A blog on issues affecting Australia's newsagents, media and small business generally. More ...

Customer Service

Your local newsagency is not a child care centre

A mum a child, around 6 or 7, entered the newsagency the other day. Mum took the kid to our toys area, said something and left. We saw mum walk towards a nearby supermarket. We told the kid to go after their mum.

Mum came back with the kid and ripped into us telling us that we should not have told their kid to follow them, that it was none of our business. The admonishment went on for a bit.

We explained that we are not a child care service and that unattended children are reported to centre security, who will attend and remove them for their safety and our safety. The mum responded with even more choice words and admonishment.

This happens every could have weeks in the newsagency in a large shopping centre. Parents seem to think it is okay to leave their young kids with us while they shop elsewhere.

Our position is no, we’re not a child care service. Any child found in the shop alone is reported to security, for their own safety.

All that would need to happen is that a kid left alone trips or otherwise injures themselves in the shop without a parent present and we would be in a legal minefield.

Or, what if someone noticed a parent leaving a kid and the kid was taken by them? What then?

Parents leaving their kids don’t seem to have thought through the consequences of something going wrong in the shop while their kid is left without supervision.

It is frustrating that we have had to say on social media that our newsagency is not a childcare centre.

There may be some reading this who think it’s okay. We all have to made decisions on matters like this in the context of our own situation. The shop I am writing abut today is in a large Melbourne suburban centre. We are near two exist. Abduction would be easy. The kid drifting off to other shops would be easy, too, as would getting lost in a crowd.

The risk for the child and for us and those who work in the shop is too great. hence our zero tolerance policy.

Back to the kid who was left, given how the mum spoke to us, we feel for how life might be at home for the kid.

15 likes
Customer Service

The false economy of Suncorp EFTPOS deals for retailers

I spent more than an hour on hold for Suncorp this week for an issue that they resolved with a flick of a switch at their end in seconds.

In my experience, this is common customer service from Suncorp.

It surprises me that retailers fall for the Suncorp deal pitches for EFTPOS business because the moment you have one question, your costs shoot through the roof in wasted time.

Australian banks need to do getter at customer service.

3 likes
Customer Service

‘Being a newsagent is addictive’ what a wonderful story

This article from the Irish Times is a good read, heartwarming, encouraging and inspiring for many.

End of an era as the Last Corner Shop closes: ‘I’m going to cry’
John Hyland’s devotion to his customers has made him a much-loved shopkeeper

“Everything changes,” says John Hyland. At 69, the newsagent is retiring after 35 years in his well-known shop on the corner of George’s Street Upper and Clarinda Park West in Dún Laoghaire, in south Co Dublin.

The crowded shelves and stacks and racks of newspapers and magazines have been gradually depleting, and over the weekend and into Monday a steady stream of regulars, of all ages, have been coming in for their papers and to wish Hyland well.

As he courteously thanks people for their custom, he seems quietly surprised at the reaction to his departure. “Some I wouldn’t even know by sight. I have lovely customers. When I do a little thing, get something they’re looking for, they’re so grateful.”

John Hyland may have been both the worst shopkeeper in Ireland and one of the best. Whether some customers had the money to buy what they wanted didn’t seem to bother Hyland too much: he always put them first

The sign over the shop reads Dun Leary’s Last Corner Shop: A Service Newsagent. His wares have been spread on to the footpath, on makeshift tables and racks, since well before Covid made it a popular approach. He has stocked an astonishing range of publications: regional papers from every county in Ireland, Le Monde, the New York Review of Books. If you couldn’t find it at Eason you could probably find it at John’s (as locals call the shop), from 5am until 2.30am every day of the year. As well as sweets and cigarettes, there’s a small range of other goods, from cornflakes to condoms to cat food.

It’s worth reading the whole article and watching this video from Ronan Kelly:

6 likes
Customer loyalty

Appalling customer service from Nine Media’s Fairfax business when I try and cancel by subscription to The Age

I decided to cancel my subscription to The Age a three days ago. I figured it would be easy – log into their website, select my account and click cancel from the next billing cycle.

I figured, 1, 2, 3 and I’d be done. I figured that because that’s how online works. It’s easy, self-serve, fast.

But, not at Fairfax Media. Their approach is broken, cumbersome and laden with barriers.

I logged in. Then, I had to log in again when I selected my account. There was no explanation as to why I had to log in twice. I guess it as because they are two different tech systems.

