Category Archives: customer service

A few thoughts on customer service

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Rakesh Agrawal

As a product guy, I’m always looking to improve products and experiences. Much of my thinking is driven based on more than a decade of creating online products and focusing on the integrated product experience. This includes brand, marketing, sales, … Continue reading →

Posted in customer service | 1 Comment

How customer service should be done

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Rakesh Agrawal

Last week I was skiing in Deer Valley when Groupon’s terrible earnings came out. While I was skiing, I got an email from CNBC asking if I could come on air to talk about them. We tried to get me … Continue reading →

Posted in customer service, travel | Comments Off on How customer service should be done

United’s mobile check in not ready for takeoff

Posted on July 4, 2010 by Rakesh Agrawal

On my last trip, I had the opportunity to try United’s mobile check-in and mobile boarding passes. The promise is paper-free check in. It sounds really great, but it’s not quite there. Partly it’s due to United’s horrible user interface, … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, airlines, customer service, mobile, ui, wireless | Tagged | 6 Comments

The benefits of starting from scratch

Posted on August 8, 2009 by Rakesh Agrawal

Today marks the second anniversary of the launch of Virgin America, an upstart carrier that has inspired many loyal followers. Virgin America is a clear example of the benefits of starting from scratch. Among Virgin’s features: Brand new planes. Cheerful … Continue reading →

Posted in airlines, customer service, travel | 4 Comments

A wow experience from United Airlines. Wow.

Posted on May 4, 2009 by Rakesh Agrawal

It’s rare these days that a company impresses with customer service. It’s even rarer when that company is an airline, especially an American airline. That’s the experience I had last week when I was flying home from New Orleans on … Continue reading →

Posted in airlines, customer service, travel | 15 Comments

Tech lessons from a trip to Borders

Posted on January 6, 2009 by Rakesh Agrawal

On my way home from work today I decided to stop by Borders to pick up a guidebook for my birthday trip to Mexico City. Step 1: Figure out if the Borders near my house is open. I called 1-800-555-TELL … Continue reading →

Posted in customer service, iphone, mobile, mobile search, search | Comments Off on Tech lessons from a trip to Borders

For English, press 1. For a human, try Fonolo.

Posted on September 19, 2008 by Rakesh Agrawal

After telemarketers, the most excruciating phone experience is dealing with interactive voice response systems. That’s what the industry calls those things that I call phone mazes and most people just call damned annoying. Unlike telemarketers, IVRs are hard to avoid. … Continue reading →

Posted in customer service, fun | Tagged | 2 Comments

Your customers are Twits

Posted on September 1, 2008 by Rakesh Agrawal

Last year, I blogged about how local businesses could use Twitter to reach their customers. In that hypothetical example, a street vendor would let regulars know whether he was working or not. A number of large companies, including Zappos, Comcast … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, customer service, lbs, local search, marketing, social networking, twitter | 4 Comments

From chits to bits

Posted on May 14, 2008 by Rakesh Agrawal

I was meeting some colleagues and partners last night for the Pistons playoff game. As we sat down for drinks, we realized that we’d left the tickets at our hotel – more than an hour away from the Palace. Six … Continue reading →

Posted in customer service, wireless | Comments Off on From chits to bits

Weekly Reader – Dec. 29, 2007 – TV, coffee, patents and Branson

Posted on December 29, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

This week’s interesting reads: Futurist: Digital TV’s Mixed Signals (CQ) – Congressional Quarterly takes a look at the impact of government action/inaction on the development and adoption of technology. As we near the Feb. 2009 date when analog broadcasting in … Continue reading →

Posted in apple, customer service, environment, television, weekly reader | Comments Off on Weekly Reader – Dec. 29, 2007 – TV, coffee, patents and Branson