Tesla shifted to selling cars entirely online in 2019. Now, some established automakers, like Ford, are talking about taking a similar approach.
Tag Archives: Customer Relations
Thefts, Fraud and Lawsuits at the World’s Biggest NFT Marketplace
OpenSea, one of the highest-profile crypto start-ups, is facing a backlash over stolen and plagiarized nonfungible tokens.
Etsy and the Sameness of Internet Fights
How much should the middleman get?
Why Chatbots Are Becoming Smarter
Customer service chatbots may finally become more intelligent, more conversational and more helpful.
A Fraudster Who Just Can’t Seem to Stop … Selling Eyeglasses
Consider the case of an online retail bully who appears to keep harassing his customers.
Cremation Borrows a Page From the Direct-to-Consumer Playbook
With names like Solace, Tulip and Eirene, start-ups are hoping to make cremation the next big at-home purchase.
A Nation On Hold Wants to Speak With a Manager
In our anger-filled age, when people need to shop or travel or cope with mild disappointment they’re “devolving into children.”
Here’s What Readers Told Us About Customer Service Nightmares
Plus, some small glimmers of hope.
Why Uber Won’t Call the Police
Ride-sharing rests on a promise of safety. What if one side isn’t keeping up their end of the bargain?
275 Minutes on Hold: Why Airline Customer Service Still Can’t Keep Up
It’s been a familiar and infuriating story during the pandemic: Hours waiting for an agent only to have the call dropped. The ordeal of rescheduling canceled flights. Delayed refunds. What gives?
There Is Shadow Inflation Taking Place All Around Us
Some companies haven’t been raising prices. Instead, they’ve been cutting back customer services and conveniences, but how should that be measured?
Extended Warranties for Cars Are ‘Fraught With Peril for Consumers’
While reputable options exist, the robocalls are almost certainly scams, an industry group warns. And for consumers who feel they have been ripped off, there is no guarantee anyone will help.
Banks Slowly Offer Alternatives to Overdraft Fees, a Bane of Struggling Spenders
Aggressive overdraft fees are worth tens of billions of dollars a year to the banking industry. Account holders are finally getting some better options.
Amazon’s Great Purge
Evictions of some popular products tell us a lot about untrustworthy internet reviews.
A Grudge Match in Japan: One Corner, Two 7-Elevens
Inside the war between a very powerful company and a very stubborn franchisee, complete with threats, spies and videotape.
Restaurants Fought for Covid Survival, With Some Tech Helpers
Being “online” in the pandemic, many chefs learned, meant much more than having an Instagram account.
Delta Air Lines to Resume Booking Middle Seats in May
The company, which started blocking middle seat bookings in April 2020 to give passengers peace of mind, is the last of the four big U.S. airlines to get rid of the policy.
Coinbase Users Say Crypto Start-Up Ignored Their Pleas for Help
As Coinbase prepares to be the first major cryptocurrency company to go public, it is struggling with basic customer service, users said.
Is This the End of Tipping?
The restaurant industry is in crisis. But some see how bad things are for servers — including “maskual harassment” — as a unique chance to make life better.
Robinhood’s C.E.O., Vlad Tenev, Is in the Hot Seat
Vlad Tenev has incited the fury of the trading app’s fans amid a stock market frenzy. His lack of preparedness on nuts-and-bolts issues was part of a pattern, former employees and analysts said.
With Online Terms of Service, What Happens When You Click ‘Agree’?
The same legalese that can ban Donald Trump from Twitter can bar users from joining class-action lawsuits. It’s time to fix the fine print.
Some Hot Pockets Recalled Over Possible Glass and Plastic
Nestlé Prepared Foods said the product might be contaminated with “extraneous materials,” including glass and hard plastic.
Consumer Groups Target Amazon Prime’s Cancellation Process
A Norwegian group filed a complaint with regulators, saying Amazon had deliberately made it difficult to end memberships to its Prime service. Groups in Europe and the U.S. back the effort.
