The Sad State of American Business
I do not know about the rest of you. But I sometimes have the feeling that everything is falling apart – and that applies to American business as well. Let me describe my experience with four quite different operations.
The first is Intuit – the supplier of two indispensable programs: Quicken in its various forms, and Turbotax. I have no quarrel with the latter, though perhaps I should. It is the former that drives me crazy. I have owned and used it since 1995. In the early years, it got better every year, and I saw no reason not to buy the new version when it came out. Then, at some point – perhaps in 2000 or 2001 – the improvements stopped and Intuit began subtracting functions from the new versions of Quicken Deluxe so that they could charge more for versions including those functions. They put a new interface on the program every year, but they added no new functions worth having – and they eliminated functions provided in the earlier versions. They also introduced bugs that had not been in the program before and failed to fix them. You had to buy the new version, hoping that in it the bug would be fixed. In the last couple of years, I have found that on some computers (my Dell mini, to be precise) the program tends to crash. Too much information, I suspect, has built up in the last sixteen years, and nothing has been done to enable the program to handle a larger database on a computer with no more than a gigabyte of RAM. Intuit can get away with all of this because there is no competition. Microsoft abandoned Money, and Intuit bought out the one other company about to enter the market. It is apparently cheaper to buy off the competition than it is to provide a good product.
The second is Delta Airlines. Delta has its hub in Detroit, and that is the airport nearest Hillsdale, Michigan. On the whole, I am satisfied with Delta – though it has its bad days. But Delta’s website is terrible and has always been so. In the spring, I wanted to book a flight from Detroit to Prague and a return via Newark (with a one night stay-over). In principle, the website offered me the option of using it to book what was a slightly complicated itinerary. In practice, it simply would not do the job – so I had to resort to the phone (and pay an extra twenty-five dollars for my ticket). This is not rocket science. Programmers can produce websites that work like a charm, but Delta does not get the job done.
This morning, I had a comparable experience. I used www.orbitz.com to see what sorts of flights are available between Detroit and Salt Lake City (I am giving a talk at Brigham Young University in early November). Orbitz revealed that there were direct flights on Delta – out on Wednesday evening (7:15-9:15 p.m.) and back on a Saturday evening (5:00-10:35 p.m.). I then turned to the Delta website to see whether I could do better. I would have been perfectly happy with an outbound itinerary in which I had to take two flights if it reduced the cost for my hosts. What I found was that on the Delta website I could not get the 5:00 p.m. flight back that I could purchase through Orbitz.
I have also had trouble with scheduling. In April or May, I bought a ticket to Seattle – where, over the Labor Day Weekend, I am slated to attend the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association. I bought my ticket early so that I could get the latest possible flight back to Detroit, for I feared that the panel on which I was slated to appear would be scheduled on the last morning of the conference. It is a very good thing that my fears proved unjustified – for Delta shifted the departure time for my flight back by ninety minutes. Now, I do not object to such adjustments – if they do not amount to much. But what happened, in effect, was that they cancelled my flight at 1:45 p.m., created another at 12:15 p.m., and put me on that. In my book, this amounts to an unjustified denial of service.
My third example is Merrill-Lynch – which I abandoned recently. Prior to that moment, I had had a brokerage account with the firm for something like thirty years. At some point in the 1990s, I switched to an online account. Over the years, I noticed that the service was none too good. This did not bother me greatly until this year when I received a letter suggesting that I send to the brokerage purchase-price information for stocks and bonds I owned so that they could put the cost basis into their computers. So I threw together the information, which took some time because I had originally purchased some stocks by way of direct investment and had had the dividends reinvested by the company in its stock. I then mailed in the information to Merrill-Lynch, and nothing happened. It did not appear on the website. I called about this and got nowhere. Then, after a while, I called again and was transferred three times. Eventually, someone told me to hang on and he would look into it. Then, I was cut off, and no one ever called me back. My business was clearly not worth their bother, and I eventually closed the account. Fidelity and Vanguard have websites where their customers can input such information themselves.
