This has nothing to do with COVID-19, but I was blown away by the customer support I received from Aputure and I thought you all should know what great customer support looks like.
Steve, I'm a small business owner, charter member of Amazon, been selling on Amazon platform for 20 yrs, received multiple awards over the years, includinga awards from Bezos. I want you to know, they are now actively DISCOURAGING good customer service. I had to give up so many of my practices, such as providing customers tracking updates, and offering warranty support. Every time I reach out to a customer, it negatively affects my account health metrics - their ideal transaction is complete automation & zero communication. In the past, if I saw a customer review that said "part failed after 2 years" (or similar), I would proactively contact the customer to troubleshoot, or simply look up their order and send them a free replacement part, unsolicited. I'm no longer allowed to do that - in fact, amazon now hides the customer information from me after 30 days. Privacy concerns are reasonable but there should be allowances for those of us who enjoy going the extra mile for our customers. For me personally, I would simply hate to see a perfectly good item end up in the landfill because of a minor problem (cord, fuse, etc) so while I don't advertise lifetime guarantee, I do, whenever possible, send free replacements with no time limits at all. But Amazon is making it harder to do this, and meanwhile they're subsidizing fly-by-night Chinese companies selling cheap crap.
I agree with you. HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE! I was locked out of my Amazon account because apparently I was hacked. (I hardly order anything!) From now on I will find a more caring service like Ebay.
As a seller on Amazon for roughly 5 years, I have to agree with this 100%. It really does seem that the long game for Amazon does not include US based sellers. Except, perhaps for sellers of products that are only made in the US and which there are no Asian alternatives. That is, until Amazon gets around to sourcing those products themselves and then procedes to sell them as Amazon Basics products (or one of their many there Amazon brand names). Or until the Amazon China team finds a manufacturer in China who will make it and sell it on the Amazon site, with Amazon's help (hand holding) doing all of the leg work to get it to the Amazon warehouse, stock-it, create listings for it, create ad campaigns for it, give it preferential search results on the Amazon product pages, etc. Of course, since China is a nation of little worker rights and protections, slave wages, child labor, and direct government subsidies for their manufacturers, this leaves any US manufacturers in a non-competitive position that simply cannot be over-come. They even made me remove "U.S. Made" from my product headings. But, way too big of a subject for a post here. Just know that if you create a good unique product and it sells well on Amazon, eventually (soon) either Amazon will make it and sell their version under their brands to compete with you directly and/or one of the China manufactures they are courting will make it with Amazon's assistance. At which point, since they control the product placement in the Amazon search result pages, there will be nothing you can do on the Amazon site to sell your product. I find that they even turn a blind eye to the China manufacturers who use the massive China click-farms to vote-up or generate hundreds of fake reviews for the China product. So, while you spend years working to generate good reviews, the massive quantity of generated fake reviews for the China products will blow by your review count in a few months. It's simply rigged. And getting worst for US sellers. But it is part of the Amazon long game plan. They basically want everything (or so it seems) to be made on the cheep in Asia, stocked in the Amazon warehouses, and shipped to the customers, with them (Amazon) only paying for the products as they are sold. The worlds biggest China merchandise, "consignment-like", next day delivery merchandiser.
It is like being in The USA once more. Like the mouse working on the glas. Pretty amazing. It actually shows people do much better job without government overreach.
Amazon can now get some items to you in less than 24 hours. I ordered something not long ago at about 10:00 pm, and I was prompted to select if I wanted to receive it the next day before 7:00 am. I'm like ..... what? .... are they paying my neighbor to stock stuff? But here is a tip you probably already know . If it is for an item from a third party vendor, you can always threaten the dreaded A-Z return complaint. Dreaded by the vendors that is, because it dings their seller metrics with an automatic downgrade instantly. They don't even wait for the sellers explanation. Just an automatic hit to the seller's metrics. A few of those, and seller's accounts can be suspended. The seller does get a chance to appeal it eventually, but not until after their metrics are dinged. With Amazon, it's guilty until proven innocent for 3rd party vendors. So, if a 3rd party vendor is dragging their feet on a replacement, threaten the A - Z return. Of course, they probably do not dole out the punishment equally. They don't punish themselves if it is their fault on a Amazon supplied item. Especialy if it is an item that they copied from one of their 3rd party vendors because their analytics told them it was selling well, in which case, they want to take over the decent sales of the item from their vendor. Basically competing directly (and viciously) with their vendor who brough the product to market on the Amazon platform and built up the sales volume for it. Amazon is of course, playing the long game to eliminate non-Asian 3rd party sellers. Hense their efforts to enlist as many Asian manufacturers as possible by: enlisting China manufacturers directly, advising them exactly what items to make (based on their metrics from their US sellers products), providing shipping for their products to the US, stocking their products in the Amazon warehouses, providing services for listing creations on the Amazon platform, providing advertising and preferential product placement on the Amazon search result pages, etc. They basically want everything (or so it seems) to be made on the cheep in Asia, stocked in the Amazon warehouses, and shipped to the customers, with them (Amazon) only paying for the products as they are sold. The worlds biggest China merchandise, "consignment-like", next day delivery merchandiser .... to put all other merchandisers in the US out of business. Eventually. Will it happen? Cheap stuff for everyone, I guess. Doesn't seem the best thing for US manufacturing though.