Anyone, I got in. But once in, there was no button I could click to self manage the account.

I had to call or email the. So, I selected email, thinking I could write an email. But, no, that would be too simple for Fairfax Media to implement.

On selecting email, it took me to another page that I had to complete. They asked for my subscriber number. I went back to my account page, there is no subscriber number. I checked and checked and could not find it. So, back to the web form, I completed the details including having to tell them why I wanted to cancel.

But that was not enough. They will consider my request. They emailed suggesting I call them if it is a time sensitive request. It’s not, so I’ll let it play out. Gees, I hope they don’t call. I don’t want to speak with anyone. But … here we are 3 days later and I’ve heard nothing.

As I said, appalling customer service from Nine Media’s Fairfax.

If I was a Fairfax shareholder I’d be thinking about the manpower cost of such a broken subscription management system. Talk about broken, old-school, out of date. It’s a joke. My own small business subscription related consumer websites offer far better customer self-service experiences.

It’s simple really, Fairfax Media. I want to cancel my subscription. These hoops and barriers feel like it is a business strategy to keep customers, by making it too hard to quit.

The experience turns me off. It makes me want to tell others how bad dealing with them is.

The approach by Fairfax Media to managing online subscriptions is what I’d expect from a dinosaur business, a business out of touch with online. Oh, wait…

22 likes
Customer Service

Afterpay Touch has let newsagents down

The customer service from the team at Afterpay Touch over the last week has been dreadful. While they fell victim to problems caused by updates to windows by Microsoft, the communication from Touch has been slow coming and inadequate in content. This has pushed newsagents to others for help that should have come from the company itself.

Like so many big suppliers to our channel, Afterpay Touch has not provided care small business retailers as it should.

8 likes
Customer Service

Managing challenging customers, and selling products

I have noticed more retailers using humorous signs at the counter to encourage less stressful encounters terms with customers. In some cases they are signs specifically for that purpose whole in others they are signs that are actually sold in the store. Here is one example I saw in a card and gift shop earlier this week.

I like this sign. It’s sharp but fun. It is part of a larger range that has been popular in the US for a couple of years now.

I saw first-hand that this sign work as a talking point with customers, which can lead to them looking at other signs in the range.

The key with using any signs like this, which are part of a range in-store, at the counter is to keep the counter clean of other distractions. This means no other signs. Plus, you need a quick response to any customer comment or query, to maximise the opportunity. The other thing I would do is change the signs regularly, thereby not focussing on one like this the could offend customers.

How we win some customers today is different to a few years ago. Just as what can constitute a gift today is different to a few years ago. Winning at both requires in playing outside what has been usual in our businesses.

10 likes
Customer Service

XchangeIT failed newsagents on the Gotch data change

XchangeIT claims for itself a key role in data quality when it comes to magazine supply and return data in the newsagency channel. It is the copy, meting out punishment for poor data.

Last week, in the middle of the Gotch data structure change, XchangeIT oversaw faulty data sent to newsagents. data contrary to what newsagents had been told they would receive.

XchangeIT communicated to newsagents through their own software. They did not tell the software companies, the parties to whom newsagents turn for any tech question on matters such as this. They turn to software companies as they are more likely to open hours newsagents are open and are more likely to answer calls when newsagents call.

The help desk team at my software company, Tower Systems, found out about the data problem when newsagents canned. They had to then track it back through XchangeIT. The time wasted could have been avoided had XchangeIT been transparent in a timely manner with those at the front line of helping newsagents through what was for plenty of them a stressful situation.

Poor job XchangeIT.

Footnote: All through last week, help desk call traffic was up every day by more than 300%. This is because of queries, uncertainty and nervousness. By the end of the week things looked good. However, this week, call traffic is up too as there were others who did not do anything and now realised they should have. This is frustrating.

17 likes
Customer Service

How Qantas handled me leaving my laptop on a plane is a master class is customer service.

I left my laptop computer in the seat pocket of my Adelaide to Melbourne flight on Sunday this week. I am 100% to blame for this mistake.

I did not realise I had done this until I got home mid afternoon.

This is a big deal as my laptop is my workplace. It has all my files, my calendar, my task management and plenty of apps on which I rely in business and personally.

Immediately on realising what I had done I called Qantas at Melbourne airport. The laptop had not been handed in at baggage services. By the time I called, the aircraft had flown to Sydney and then left for Perth.