Finally, there is The Wall Street Journal. I have little quarrel with the newspaper as a newspaper. It publishes too much fluff, but all newspapers do, and I find reading material in each issue that is stimulating and informative. The business side of the operation, however, I like less well. This week I received a letter from it, informing me that the price I was paying for the paper was about to double. From this letter, I was able to infer what I did not know: that, under the terms I had apparently accepted, re-subscription was automatic. No number that I could call was provided in the letter I received. There was nothing in it about my possession of an account with The Wall Street Journal on the web. But I knew I had one. So I dug through past e-mails and found one I had saved, which led me to the account. There, I was able to confirm that, in my case, re-subscription was automatic, and there I learned that, on the web, I could change the address where the paper was delivered, the e-mail address listed for me, and so forth. What I could not do online, however, was to make re-subscription a matter of decision for myself on the occasion when the old subscription ran out. Eventually, I found a telephone number and managed to get this changed. I am not about to pay the new subscription rate. But – and here is the kicker – it took me an hour or more to work my way through the maze. I do not doubt that this was intended. The business staff at The Wall Street Journal deliberately make it easy to remain a subscriber and exceedingly difficult to alter one’s status in this particular. It is, if I may say so, sleazy, and I resent the way in which this outfit treats its subscribers.
There is something sloppy about all of this. Intuit, which has no competitors, plays games with its customers. Delta has never managed to set up a decent website, and it is beginning to be fast and free in altering the schedule of its flights. Merrill-Lynch never really adapted to the internet and seems to think that it can do perfectly well without online customers (which, given the drift of things, is madness), and The Wall Street Journal is so desperate to claw in money that, by what are shoddy business practices, it alienates the likes of me. This does not bode well. I would not buy stock in any of these companies. They are not conducting themselves in such a fashion as to win anyone’s loyalty and admiration, and down the road they are apt to pay a high price.
I wonder whether what I am seeing is true of American business as a whole. Are we getting sloppy and losing our edge?
- Comment (41)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (3)
Comments:
Oct '10
Re: The Sad State of American Business
Paul A. Rahe:
I wonder whether what I am seeing is true of American business as a whole. Are we getting sloppy and losing our edge?
In a word, yes. The moment I first perceived this is when I realised that senior management people in my company had supplanted the word “customer” with “end-user”: forgetting that these were the people whose purchase decisions, made in a free market, paid their salaries and those of all of us at the company. This occasioned a rant at the next company meeting in 1987 which had, predictably, absolutely no effect. (Yes, I know I've recently linked to this on another thread here, but it's apposite to this discussion as well.)
As one who has lived in Europe since 1991, there are few things I dread as much as dealing with the “customer service” operations of U.S. companies. There is this unique fusion of Ingsoc mindless automatism and active contempt of customers which motivates one to seek any alternative, anywhere in the world.
One counter-example: Wells Fargo Bank—20 year customer relationship, not a single negative experience.
Mar '11
Re: The Sad State of American Business
Well, yes, but the US Federal government is a thousand times worse.
Sep '10
Re: The Sad State of American Business
Perhaps your gripe is with large businesses.
Aug '10
Re: The Sad State of American Business
Quicken has sucked for many years now. That's why there are oodles of competitors stealing its market share, and many do it for free. There are online services like mint.com and moneytrackin.com and there are free software packages like GnuCash, Money Manager Ex, Grisbi, Buddi, and Koku.
Heck, many banks include online financial management services which are largely comparable with Quicken when you open an account, or offer Quicken-like services for an extra fee.
Do a Google search for "Quicken alternatives" and you will receive more options than you'll know what to do with.
If Quicken was the only option, then I might be inclined to agree that American business is in trouble. But Quicken is not the only option. Competition works.