Isn't that fabulous. I recently had great customer service from Shark for my robot vacuum. They got on a video chat, had me try a few things and show them some video of the robot. They sent me basically a new robot minus the battery and a few pieces that I took off the old one. I was 15 days past my warranty. They asked if I'd pay the shipping and I was happy to. Good customer service is not common enough anymore. Pride in products produced has been co-opted by greed. The moral fabric of American Exceptionalism has been torn and tattered and the evidence is everywhere. Even in the small things like good customer service.
Great service like great people should always be loudly applauded. All too often all we get sufficiently motivated to shout about is all the lousy stuff. That’s right too. But if we never shout out the great stuff who will know? Thanks Steve for bringing this great company to our attention. I’d never heard of them. But now I have.
What's your worst customer experience? I can't decide between Kmart, Kmart, or Kmart. Kmart has had consistently bad customer service from the 1970s to the present, tested at multiple stores. Can anyone make the bar lower?
I purchased Immunmist recently and found it badly burned mine and my daughter's nose. I messaged them via FB. They immediately respondeded and issued a refund, told me that should not happen, sent an RMA to return product for testing and have mailed me new product at no charge. I hope it works but was very impressed with the service.
I appreciate you, Steve. I can speak from experience, most people happy with the outcome of a customer service related event will not share it. If the inverse occurs, that info spreads like wildfire. You truly are one of the good guys!
In the words of Chairman Xi circa 2014 - "Restore China to greatness." Said in reference to Chairman Deng's great restoration effort after the century of humiliation (~1848 to 1948), where he espoused the national guiding strategy of "Hide your light and bide your time."
Always good to hear about companies that take good care of their customers. When mass-producing, occasional lemons will happen even with excellent products.
What you describe is actually the rule with gun manufacturers. When you have a problem, often with a years or decades-old firearm, they'll first try to talk you through it and it that doesn't work, will often ship you a replacement part or send you a shipping box so you can send it in for repair or replacement. Ruger, Sig Sauer, Smith & Wesson, Glock and many others work this way.
Can’t be doom and gloom all the time! It will, in time, create such an emotional/spiritual burden that your days will be unbearable. If humanity is being eliminated ( and it’s vital we keep our eye on THAT ball!), we are still helping each other by creating affirming connections and lifting each other’s spirit. If anything, we need to spread loving kindness even more in the face of this threat. Take a lesson from Elie Weisel. See the good. Our reality is shaped by reticular activation.
Agree @Benj. This even ahead of what looms largest. Many ways to demoralize / kill a spirit. Once demoralized -they’ve been drip drip dripping society for decades- it’s easy to steer a mind. Take “safe and effective” for instance. Repeat repeat repeat ad infinitum and nary a question gets asked by the demoralized.
A little day-to-day life item like customer service experience, or inspiring quote / piece of music / literature, or I-stopped-what-I-was-doing-and-to-his-utter-surprise-helped-an-older-gentlemen-load-his-truck-at-the-farm-store-and-he-couldn’t-get-over-it anecdote is balm. Needed.
Life on the ground goes on in the midst of carnage. Two different worlds separated by attention. Neither can be dismissed, but all one or the other all the time is just as illusory.
We are complicated beings. Who has all the answers please step forward. Ok, the rest of you - turn and run as fast as you can!
One day, one minute, one breath at a time. My number could come up any day and I never got 💉 What do I know? Short trip this. Enacting loving kindness helps lift the giver and recipient even if for just a moment or two. I choose and champion loving kindness in the mix, the messy mix.
@Ray, that nun in 7th grade that disliked me intensely -the feeling was mutual- pointed her finger at me in anger and hit me right between the eyes. I felt it. As if she had actually touched me. It pushed my head back a couple of inches. It wasn’t my imagination. She was 15 feet away. She didn’t touch me physically, so I couldn’t explain how she did. What’s true? (I witnessed worse / true corporal punishment of classmates over the years.)