The Sydney lost baggage process is different to Melbourne. I was told it could be a day or two before the laptop made its way to lost baggage.

When the aircraft arrived in Perth, a Qantas team member personally boarded and checked the seat back pocket. The laptop was not there.

At each check they made, Qantas staff contacted me and kept me updated.

The collective wisdom from Qantas folk was that it would be in Sydney and I should hear from Qantas since they found i.

Sure enough, that is what happened. A Qantas staffer called Tuesday morning with the news.

On Tuesday I picked my laptop up from Sydney baggage services. The laptop was in perfect condition. It had not been opened – I know for sure because of the security facility I had installed and from the remote monitoring I had in place.

As best I can work out, Qantas staff spent at least four or five hours on this for me, without charge and without mocking me for leaving the valuable laptop in the seat pocket on the aircraft.

What I love about the experience is the regular communication from Qantas staff, their adhering to the timeline they advised in each contact with them and that they did not judge me – even though this was 100% my fault. Their communication on Sunday is what had me trusting them and their processes. It made waiting on Monday bearable.

The Qantas customer service was flawless.

Footnote: My 5pm Sunday I realised I needed a new laptop as being within mine on Monday was not an option as I had a crazy week ahead. I went to Apple at Chadstone, bought a new MacBook and thanks to a SSD backup and my iCloud backup was 100% up and running late that night. The experience was a reminder of the value of cloud based backup.

20 likes
Customer Service

Suncorp fails a newsagent on customer service

A newsagent has had internet issues causing them to not have access to Suncorp EFTPOS for many days. They were sent a new router and while this got one terminal working, the support people at PC EFTPOS, the service provider for Suncorp, could not get the other working. They fobbed the issue off, telling the newsagent to call their software company. That was my software company Tower Systems.

Even though Tower did not supply the router nor the PC EFTPOS software and given Suncorp and PC EFTPOS had done, in my opinion, such a useless job, a Tower IT guru fixed the problem in a couple of minutes, for free.

It frustrates me that Suncorp makes a lot of noise about their amazing rates. Those rates count for nought in their terminal is down and they cannot provide even basic customer service to get it up and running.

You are welcome Suncorp.

13 likes
Customer Service

Gotch needs to change its customer interface

Too many newsagents are losing too much time waiting on the phone for the Gotch call centre. Two newsagents yesterday told me they had been on hold for more than 45 minutes. Three more called me Monday.

Gotch should urgently create a new customer facing website to deal with the calls taking up the most time:

  1. Over supply.
  2. Under supply.
  3. Permanent supply adjustment requests.
  4. Damaged stock.
  5. Basic account queries.

By pushing newsagents to deal with these through a website would bring a structure to the process, ensuring all necessary data is gathered and enabling faster processing by Gotch. Indeed, this structure ought to have been established prior to the closure of Network Services.

I have been patient with Gotch. I thought they would be further ahead by the end of May. Their out of date processes are costing the newsagency channel thousands of dollars in time every day.

I want Gotch to be successful as magazines play an important role in our channel. The current delays (friction) on the Gotch processes are imposing an additional cost on an already margin-challenged category for newsagents.

This post is about the company, Gotch and or its parent PMP, and the resources it is allocating rather than the people doing the work.

11 likes
Customer Service

Getting your EFTPOS up and running during a Telstra outage

While Telstra appears to have been of little help to small business owners I have spoken with during the current outage, some banks have been equally unhelpful in restoring access to EFTPOS processing. One bank outright stated that their EFTPOS terminal would not work until Telstra was back on, the retailer was soon up and running thanks to connecting through a 4G dongle and a router that was fit for purpose.

Sometimes having access to good technical advice is more important than short-term better rates.

3 likes
Customer Service

Walmart customer service focus

Walmart helps banana shoppers choose bananas that are safe to eat based on the colour of the bananas. My first reaction was who needs this and then I realised that regardless of whether I need it or not, it is a customer service that costs Walmart little yet puts them in a good light.

IMG_0067

This made we think of opportunities in newsagencies for demystifying things we sell. Officeworks is doing some of this in the stationery space already.

0 likes
Customer Service

Why IPS closes its call centre at 3pm

I had contact with IPS management yesterday about why they were closed after 3pm. Looking at a year of call data they found that less than five calls a week come in after 3pm. They decided to cut hours and thereby reduce labour costs.

