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It’s no secret that customer service has suffered in recent years. Retail shops, supermarkets, and electronic stores are no longer staffed by experts, but rather by teenagers and the unskilled masses. Perhaps it is the product of my growing up, but I think we can all agree that the consumer ‘experience’ ain’t what it used to be. So today, I present a good old throwback to the days when companies stood by their products.

A bit of background: I live in New York, certainly one of the loudest and most noise-polluted cities on Earth. As an iPod user (ie, podcast and audiobook junkie) I use headphones to listen while I’m on the go. Trouble is, all headphones suck!

For me, headphones are like shoes: you can’t just have one pair, you need a specific set for each function. As a runner, commuter, and occasional office worker, I’ve got a long and intricate checklist on what headphones (for each function) should be*. In my ever-quest for perfect headphones, I once found myself the Short Hills Mall The Mall at Short Hills, and the Apple store there. After trying out several pairs of expensive Bose headphones, I concluded that they are not for me, and my left the store disappointed. You see, I was in the market for new ‘commuting’ headphones — studio-style, over-the-ear, with noise reduction.t The Bose functioned well, but at $300 I felt they were too flimsy. Plus they lacked a volume control and a detachable cord (a feature I had never actually seen, only heard about).

Charlie and I wandered into The Sharper Image, just to see what they stocked. To our pleasant surprise, we were presented with a line of The Sharper Image brand headphones that fit almost all of our criteria. These were comfortable, sounded great, featured noise reduction, a semi-hard case, and even a detachable cord! And at half the price of the Bose we were both so impressed that we bought a pair. An extra bonus was the one-year warranty that came with. (The salesman tried to sell us a 2- or 3-year upgrade but for electronics that’s really stupid.)

For 6 months, the headphones worked great, and served me well on the subways and the general din of coffee shops, etc. But they broke! A plastic rod snapped, and since that little rod was responsible for the majority of the tension and rotation, it couldn’t be repaired with Krazy Glue, and the pair couldn’t be worn without it. Ugh.

So I rummaged through my receipts (yes, I save every receipt), and found the one for my headphones. I headed down to the The Sharper Image in SoHo (using my ‘running’ headphones on the subway, which are no substitute at all) and pleaded my case to the salesman. Without hesitation he gave me two options “would you like store credit, or would you like to exchange them for another pair?”. I exchanged them for what is essentially this year’s model of the same headphones and left the store with a brand spanking new set. This year’s model are largely the same but with improved styling and several plastic parts replaced with metal. The semi-hard case was also redesigned to include a little tray for your coiled-up cord. My former model was still for sale, but reduced $50 in price. I could have exchanged them for a new set and pocketed the difference, but I like the new version and trust that the new upgrades are worth it, although I was disappointed to see that those little rods are still plastic. The new pair comes with a similar one-year warranty (starting now, not back in May) and it turns out I didn’t even need my receipt because they have my info in the computer, which is nice, but also kinda scary.

20 years ago, this story would have been completely commonplace — a product breaks, you take it back. But imagine if I had bought these headphones from BestBuy or a similar store, and if I had turned up without a receipt, the original box, a sample of blood, three forms of government ID, a seeing eye dog, or any of the other crap they make you provide. Most stores (and most brands like Sony, Pioneer, etc.) only offer 90-day warranties, with a return policy that usually expires after a fortnight. In short, they don’t stand by the products they sell. The new paradigm in customer service is essentially the ultimate in caveat emptor – if it breaks, you’re assed out.

In this case, The Sharper Image did several simple, but utterly important things: first, they made a product that was better-featured and cheaper than the competitors. Second, they offered a warranty on the product that essentially says “it’s ours, we’re proud of it”. And third, they gave me options when things went wrong.

So while this experience may have been a rather quick transaction, only taking one trip to a store and less than a half-hour of my time, it renewed my respect for The Sharper Image as a whole. I’ll now be more likely to browse their catalog, buy their products, and most importantly, recommend them to my friends. In short, this experience puts major points in their column. More companies need to take note of this simple, but fundamental lesson in branding: better products sell; customer service works.

* Notes on Headphones: I make use of three headphones: The ‘commuting’ headphones, described in the story above, which are intended to block out as much noise as possible. Over-the-ear insulation, as well as electronic noise reduction are essential. Style is secondary, as I’ve generally accepted the fact that I look silly while wearing them. Specifically, the headphones in the above story aren’t the sexiest design I’ve ever seen — in bulkiness they are closer to the sort of ‘ear protection’ headphones you’d see at the shooting range or on the deck of an aircraft carrier. At the office, these big, bulky commuting headphones are not entirely appropriate. The noise reduction and sound isolation may actually work against you forcing co-workers to call your name twice, phones to ring continually, and you to miss the ambient conversations. Wearing these at work also send the message “Don’t talk to me”, which is nice occasionally, especially for a freelancer trying to get something finished, but isn’t the best message to send your bosses in the grand scheme.

Enter, the ‘office’ headphones. These are the least specific of my headphones. They should be lightweight, easy to take on and off (whenever you have to jump up to go to the printer, bathroom, kitchen, etc.) and should allow sounds from the office to reach your ears, if you’re paying attention. A low-profile is essential, especially when clients or bosses are strolling through. It would be awesome to get a pair like the iMuffs, which are wireless, allowing one to wear these on your feet, such as when your in the studio cutting and mounting. In fact, I tend to destroy office headphones by snagging the cord on something or other, so wireless is looking more and more attractive. Until I get a steady office gig, it is not necessary to spend more than $10 on office headphones and in most cases, the default white earbuds that come with iPods will suffice.

And of course, I need ‘running’ headphones. Logically, these should stay in your ears amid the constant motion of sports. I prefer an earbud style headphones, but with the around-the-ear latch thing to keep them in place. Other alternatives usually range into that inside-your-ear-canal style, which have always found intrusive. An in-line volume control is nice, because when you’re running, it’s sometimes inconvenient to adjust the volume on your MP3 player. The trouble here is that you need your headphones to truly fit your ears, and stay put. The last thing you want to be thinking about during a workout is your bloody headphones. I’ve tried Sony which fit pretty well, but lately I use the cheesy Radio Shack headphones, which cost about $10. Running headphones wear out rather quickly, and if you’re a heavy user, you will probably break a few pairs a year at the gym just by pulling the cord, or something. These should be more like tissues: soft, strong, and disposable.

// a tale of brands & branding, computers & gadgets, design: product
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