Plenty I can’t explain in this world. A simple anecdote does not a world make but I have a lot of respect for the work / words of Elie Wiesel. Nobody’s perfect, me especially! I suspect the man had other in mind than the physical world but I can’t speak for him. Much interpretation, subject to flaw. 2 cents. Not meant to be argumentative in any way.
Sister Shirley, order Sister Servants of the Holy Heart of Mary / SSCM, HQ Kankakee, IL. That nun. Anecdote relating to Elie Wiesel quote “Some things are true, even if they didn't happen."
The nun never touched me physically, that “never happened” but lemme tell you, she touched me all right. Anecdote. Not changing the world, just my perception in a way that I still can’t explain. I do understand better that not being able to explain doesn’t make my experience untrue. Again, just an anecdote.
Steve, I really appreciate your enthusiasm here. I have noticed how poorly the response is from many companies, especially those who outsource their support to other countries. So when something like this happens you definitely want to shout it from the rooftop!!
their customer service was more devastating than I wrote. I just found out that the replacement unit will be here ..... wait for it.... TOMORROW.
Absolutely blown away.
Steve, I'm a small business owner, charter member of Amazon, been selling on Amazon platform for 20 yrs, received multiple awards over the years, includinga awards from Bezos. I want you to know, they are now actively DISCOURAGING good customer service. I had to give up so many of my practices, such as providing customers tracking updates, and offering warranty support. Every time I reach out to a customer, it negatively affects my account health metrics - their ideal transaction is complete automation & zero communication. In the past, if I saw a customer review that said "part failed after 2 years" (or similar), I would proactively contact the customer to troubleshoot, or simply look up their order and send them a free replacement part, unsolicited. I'm no longer allowed to do that - in fact, amazon now hides the customer information from me after 30 days. Privacy concerns are reasonable but there should be allowances for those of us who enjoy going the extra mile for our customers. For me personally, I would simply hate to see a perfectly good item end up in the landfill because of a minor problem (cord, fuse, etc) so while I don't advertise lifetime guarantee, I do, whenever possible, send free replacements with no time limits at all. But Amazon is making it harder to do this, and meanwhile they're subsidizing fly-by-night Chinese companies selling cheap crap.
I agree with you. HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE! I was locked out of my Amazon account because apparently I was hacked. (I hardly order anything!) From now on I will find a more caring service like Ebay.
As a seller on Amazon for roughly 5 years, I have to agree with this 100%. It really does seem that the long game for Amazon does not include US based sellers. Except, perhaps for sellers of products that are only made in the US and which there are no Asian alternatives. That is, until Amazon gets around to sourcing those products themselves and then procedes to sell them as Amazon Basics products (or one of their many there Amazon brand names). Or until the Amazon China team finds a manufacturer in China who will make it and sell it on the Amazon site, with Amazon's help (hand holding) doing all of the leg work to get it to the Amazon warehouse, stock-it, create listings for it, create ad campaigns for it, give it preferential search results on the Amazon product pages, etc. Of course, since China is a nation of little worker rights and protections, slave wages, child labor, and direct government subsidies for their manufacturers, this leaves any US manufacturers in a non-competitive position that simply cannot be over-come. They even made me remove "U.S. Made" from my product headings. But, way too big of a subject for a post here. Just know that if you create a good unique product and it sells well on Amazon, eventually (soon) either Amazon will make it and sell their version under their brands to compete with you directly and/or one of the China manufactures they are courting will make it with Amazon's assistance. At which point, since they control the product placement in the Amazon search result pages, there will be nothing you can do on the Amazon site to sell your product. I find that they even turn a blind eye to the China manufacturers who use the massive China click-farms to vote-up or generate hundreds of fake reviews for the China product. So, while you spend years working to generate good reviews, the massive quantity of generated fake reviews for the China products will blow by your review count in a few months. It's simply rigged. And getting worst for US sellers. But it is part of the Amazon long game plan. They basically want everything (or so it seems) to be made on the cheep in Asia, stocked in the Amazon warehouses, and shipped to the customers, with them (Amazon) only paying for the products as they are sold. The worlds biggest China merchandise, "consignment-like", next day delivery merchandiser.
Thank you for that inside insight.
With a response like that, you'll know doubt shop from them again. Pity more companies are not like Aputure.