Edited on August 10, 2011 at 11:11pmFeb '11
Re: The Sad State of American Business
I think there are definitely some problems, and they are by no means limited to large businesses. Regarding customer service, see my post mindless verbal Taylorism.
Dec '10
Re: The Sad State of American Business
Well Paul, you've struck a chord on one of my pet peeves - air travel complaints. After logging over 2 million miles on commercial planes over the past 15 years, I could probably write a book of complaints.
Has air travel gotten worse, especially over the past 10 years? Certainly. I fly United once ever 3 years to remind myself why I hate them so. On American earlier this year I flew back and forth from Portland to Dallas 5 times - and they averaged 2.5 hours late on every leg.
But Delta has done right by me countless times. I flew my wife, daughter and daughter's friend to NYC on miles last year and they got knocked out of first class on their final leg due to an equipment change. When I called to complain about it, they refunded all of the miles for 2 of the 3 tickets. I suppose it has a lot to do with being a million miler on them, etc. but I find they make an effort.
Now, the other passengers? I'm definitely going to write a book about all of the stupid things people do when traveling by air.
Apr '11
Re: The Sad State of American Business
Unfortunately for the first, that's more or less been the route of software nowadays. Frequently the product seems buggy and depends on multiple patches to iron out the problems, and 'exclusive' material is put aside as additional content that can be added -- for a price. Being the nerd I am, I've seen that pattern in entertainment as programs, especially those released by the larger publishers, tend to feel unfinished or un-worked, and expect you to patch/download for the complete experience. The result is frustrating to the consumer.
Mar '11
Re: The Sad State of American Business
I've been dealing with the IRS for over 30 years, and I must tell you that over the past few years, I've found that the level of service and responsiveness has markedly improved. Admittedly, I'm not calling the general information number, but I've been pleasantly surprised.
Mar '11
Re: The Sad State of American Business
I've been dealing with the IRS for over 30 years, and I must tell you that over the past few years, I've found that the level of service and responsiveness has markedly improved. Admittedly, I'm not calling the general information number, but I've been pleasantly surprised.
Jun '10
Re: The Sad State of American Business
Actually, I suspect that Delta's website is the way it is because of intent - to maneuver the consumer to certain flights and pricing structures. As a frequent Delta traveller, I too get frustrated with both the pricing and schedule options. Sometimes, it simply seems like those flights aren't there, but if you dig and search by flight or by leg, you often find that those flights are there, with seats available - but you will pay out the nose for them.
The deals they try to give you are likely the deals that are best for their costs, not for the passenger's needs. Despite the pains of their website, however, I too have received pretty good customer service.
May '10
Re: The Sad State of American Business
I think this is a natural progression. Other things will come up and the old ones will wither. The Airlines are quasi safe, because they keep getting to hid under chapter 7. I say, the next one needs to die off, and that will help.
The more we get in the way of stuff dying, the worse off we are.
I am in Atlanta so I hope Delta gets its act together. At least its home hub is a great airport (considering the traffic load)
Re: The Sad State of American Business
Misthiocracy: Quicken has sucked for many years now. That's why there are oodles of competitors stealing its market share, and many do it for free. There are online services like mint.com and moneytrackin.com and there are free software packages like GnuCash, Money Manager Ex, Grisbi, Buddi, and Koku.
Heck, many banks include online financial management services which are largely comparable with Quicken when you open an account, or offer Quicken-like services for an extra fee.
Do a Google search for "Quicken alternatives" and you will receive more options than you'll know what to do with.
If Quicken was the only option, then I might be inclined to agree that American business is in trouble. But Quicken is not the only option. Competition works. · Aug 10 at 1:54pm
Edited on Aug 10 at 02:11 pm
I will look into these -- all but mint.com, which Intuit bought.
