help people (not just re-route them elsewhere, to infinity and beyond), by creating a highly respectful and positively charged atmosphere to work in and by making sure that each and every case is handled individually, thoroughly and fairly. No exceptions.
I’ll say it again in case there are any doubts…I believe that good service to our customers, our people, is the baseline standard. If I was a new member to LootSlinger, that is what I would want to receive if I ever had the need for it. Therefore, it is unthinkable to expect any other person to accept anything less.
And so the journey begins
Greetings LootSlingers!
As we come to a close on the site development and other administrative tasks, we wanted to open up a better vehicle for the flood of information about to be released. There will be a stream of blog posts submitted in the next few weeks with information about such items as job openings, goals, our vision, details about the site, fees, and other thoughts.
Our top priority and one of our main goals (besides getting the site up and running) is making sure that the site facilitates safe transactions. While that may seem like a daunting challenge, it's one we feel is imperative - especially on the web, where so many people have hidden identities. With the advent of social networks, people are becoming more receptive to the idea of putting their identity and personality on the internet. In fact, it's rare these days that you come across a person that does NOT have an online identity on some kind of social network like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, MySpace, Friendfeed, etc.
These social profiles are allowing people to build communities of friends that they trust. This trust is critical when it comes to commerce - especially e-commerce. Your personal reputation is now being tied to the online friends you have, your online purchases, forum posts, blog posts, your tweets, the list goes on. It's becoming more than "your reputation is on the line", but "your reputation is ONLINE".
We have incorporated several social elements into LootSlinger and we have big plans to expand upon this in the near future. Knowing the person you are buying from or selling to - knowing their reputation - is one of our key initiatives in providing safe transactions on the site.
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