It is like being in The USA once more. Like the mouse working on the glas. Pretty amazing. It actually shows people do much better job without government overreach.
Amazon can now get some items to you in less than 24 hours. I ordered something not long ago at about 10:00 pm, and I was prompted to select if I wanted to receive it the next day before 7:00 am. I'm like ..... what? .... are they paying my neighbor to stock stuff? But here is a tip you probably already know . If it is for an item from a third party vendor, you can always threaten the dreaded A-Z return complaint. Dreaded by the vendors that is, because it dings their seller metrics with an automatic downgrade instantly. They don't even wait for the sellers explanation. Just an automatic hit to the seller's metrics. A few of those, and seller's accounts can be suspended. The seller does get a chance to appeal it eventually, but not until after their metrics are dinged. With Amazon, it's guilty until proven innocent for 3rd party vendors. So, if a 3rd party vendor is dragging their feet on a replacement, threaten the A - Z return. Of course, they probably do not dole out the punishment equally. They don't punish themselves if it is their fault on a Amazon supplied item. Especialy if it is an item that they copied from one of their 3rd party vendors because their analytics told them it was selling well, in which case, they want to take over the decent sales of the item from their vendor. Basically competing directly (and viciously) with their vendor who brough the product to market on the Amazon platform and built up the sales volume for it. Amazon is of course, playing the long game to eliminate non-Asian 3rd party sellers. Hense their efforts to enlist as many Asian manufacturers as possible by: enlisting China manufacturers directly, advising them exactly what items to make (based on their metrics from their US sellers products), providing shipping for their products to the US, stocking their products in the Amazon warehouses, providing services for listing creations on the Amazon platform, providing advertising and preferential product placement on the Amazon search result pages, etc. They basically want everything (or so it seems) to be made on the cheep in Asia, stocked in the Amazon warehouses, and shipped to the customers, with them (Amazon) only paying for the products as they are sold. The worlds biggest China merchandise, "consignment-like", next day delivery merchandiser .... to put all other merchandisers in the US out of business. Eventually. Will it happen? Cheap stuff for everyone, I guess. Doesn't seem the best thing for US manufacturing though.
People can't afford US made. We have gotten lower pay because of the imports.
Shipping probably shipped it out from their pile of returns. That's how they manage the returns metric. It gives them a laugh to do that.
"More devastating" or "more commendable?" lol
It's always great when we can give a positive review.
Isn't that fabulous. I recently had great customer service from Shark for my robot vacuum. They got on a video chat, had me try a few things and show them some video of the robot. They sent me basically a new robot minus the battery and a few pieces that I took off the old one. I was 15 days past my warranty. They asked if I'd pay the shipping and I was happy to. Good customer service is not common enough anymore. Pride in products produced has been co-opted by greed. The moral fabric of American Exceptionalism has been torn and tattered and the evidence is everywhere. Even in the small things like good customer service.
Credit fully due for great service
Great service like great people should always be loudly applauded. All too often all we get sufficiently motivated to shout about is all the lousy stuff. That’s right too. But if we never shout out the great stuff who will know? Thanks Steve for bringing this great company to our attention. I’d never heard of them. But now I have.
The best customer service I ever had was from Crutchfield
What's your worst customer experience? I can't decide between Kmart, Kmart, or Kmart. Kmart has had consistently bad customer service from the 1970s to the present, tested at multiple stores. Can anyone make the bar lower?
Challenge accepted. (Resident Brandon)
Lol. Ok, besides political characters. What about the worst service from a retail perspective?
I purchased Immunmist recently and found it badly burned mine and my daughter's nose. I messaged them via FB. They immediately respondeded and issued a refund, told me that should not happen, sent an RMA to return product for testing and have mailed me new product at no charge. I hope it works but was very impressed with the service.
I appreciate you, Steve. I can speak from experience, most people happy with the outcome of a customer service related event will not share it. If the inverse occurs, that info spreads like wildfire. You truly are one of the good guys!
In the words of Chairman Xi circa 2014 - "Restore China to greatness." Said in reference to Chairman Deng's great restoration effort after the century of humiliation (~1848 to 1948), where he espoused the national guiding strategy of "Hide your light and bide your time."
Shenzhen supply chain must be strong.
https://www.importgenius.com/importers/emgreat-group-inc
Yeah !!!!
Businesses doing great business!
Isnt that what its all about.
People helping people solve issues.
I say Steve Kirsch also has GREAT customer service with providing the people with
instant truth!!!!
Always good to hear about companies that take good care of their customers. When mass-producing, occasional lemons will happen even with excellent products.