The only reason I discovered this is because a newsagent complained to me. While I understand labour is a high cost to any business, customer service is important, especially when it comes to niche magazine titles only available in newsagencies.

One way any company can reduce labour hours is to improve online services, to enable those who might call to resolve any issue online through a smart website. This is something IPS ought to act on.

11 likes
Customer Service

A newsagency customer speaks out about poor customer service

Ash Long emailed me yesterday with this story of poor customer service by his local newsagent. I share it here with his permission:

I like that the Australian Newsagency Blog has news of new avenues where businesses can be grown and profits maximised.

But I wonder if sometimes a reminder is needed that newsagents must not neglect their core business. As a newspaper publisher, I spend about $250 per week on papers and magazines at the local newsagency. I do not seek discounts, I do not receive loyalty rewards. I pay by cash, as I have done over the past 22 years.

It has been drummed in to me at this blog for newsagents to promote their ‘putaway’ service. So, when I had to be away interstate last weekend, I asked the counter-staff woman to please put aside the Thursday-Sunday editions of the Herald Sun and The Age, and that I would return in the following week to pay and retrieve the papers.

It wasn’t done. The counter staff said the newsagent counter-manded their efforts, and returned the papers, so my request was unfulfilled. Not a big deal, you might say. Only 8 newspapers. But those issues were important to me. I was only trying to be a good and loyal customer. The newsagent did not let me know of his decision. I have left a message for him, but he still has not called with an explanation (or an apology).

I feel disrespected as a customer. I feel that the newsagent should no longer have my $1000-a-month purchases. I feel that I should take my business elsewhere. He does not know his customers, and he has neglected his main game.

Whether we like it or now, the newsagency shingle binds all businesses that trade under it. Poor service by one can reflect poorly on all newsagents in the eyes of the customer experiencing poor service.

We are in challenged businesses with some of our core products suffering from severe disruption. Add to this the challenges of the economy, more focused competitors and myriad other factors and you have tough circumstances for many newsagency businesses. Why, therefore, would you treat a long-term customer in this way.

If the story as shared is accurate there is no excuse I can think of. A regular customer offering to spend money for little or no effort is to be respected and served well.

I am sure there are plenty of newsagents who would love Ash Long’s business.

22 likes
Customer loyalty

Hey Marcus Berkman, not all newsagents are the same

Marcus Berkman, writing his article, We are supposed to feel grateful to our newsagents and banks for compromising their standards of service for The Independent, has a massive whinge about WH Smith and their use of self-checkout.

For instance, I occasionally go into WH Smith in one of the mainline railway stations to buy a newspaper or a competitively priced bag of Revels. They used to have four or five tills and a queueing system, which meant you were usually in and out of the shop in a couple of minutes. Sometime last year they ripped all this out and replaced it with eight self-service machines and one till, which is the only place from which you can buy cigarettes. This means there is always a queue of half a dozen people for the one till, some of whom are buying gaspers with bags of change or out-of-date credit cards, and all of whom will miss their train.

The things is, Marcus, your bitch is with WH Smith and not newsagents, not the real newsagents, the family run businesses that provide personal service, usually from the proprietor or a family member.

For the record, this newsagent does not like self-checkout terminals as the dehumanise the retail process.

25 likes
Customer loyalty

Some newsagency supplier websites turn you off doing business with them

Some product and service suppliers to newsagents have the worst websites I have ever seen. They are a barrier to doing business. Too often when I speak with a supplier about their website the answer is they are working on it. In the meantime, they complain newsagents are not doing enough business with them.

Here are the faults I have seen in the last few days with some newsagent supplier sites:

  1. Out of date information.
  2. Poor graphics.
  3. No product images.
  4. No e-commerce facilities.
  5. A 1980s look.
  6. Too many mistakes.
  7. No useful downloads.
  8. Not automated login access management.
  9. Not mobile friendly.
  10. Serving consumers ahead of stockists.
  11. Not listing stockists and making finding them easy.

A website is your shop window. If you want people doing business with you it needs to be stunning and it needs to be changed regularly.

A good supplier website should give me everything and more I could get from a good rep.

11 likes
Customer Service

An amazing retail customer service story from Fossil

IMG_0803I made a purchase at the Fossil watch store on 5th Avenue in New York last Friday. As it was raining heavily outside they offered a plastic bag cover. TI had never heard of such a thing. hey had a box of these covers behind the counter, for weather like that day.