Bed Bath and Beyond’s Big, Ubiquitous Coupon: An Oral History
Bed Bath & Beyond’s plus-size mailer, known as Big Blue, has made it to TV, eBay, even a mobster’s kitchen drawer. “The poor mailmen,” the company’s former marketing V.P. said, “what we did to them.”
Robinhood Settles S.E.C. Charges Over Misleading Customers
Millions of investors have turned to Robinhood in recent years, lured by a sales pitch of no trading fees. The charges announced on Thursday apply to Robinhood’s disclosures from 2015 to late 2018, the regulator said.
Store Workers to Get New Training: How to Handle Fights Over Masks
The biggest U.S. retail trade group will offer the Covid-19 Customer Conflict Prevention credential to help de-escalate disputes.
When Your Last $166 Vanishes: ‘Fast Fraud’ Surges on Payment Apps
People are getting defrauded as they turn to Square’s Cash App and PayPal’s Venmo to do more online banking in the pandemic.
Major U.S. Health Insurers Report Big Profits, Benefiting From the Pandemic
Consumers are probably entitled to millions of dollars in rebates under Obamacare rules that cap companies’ profits.
Trader Joe’s Defends Product Labels Criticized as Racist
The company had previously said the names of international-themed products that were intended to promote inclusiveness, such as Trader José and Trader Ming’s, “may now have the opposite effect.”
There’s a Wrinkle in Stores’ Mask Policies: Enforcement
A number of large retailers have said that all customers must wear masks, but some employees have been told they cannot force those who refuse.
Everlane’s Promise of ‘Radical Transparency’ Unravels
Employees past and present are challenging management, saying the company’s ethical image was an illusion.
Help! My Ship Is Supposedly Still Sailing, and I Don’t Want to Be On Board
The future of the cruise industry remains very unclear, so it’s not totally unreasonable to be anxious about what next spring will look like.
Help! I’m Owed a Refund, But the Hotel Owner Refuses to Budge
Here we are, wondering aloud about the oversight capabilities of hotel franchises, and what powers they can exert over their thousands of individual owners. Thanks Covid-19.
A Suicide, an App and a Time for a Reckoning
Companies like the stock-trading app Robinhood can seem not just careless but also predatory.
‘Banking While Black’: How Cashing a Check Can Be a Minefield
Black customers risk being racially profiled on everyday visits to bank branches. Under federal laws, there is little recourse as long as the banks ultimately complete their transactions.
Zappos Offers to Listen to Pandemic Worries
In response to rising anxiety over the coronavirus, the shoe retailer Zappos started a customer service line that people can call for anything — even to chat.
When the C.E.O., Already Facing a Crisis, Gets the Coronavirus
Business cratered at Booking Holdings, the online travel giant. Then its chief executive found out he was sick, too.
Poor Americans Face Hurdles in Getting Promised Internet
Broadband companies like Charter and Comcast vowed to help low-income people during the pandemic. But taking them up on the offer hasn’t always been easy.
How Will We Buy Our Perfume Now?
Sales are down leading up to this Mother’s Day, though candles and room sprays are doing OK. As some stores reopen, an industry ponders how to spritz safely.
Needing At-Home Workers, Call Centers Turn to People With Disabilities
Companies caught short by the pandemic are hiring from a pool that was already prepared to handle a surge in phone traffic away from offices.
Banks Gave Richest Clients ‘Concierge Treatment’ for Pandemic Aid
Some businesses seeking coronavirus loans got to avoid flaky online portals or backed-up queues. Many other small businesses couldn’t get their loan requests submitted before the money dried up.
Making the Most of Hotel Loyalty Programs When You’re Not Traveling
Some loyalty programs are extending customers’ elite status, lengthening expiration dates on rewards and more. Here’s how to navigate them.
When Even Amazon Is Sold Out of Exploding Kittens
Sometimes products are in stock. Sometimes they aren’t. And delivery times vary widely. A virus-fueled surge in orders has created chaos behind the scenes, and confusion for customers.
Help! The Coronavirus Struck and I Want a Refund
In this week’s column, Sarah Firshein investigates the ever-changing refund policies offered by travel companies.