What you describe is actually the rule with gun manufacturers. When you have a problem, often with a years or decades-old firearm, they'll first try to talk you through it and it that doesn't work, will often ship you a replacement part or send you a shipping box so you can send it in for repair or replacement. Ruger, Sig Sauer, Smith & Wesson, Glock and many others work this way.
Good to know. Will keep that in mind.
Sorry, I don't get the point...
Humanity is being eliminated and people are content with re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic?
https://rayhorvaththesource.substack.com/p/a-summary-of-fighting-evil
Can’t be doom and gloom all the time! It will, in time, create such an emotional/spiritual burden that your days will be unbearable. If humanity is being eliminated ( and it’s vital we keep our eye on THAT ball!), we are still helping each other by creating affirming connections and lifting each other’s spirit. If anything, we need to spread loving kindness even more in the face of this threat. Take a lesson from Elie Weisel. See the good. Our reality is shaped by reticular activation.
Agree @Benj. This even ahead of what looms largest. Many ways to demoralize / kill a spirit. Once demoralized -they’ve been drip drip dripping society for decades- it’s easy to steer a mind. Take “safe and effective” for instance. Repeat repeat repeat ad infinitum and nary a question gets asked by the demoralized.
A little day-to-day life item like customer service experience, or inspiring quote / piece of music / literature, or I-stopped-what-I-was-doing-and-to-his-utter-surprise-helped-an-older-gentlemen-load-his-truck-at-the-farm-store-and-he-couldn’t-get-over-it anecdote is balm. Needed.
Life on the ground goes on in the midst of carnage. Two different worlds separated by attention. Neither can be dismissed, but all one or the other all the time is just as illusory.
We are complicated beings. Who has all the answers please step forward. Ok, the rest of you - turn and run as fast as you can!
One day, one minute, one breath at a time. My number could come up any day and I never got 💉 What do I know? Short trip this. Enacting loving kindness helps lift the giver and recipient even if for just a moment or two. I choose and champion loving kindness in the mix, the messy mix.
Thanks for your comment.
And again, a year later. Lovely reminder.
Not dead yet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jdf5EXo6I68
Off to the next moments...
*Smile
You totally enhanced my sentiment, and made my day. Thank you for this lovely feedback.
It doesn't matter what I think. What matter is, what's happening, and being optimistic or pessimistic is not going to change a thing.
https://rayhorvaththesource.substack.com/p/who-is-right-and-who-is-wrong
Who is "we"? Tell me that after the food riots start.
According to Ellie Wiesel, "Some things are true, even if they didn't happen." How authentic does that sound?
@Ray, that nun in 7th grade that disliked me intensely -the feeling was mutual- pointed her finger at me in anger and hit me right between the eyes. I felt it. As if she had actually touched me. It pushed my head back a couple of inches. It wasn’t my imagination. She was 15 feet away. She didn’t touch me physically, so I couldn’t explain how she did. What’s true? (I witnessed worse / true corporal punishment of classmates over the years.)
Plenty I can’t explain in this world. A simple anecdote does not a world make but I have a lot of respect for the work / words of Elie Wiesel. Nobody’s perfect, me especially! I suspect the man had other in mind than the physical world but I can’t speak for him. Much interpretation, subject to flaw. 2 cents. Not meant to be argumentative in any way.
What nun? How is it relevant here? Seeking no contention, either.
The man was referring to his Nobel-Prize-winning book...
Sister Shirley, order Sister Servants of the Holy Heart of Mary / SSCM, HQ Kankakee, IL. That nun. Anecdote relating to Elie Wiesel quote “Some things are true, even if they didn't happen."
The nun never touched me physically, that “never happened” but lemme tell you, she touched me all right. Anecdote. Not changing the world, just my perception in a way that I still can’t explain. I do understand better that not being able to explain doesn’t make my experience untrue. Again, just an anecdote.
Steve, I really appreciate your enthusiasm here. I have noticed how poorly the response is from many companies, especially those who outsource their support to other countries. So when something like this happens you definitely want to shout it from the rooftop!!
A whole day for a free replacement ? ... slackers :)
So happy you received good service.
I don't know anything about Aputure or its products. My only concern is the country of origin being China:
CONTACT US
HEADQUARTERS
Aputure Imaging Industries Co., Ltd
2/F to 4/F, Building 21,
Longjun Industrial Estate，
Longhua，
Shenzhen
P.R.China
Contact Sales: sales@aputure.com
Contact Marketing: marketing@aputure.com
More details: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/aputure/technology