Be Here in Fifteen Minutes, Or Else

A large phone company had a waiting list for the new iPhone 4. Customers on the waiting list had paid a $100 deposit and wanted the new phones as soon as they were available. In the interest of fairness, the company decided that they would call the people on the list, and give them fifteen minutes to get to the store to pick it up, or it would go to the next person on the list.

Angela and Doug, long-time customers of this company, both happened to be on that list. Angela, a surgeon, was interrupted in the operating room by her receptionist who had received the call at the office. Doug, a pilot, received the call while he was enroute from Calgary to Denver. In both cases, the company rep insisted that "If you want the phone, you need to be here within fifteen minutes." In both cases, their first responses were not fit to print. In both cases, their subsequent suggestion that a spouse or colleague pick up the phone was rejected. Both eventually got their phone, but not without several more phone calls and escalating complaints.

A very good lesson in how not to listen to the voice of the customer.