Feb '11
Re: The Sad State of American Business
I ran the IT department at a small (500 employee) company for fifteen years. Incessant, and usually worthless, software upgrades were one of my main headaches. After a while I developed a system for handling them. Typically, one of the top suits would come into my office excited about Whiz-Bang's new upgrade. The conversation would run as follows:
Me: We don't need it.
Suit: Well, we need to leverage ... (followed by five minutes of mind numbing biz-speak buzzwords-of-the-week).
Me: Our people aren't using even 5% of the features in the existing version. Why do they need 150 more features that they won't use? The new version is a x.0.0 version. It is full of bugs. Besides, the new version has a new interface. We'll have to retrain all the users.
Suit: Well, we need to leverage ... (followed by five minutes of mind numbing biz-speak buzzwords-of-the-week).
Me: It will cost $260,000. Not counting my time.
Suit: Pause, then with bluster, "Well, we'll discuss it at the next executive committee meeting."
Me (silently): You do that.
I would never hear about the upgrade again.
Edited on August 11, 2011 at 1:29amJun '10
Re: The Sad State of American Business
You know what else sucks, Dairy Queen made their cones smaller but kept prices the same.
I mean, come on. What the [Edited]
Jun '10
Re: The Sad State of American Business
Illiniguy
I've been pleasantly surprised. · Aug 10 at 2:12pm
I-L-L.....
Dec '10
Re: The Sad State of American Business
The common theme I saw in your description was a lack of personal interraction between the business and the consumer. Even the telephone denies us the use of body language and facial expressions with which to communicate. Lost in this is the accountability that comes with being able to look someone in the eye when they answer a question or give a recommendation. I certainly don't want to live in a hippy commune eating arugula and zero harm soy burgers, but at times a more rural, technologically deprived life does have its enticements.
Aug '10
Re: The Sad State of American Business
I've loved Quicken for years. But I received an ominous e-mail recently from Intuit. It seems to imply they aren't planning to do a compatible update for the latest Mac OS (Lion). At least not any time soon. And Apple is forcing us Mac-folk all toward Lion by making the Cloud a Lion-only feature.
For now - I'm taking a decidedly non-techie faith-based approach: I'm putting off a decision, and hoping angels will intervene.
Re: The Sad State of American Business
Misthiocracy: Quicken has sucked for many years now. That's why there are oodles of competitors stealing its market share, and many do it for free. There are online services like mint.com and moneytrackin.com and there are free software packages like GnuCash, Money Manager Ex, Grisbi, Buddi, and Koku.
Heck, many banks include online financial management services which are largely comparable with Quicken when you open an account, or offer Quicken-like services for an extra fee.
Do a Google search for "Quicken alternatives" and you will receive more options than you'll know what to do with.
If Quicken was the only option, then I might be inclined to agree that American business is in trouble. But Quicken is not the only option. Competition works. · Aug 10 at 1:54pm
Edited on Aug 10 at 02:11 pm
Which of these do you recommend for a non-Mac user (which rules out Koku) with multiple accounts at banks and brokerage houses?
Oct '10
Re: The Sad State of American Business
The King Prawn:
I certainly don't want to live in a hippy commune eating arugula and zero harm soy burgers, but at times a more rural, technologically deprived life does have its enticements. · Aug 10 at 3:04pm
Here's the thing. Nobody, face to face with a customer, would abuse them to the extent which is routine in outsourced customer relations in U.S. companies today.
“Where's the menu item to punch this borg script-reader in the face?”
Press 1 for English….
Edited on August 11, 2011 at 12:48amApr '11
Re: The Sad State of American Business
Thank-you, thank-you. I too have been a user of Quicken since the mid-1990s and I thought I was the only one who was cursed by the loss of data, bizarre artifacts in the database and buggy updates. Also, I have also let my subscription to the Wall Street Journal lapse (after being a regular reader for 45 years) because the paper has full of too much stuff in which I had no interest - like stories about the Yankees . I had put it down to the onset of 'Old Fogey-ism. I'm glad to now know I'm not alone.