I've got to say Twitter is a godsend when it comes to customer service. When my phone & internet went down (different company than my friend uses) two days in a row and I couldn't get through their phone system, I tweeted, they replied and they helped me out. Even credited my account for three days (it was only out maybe 3-5 hours total). When the internet and phone went out over the weekend I was relieved that it was an area-wide outage, and not just me!

Dog bed situation resolved: They didn't have the pink striped pattern anymore, but I like the purple/black paw prints better. They had two sizes, I guessed with the larger size and when I brought the new bed to Customer Service, I said I wasn't sure it was the right size – she said it didn't matter if it was the larger size, they'd still do a straight exchange.

I did just have a pretty good experience with HP. My print head died and they sent me a refurbished printer as a replacement (why not the print head is beyond me, but whatever). I belong to their Instant Ink subscription service — they mail ink to you as you run low (they monitor via the printer itself). Saves me oodles. HOWEVER… when they sent the new printer, the ink program was invalid (hooked to a specific machine). I had to get on the phone, and a very nice man walked me through everything. All set.

So I thought. However, I'm limited to how many pages I can print for $4.99 a month — 100. I'm good with that as they're rollover pages and I rarely print more than 30 a month. My rollover pages disappeared. So on the phone I went, this time a guy with a little more experience said I could have simply transferred that membership instead of cancel and renew. Wish Guy #1 had known that…

Anne, you're right. Some do it so well it makes you want to cry with joy when they bother. And that's all it takes anymore. Just a little attention goes miles beyond what anyone else is doing.

Paula, that was a wise decision! Some people you just don't ask. EVER.

Wow. Your experience sounds like my experience when a certain company installed fiber optic internet into the house. Thirty-two minutes on the customer service line and five people later, no one could tell me if the damned cable box was compatible with Tivo. Instead, the last one, the cheerful one who nearly lost her head, told me I could "just rent our DVR!" After I'd just bought a $300 Tivo?

Then there's the waste management company that, every damn year, tells me they don't pick up Christmas trees. And every damn year, they say to my husband, who calls after I do "When would you like to schedule that?"

Every. Damn. Year.

And as for customer service people not listening….yeesh! When the puppy was in being spayed almost two weeks ago, I bought her a nice cushy, washable, doggie bed since she wouldn't be able to fit into her "bedroom" (crate) with her e-collar. She loves the bed. She'll even curl up in it during the day sometimes. After 10 days, she was pretty well healed, so I washed the cushion. And one of the two spots of stitching that "tuft" the cushion ripped a 3/4" tear in the fabric.

Unsure of the store's return policies, I looked online. Their FAQs weren't helpful when it comes to used items that fell apart in the wash. So I went to the customer service "contact us" page and sent in my very succinct question. I got the lazy reply where they simply direct me back to their FAQ. I replied, telling them I'd already READ the FAQ and my question wasn't answered. I repeated the question. The next lazy response? They copied and pasted the FAQ into an email. Really?!? I replied and called them out on it. I then re-re-stated my simple yes or no question. This time a different customer service person answered and passed the buck: You'll have to call the store you purchased it. (That call took a while, too, since the person had to read a script before and after doing anything. Bottom line: if it's not tooooo dirty I can exchange it. I said the puppy is shedding and has slept on it a couple nights since it was washed – but I wasn't sure it could hold up through another washing.)

A recent example was on an order I placed. Instead of shipping it to me, they shipped it to the last address I used for a gift for a friend. I know I selected my address as I printed a copy of the order request. When I completed their ticket (because God forbid you can find a phone # on their site), I advised them they shipped Order # blah-blah to wrong address of yada, yada, yada instead of my address.

Their response (3 days later)?

Good news! Your order was delivered on such & such a date.

Head hitting keyboard. >:-<

I've recently started using Asana (project management app) to set up reminders for myself to check in with clients regularly. I have one client that's always super busy and often needs 2-3 reminders before they give me feedback (even though the feedback is usually "This is great! No edits needed!" :)). They've thanked me a few times for being persistent. They're awesome clients in every other way, so I don't mind the extra check-ins. If I got lazy about it, I probably wouldn't keep getting work from them.