I've had two problems recently and I was looking to buy (hopefully) one piece of software to solve them both...

Problem 1 : The mp4 files output by my Sanyo HD camcorder have the video and audio out of sync with one another when I play them in WMP (which I have to do as QuickTime crashes on every 64 bit machine I've tried it on). I wanted something to convert it to .wmv format that could be played by any windows machine with a default install of WMP.

Problem 2 : I needed to get some of my DVD films into a format (and size) that could be played by my Windows Mobile 6 phone. I thought/think I need something to convert .vob files to .wmv format.

I tried a couple of apps that claimed to do 'any to any' conversion and transcoding - no joy. I then came across Prism Video Convertor which also claimed to do the 'any to any' conversion and transcoding. I downloaded an evaluation copy and set to trying it out with the two cases / problems I needed solved.

Problem 1 - not problem, worked just fine !!
Problem 2 - no joy, blank screen when playing the output file :-(

Searched through the support forums and FAQs, again no joy. By this stage I'm thinking it's probably just me being stupid or choosing the wrong settings/codec/encoder or the like (I don't profess to know much about this technology). I'm excited about the application, it's solved my first problem, just show me the second one working and I'm sold (and I'll rave about it to everyone I know..)

Time for the last resort - open their support page and fill in the form for a support case - enter the details, hit submit, bam "No support contract found, please buy a support contract". The product is around $18, a 'Silver' support contract will cost me another $8, not much, but... I don't want to throw away $8 for them not to fix the problem (it's supposed to be a free trial - right), so I shimmy over to their 'Reasonable Service Terms' (their words not mine)..

Incredulous - the wording, the attitude, the sheer abrasiveness of it all. It made me think that they :-

• Are setting my expectation that I'm unlikely to get a resolution
• Are going to refuse point blank if there is even a chance of it not being their software
• Want me to prove (beyond reasonable doubt) that it's their software at fault before they would even consider helping me.
• Don't want to spend more than 10 minutes on a support case
• Don't really want me as a customer

I am all for setting expectations and outlining boundaries/limits but, in my opinion, this is completely the wrong way to do it.
Certainly as someone who is putting in the effort to trial their software, I do not want to have to pay for the privilege especially when I know it may not even do what I want meaning I may not even buy the application.

You can also bet that when they say...

• It also does not guarantee that they will be able to solve all problems. It means only that they will do their best.

...their definition of 'do their best' will be completely different from mine.

I buy a lot of stuff from online retailers and it never fails to amaze me how bad some aspect of the experience is always poor, seldom do I get a good experience end to end (purchase to delivery).

So, this is Kens 4 step plan for online retailers to raise themselves from 'one of the crowd' to 'the leader'.

Step 1 - Get Credibility
The term 'ID fraud' is on everyone's lips right now. You have to give people the confidence to buy from you and that you are not a fly by night outfit that is going to take their money and run.
How do you get credibility ? get some testimonials, use PayPal as an option for paying, use Google Checkout as an option, at least show me a valid SSL certificate and give some words around how safe it is to do business with you - most people don't care (really) about the technical aspects of payment security they just want to feel safe - Google feels safe, PayPal feels safe, a statement telling me I'm safe feels safe.

Step 2 - Have Stuff in Stock (or Tell Me If You Don't)
This is important, there are a thousand other people out there selling that very same item. if you don't have it in stock then they'll just move on to the next one. Hand in hand with this is, "be up-front about the fact if you don't have it in stock". If you imply you have it in stock, someone buys and then has to wait 235 days for delivery they will most likely cancel the order (in which case you just cost yourself admin time for nothing) and you can also be sure they will not be using your services again - better to be honest and hope they come back than try to force the sale and know they'll never come back

Step 3 - Don't Rip Me Off With Shipping / Delivery Charges
Ship at (or close to) cost. People do not appreciate being ripped off (and that is often all it can be called) with excessive shipping, handling and delivery charges. You want to charge me £8 for shipping and handling for a book that you send me in a small padded envelope, I'm going to get annoyed and look elsewhere. Everyone (and by that I mean everyone) has cottoned on to the retailers' great money spinner idea of making 'shipping' a profit centre. 

Step 4 - Ship It Fast
This is my personal bug bear - when I choose to buy something, I have persuaded myself I had a 'need' (or more likely a 'want') for it. I took the plunge and ordered it from you, I'm excited about my new purchase. I do not want to wait 5 - 8 business days for delivery. Actually I see no need for this every to happen (unless you are bound by the delivery service) - as a retailer / warehouse manager you are either keeping up with orders or you are getting behind, if it's the latter then you need more staff because things will just get worse (if you continue to sell stuff, which you probably hope you do); if it's the former then just get the 3 day continuous backlog cleared and you can then keep up with a continuous 0 day backlog and your customers are all happy.

Do these and you'll get my custom...

There was a restaurant that I frequented with the family on a weekend for lunch. It is well established, having been in business, successfully for many years. We had always been fans of the place but had noticed recently that business seemed to be declining. This struck me as strange, as the food, atmosphere and service were generally excellent.

Unfortunately, this weekend I found out (I think) the reason behind the decline - they have started ignoring customer feedback...

We spent a couple of hours there this past weekend, having two or three courses and a few drinks. Most meals were excellent, however Sarah's was not quite up to scratch. I mentioned this to the waitress and she duly apologised. I then watched her for a few minutes to see what she did with the information  - and I found she did .. nothing - she didn't let anyone else know, she simply went about her normal business. I then watched a similar event (different waitress) happen at another table, again the feedback from the customer went nowhere.

Later when the bill arrived, it was as though there was nothing wrong, I had a genuine complaint / dissatisfaction of their service and they had hardly even acknowledged it. This just made strengthened resolve to make my point / complaint heard.
I made a point of telling the waitress whom I was paying that I was not happy about paying for the meal that was not up to scratch, she called over the manager who very grudgingly discounted the price of that particular meal.

It struck me that their new policy seemed to be for the waitresses to apologise to any customers who complained but to do nothing else, not to inform the kitchen staff, not to offer any discount or similar gesture - basically, blindly ignore it and make it difficult for the customer to get any sort of recompense.
The reason for this approach seemed to be that they would not have to discount the meals / service (and therefore supposedly make more profit .. ??). This got me thinking of some ISPs and utility companies that I know who make complaining such a complex and involved process in the hope that the customer simply gives up.

For the sake of £6.95 (on a £60 odd bill) that restaurant lost :-

• A tip (around the same value as the discounted meal)
• A lot of goodwill from a party of 5 who frequent the place 3 or 4 times a month.
• The custom of a party of 5 who frequent the place 3 or 4 times a month.
• The opportunity to improve their service
• The opportunity to prevent the same thing from happening to other customers.

Doesn't seem like good business sense to me.

For anyone providing businesses or consumers with any kind of product or service - your customers know best, ignore them at your peril.
These are the people buying your stuff, they know what they like about your stuff and what they don't like about it. Their opinion (good or bad !!) is incredibly valuable.
But hey, maybe you're right - maybe you do know better than your customers...