Released on: March 29, 2008, 12:01 am

Press Release Author: DIYA SOOD

Industry: Management

Press Release Summary: Over the years, I have been amazed at the "blinding" greed
and reckless approach
to commerce that some business owners have employed. Lying to customers, selling
inferior merchandise, and not offering refunds, left a firestorm of irate customers
in their wake. Without fail, all of this "ill will" led most businesses to
bankruptcy, and in some cases, Federal Prison



Press Release Body: Over the years, I have been amazed at the "blinding" greed and
reckless approach
to commerce that some business owners have employed. Lying to customers, selling
inferior merchandise, and not offering refunds, left a firestorm of irate customers
in their wake. Without fail, all of this "ill will" led most businesses to
bankruptcy, and in some cases, Federal Prison.

I realize that not everyone engages in "business criminality" that rises to the
level of fraud and incarceration. Most people try to be good stewards, and approach
their enterprise in an honest and forthright manner. For those of you who own
thriving business concerns you already know that in most cases the customer is
always right. You make sure that you communicate effectively, refund monies if the
buyer is truly unhappy, and try to meet the needs of the people who buy your goods
or services.

However, there are more than a handful of EBay sellers that are of the mind that
customer service and effective communication is not something that they need not
participate in. Take the case of a woman named Barbara, (Nickname: BobAnn) who
recently posted her disappointment on the Ryze Business Network:

Quote:
Barbara Cerda wrote:
Greetings Everyone,

"When will sellers on EBay understand that customer service is key? And when will
EBay sellers learn using customer friendly approaches can only make their business
grow?" Again today I\'ve bought from a less than friendly seller.

Thought I was placing a bid and instead bought the item at the buy now price. Of
course the seller did not refuse to allow the retraction, nor was I allowed to place
a bid. I always pay for my winning bids immediately upon email confirmation.

And did so in this case. But it would have been customer friendlier for this seller
to accept my retraction to be replaced with a bid. He would have gotten repeat
business from me and my friends. His \"Buy Now\" price is 30% over the retail price
for this item. Lesson learned by me again - that there are way too many sellers on
EBay out to grab a buck and the hell with fair practice. Lesson learned yet again."

BobAnn
End quote.

The operative phrase here is "repeat business from me and my friends". There is no
better endorsement of your product or service than word of mouth advertising. Lack
of flexibility on the part of the seller, not only cost them one customer, but also
destroyed the possibility for future business. Good news travels fast, but bad news
travels faster!

As an auction seller, (Ebay auction ID: LevelBest77) I would have accommodated her
request right away. And while I have never had anyone use "Buy It Now" by accident,
I have had several people over the years ask me to retract bids. The number of
people who have made that request can be counted on one hand! Some, did not even
understand the process, (bid retracting) and I was more than willing to guide them
through it.

People make honest mistakes, and you should never "abuse" a buyer for doing so. If
you plan to get into EBay auction selling for the long haul, always practice good
will toward your customers. Unless someone is totally unreasonable, and you have
done everything in your power to accommodate their request, never deny people the
ability to change their mind, return an item, or retract a bid! Developing good will
also requires that you anticipate customer needs...

For instance, I had a few overseas customers bid on a wireless router. This
particular item needed to be powered with a Universal Adapter, since voltage
requirements in France and Australia are obviously different from those here in the
United States.

I made this abundantly clear to both bidders before they sent me any payment. The
purchase of such an adapter, not to mention the shipping price, would have doubled
the US retail cost. I told them that they could probably get the product cheaper at
their local electronics stores. Without hesitation, I let them out of their
obligation to pay for the item. I then contacted the next highest bidder and offered
that person the chance to make the purchase.

Both bidders thanked me for my honesty. They had forgotten about the electrical
differences. I could have ignored that little detail, and sold them the item anyway.
I just had to put myself in their situation. Think of how frustrated they would have
been if I did not reveal that information. Buyer's remorse would have set in
quickly, once they realized that they could have purchased the same item for a lot
less in their native countries.

While the benefits of these actions may not have an immediate effect, you can be
sure that should I ever have another "item of interest!" these two gentlemen would
not hesitate to purchase from me. They can count on me to accommodate their needs,
instead of catering to my wants. Creating this type of good will instills trust, and
the knowledge that you have the customer's best interest in mind.

"I thinketh thou both protest too much!

Do you accentuate the positive? Or, do you run on negativity? Negative EBay feedback
is a tool that everyone should use with restraint, or not at all. As a rule, I never
leave negative feedback. Unless someone has blatantly lied about your product, or
attacked you personally without merit, then I would not leave any feedback in the
"minus" side of the isle!

"Flame" wars are not pretty. I have seen a lot of unnecessary back and forth
"banter" that could have been avoided, if they (the seller) just resisted the urge
to make their "two cents" known. Sometimes it gives customers the impression that
you are more concerned about arguing, then conducting your business.

I have also witnessed seller feedback that has included some pretty foul language.
Engaging in this type of verbal sparring is not much of a confidence builder either.
It is more telling of what you are, then about revealing the sins of your customers.
Don't go out of your way to register a negative response if you can help it. Heed
the sage advice that our Mother's use to tell us: "If you can't say anything nice,
don't say anything at all!"

"What we have here is a failure to communicate!"

Communication with your customers should not amount to the sound one hand clapping!
Bottom line, if someone e-mails you with a question--answer it! Here is an example
of the type of feedback I obtained by doing just that..

"He was very Helpful and cooperative in answering questions. Follow-up: Will
DEFINITELY use his services anytime he has items of interest! Great Seller!"

The gentlemen who left this positive review, wanted to know about some of the
particulars of a "Mickey Mouse" clock I had up for auction. His wife is a collector
of all things Disney, and thought it would be a nice surprise for her birthday. The
clock, to say the least, was in sad shape. It was incapable of keeping time, and the
only part of it in working order was the second hand. I thought for sure that he
would be disappointed with the item despite full disclosure of all of its
imperfections.

To my surprise, not only did I receive positive feedback, but he also told me that
his wife absolutely loved it! In this instance, one man's junk, truly, is another
man's treasure! I never thought this item was worthy of any praise! The time it took
to answer his questions-all of five minutes!

I know that some of you will say that I am not being realistic. You just can't
answer e-mails all day; "I have a business to run!," you might proclaim. If you plan
on making a living on EBay, then you better think about hiring someone to help you
answer your daily inquires if it is just too overwhelming. If you specialize in a
particular product, set up a Frequently Asked Questions page to any Auto-Responder.

If you use EBay on an infrequent basis, and have less than thirty listings a month,
then you really don\'t have any excuse not to provide great customer service and
e-mail communication. You shouldn't be inundated with questions regarding that many
items, unless the product you are selling is technical in nature.

If you ignore your customers, they will go away. Good customer service should be
woven into the fabric of every good business. I cannot overemphasis the importance
of this issue. I continue to be perplexed by the fact that it is last on the list of
business priorities for some EBay sellers!

Will good customer service and communication alone make you rich on EBay? That would
be a resounding \"no". You will have to understand your market, and provide products
that the EBay community will bid on consistently. There will be "bidders & buyers"
out there that will make mistakes and commit some auction sins! Forgive all EBay
sins and you will be rewarded with happy, repeat customers!


Web Site: http://www.oversightsystem.com

Contact Details: SCF-111,Ph-10,Mohali,01725091197,n/a,touch9217278@gmail.com.