The day the iPhone 4s came out I had it. Love it. It’s great. Part of the pomp and ceremony associated with getting such a fancy device is to accessorize it. Chargers and cables and apps and all. The most important accessory to most is the protective case.
My iPhone 3GS was protected for the entire duration of our intense two year relationship by a case made by a brand called Incase. I liked it so much that when I was at BestBuy and saw people shopping for cases, I’d stop and tell them to pay the extra money (Incase cases retail for a plum $35) and get the Incase case.
So it was a foregone conclusion that on day 2 of my new iPhone’s life that I go get a new Incase case for it. And I did at Target, instead of buying a knockoff or bulk package from Amazon. I respected the product and was willing to pay for quality.
Two weeks later a crack appeared in the case near the headphone jack. A piece then fell off. It looked pretty bad. Naturally I went to Incase’s website and filled out the return form to request a replacement. An email was sent to me pretty quickly asking me to email a photo of the purchase receipt along with a photo of the damaged case so I can get an RMA number. I did.
I never heard back.
I tweeted Incase and got a response that I will get a response within 1-3 weeks’ time.
Really?
Being in marketing the entire story made me think of Incase’s predicament. On the one hand, it is really challenging to deal with every primadona iPhone owner like a single child. Problem is, too many consumers today, if not all, are wielding powerful bullhorns that can outright destroy a company’s reputation.
My tweet to Incase received a response immediately by another disgruntled consumer who was waiting for a response for a month. He was not all too happy. I am unhappy and I am now blogging about my experience and about the fact I did pick a case on Amazon for $3 (incl. shipping).
Multiply this tiny sample and you get to the conclusion that Incase has to do better or be in deep trouble: improve the product (and retain fervent influential follower), improve customer service (and assuage disappointed customers) or well, face the consequences. I will tweet about it, tell my friends on Facebook. They trust me more than any blog or ad. Mostly because I’m telling a real experience, not your story.
Incase is positioned, price-wise, as a premiere brand. Griffin, Speck and others are vying for the same consumers. Consumers who pay extra for quality and design. This is subpar experience that these consumers resent. The product is priced high enough for me to care. Again, not ideal.
To avoid harping anymore – think of this: invest in customer service. Word of mouth is a two edges sword. Consumers will love you or hate you in response to your relationship with them. If you skimp on customer service, you will be bitten. There is no avoiding. That advertising or marketing budget f yours? Put it into improving customer service.
Free advice. Now fix my case.