The cover easily slipped over the Fossil shopping bag, protecting it as if it itself was valuable.

I have never been offered a shopping bag protector before. I was amazed.

The experience was a lesson in excellent customer service – the business and the employee going beyond my expectations and delivering a level of service I am happy to talk about.

In the bag covered by the bag cover were two tins and in the tins were the items purchased. So, there was little chance of the actual items getting damaged by rain. Their concern was for their bag and since their bag is all about their brand, it makes sense.

Delivering unexpected good customer service is a differentiator for any business, especially a retail business in a competitive situation. We have opportunities in our businesses every day for doing this. Key to success with unexpected good customer service is to have the processes in place to make it commonplace for the business to go above and beyond.

In the Fossil example, they had the bag covers at the counter and had trained employees on knowing when to offer them.

Newsagents selling gifts, especially with gifts worth more than $20, have excellent opportunities to go above and beyond because of the margin dollars available for investing in this level of customer service.

This type of service is disruptive. It challenges how shoppers view the business and what they expect from you. It’s why it is good for business and especially good for newsagencies where shopper expectations about our businesses are so rooted in history.

12 likes
Customer Service

How customers abuse our newsagencies

standsAt the airport last week I saw how customers had abused the Lovatts crossword stand at a WH Smith store.

Click on the image and see – they have been using the stand to test pens as well as a place to leave a used coffee cup.

At least they didn’t leave a mucous filled tissue or a filled baby nappy.

It challenges one’s faith in humanity sometimes – the way people treat shops.

7 likes
crosswords

The unexpected gift makes for a memorable experience

lindtOn a Qantas flight on last Thursday morning after the meal service the flight attendants came through the cabin giving each passenger a Lindt Easter bunny. It was unexpected. People were thrilled – some even talked to the person next to them to whom they had not spoken all the flight. The experience reminded me of the value of delivering unexpected good customer service. It can be the simplest of things that delight the most.

9 likes
Customer Service

How do you communicate with your customers?

closedI walked for fifteen minutes yesterday to a regular Sunday breakfast venue only to be confronted by a sign noting they are closed for the long weekend in Melbourne. This business is still establishing itself, it should not be closed, especially not on a long weekend when people have time for breakfast.

The experience got me thinking about how we communicate with our customers. I wondered what this cafe could have done. For a start, they could have let their regulars know a weekend earlier. They could have established a facebook page and let us know vis that. Or they could have setup an email list and sent us a note advising they are taking a break.

We need to run our businesses as if those who shop with us could go elsewhere and never return for the slimmest of reasons – such as being closed on a Sunday over a long weekend. Advanced communication is the key – so we don’t surprise shoppers with a change in opening hours.

My challenge to newsagents today is to think about how you communicate with your customers. Do you have a good path of communication? Is it two way? Or, are there surprises because of how you communicate?

This cafe runs its business as if it relies solely on passing trade. While there is considerable passing trade, there is also considerable regular local business. their approach to communication, or lack thereof, ignores this. The cafe’s sign also ignores weekend only patrons in favour of weekday patrons.

12 likes
Customer loyalty

Amazing customer service from Shirtscope online t-shirt store

tI bought a t-shirt online recently and placed on top of it in the package I received was this note.

What terrific customer service!

I don’t recall being given this advice in such an obvious and friendly way when buying t-shirts from a high street retailer. Sure, some of this information is on care instructions inside the garment – not presented in this obvious way or with the same friendly style.

What I love about the postcard the most is that it was unexpected. I was delighted to see it included and with the information shared.

High street retailers argue that their service is more personal and more connected than online yet with this t-shirt purchase I have received better and more personal service than is usual when purchasing t-shirts offline.

Smart online retailers will take business from high street retailers if they provide a more valued experience. That’s what I have had here.

On the back of the note was a bold yet simple Thank You! 

I bet they thought about this long and hard at SHIRTSCOPE.COM – about how to provide an experience to the online shopper which is better than they would experience from a high street retailer. It shows in their execution from the website to shipping to how the product was packed to the customer care from this note.

We need to understand

9 likes
Customer Service
Trending Articles

Fairfax changes approach to TV Guide, disrespects newsagents

Published on April 20, 2011

What do you think of the Powerball changes?

Published on February 16, 2018

IPS releases new magazine contracts

Published on June 21, 2011