Levitz's Response

It pays to take the time to teach a business how to give good customer service. My parents wrote a letter to CEO and Chairman Jay Carathers. Today his office called and my parents to tell them their needs will be met. Levitz will credit their credit card with in three days of picking up of the matching chair.

Here are the steps to take if you have a complaint about defective products, poor service or being over charges.

1. Remove all emotion from the equation!

2. Try dealing with the business's customer service.

If no luck

3. Call your credit card company and explain your situation.

4. Put it all in writing to the CEO/President of the company you are dealing with. Make it a short to the point and remember eliminate the emotion. You'll get quicker progress that way.

I stress eliminate the emotion because I have a very funny story about dealing with RCN and loosing my temper with customer service. Just know they do record you. I saw that recording in a record from American Express. Needless to say I did not get my problem resolved. Now, I think back about the recording and wondering if they are using in customer service training programs for RCN of an example of a customer who is out of control.

Mayor Phil Gordon Gets an "A" for Effort

Like I said Phoenix is rising there is an opportunity for Phoenix to be the city of the future. It's all contingent on putting the right plans in place. While I am new to the land of the sun I am certainly no stranger. This is my 2nd and a half attempt to live here. First attempt was back in 1993; I actually packed up my life and moved to Phoenix site unseen, can you believe it. But I wanted a sense of adventure and needed a temporary break from New York. Joanne Fried, my sister and U-Haul's Marketing and PR star, said Phoenix is the place to be. I came and went I wasn't ready for a life of leisure so I ran quickly back to the thick of New York City. My half attempt was opening a retail business in Phoenix bad market timing but great experience. Again I ran back to New York City for lucrative consulting project. They say three times is a charm and I say it's not what Phoenix is going to do for me but what I am going to do to help Phoenix.

Mayor Phil Gordon should seek out us urbanites that love, love, love concrete landscaping. I'm one of those people. When I think of going downtown I think of the endless possibilities of entertainment, dining, art, and social networking opportunities. All of these ingredients make a brilliant habitable downtown living experience. No I haven't forgotten the most important ingredient is business opportunities and jobs. I envision Phoenix rising up from behind and creating awesome opportunities in the new science tech sectors. There is mention of biotech, high tech but other new technologies should be considered as well like Nanotechnology. Think of the research opportunities between the sciences, whew! Think of the potential for new business and new jobs. I salivate at the marketing potential. Phoenix has the right business environmental mix providing low taxes and inexpensive startup costs, but needs to reach beyond the state borders and entice big business researchers and investors to put a stake in the ground. Imagine connections for ASU to other research Universities. I can see the incubators now percolating!

I like Mayor Gordon he's young, ambitious, and committed to rebuilding Phoenix. Though I haven't met him yet I have belief from his speeches and interviews he really is going to change things for the downtown area. I love the idea of the Light Rail. It works well in Denver, why not Phoenix? I'm going make a small little real estate investment in downtown and do my part to lure friends, business colleagues, former investor friends and new entrepreneurs to seek out downtown Phoenix and make it their home. And encourage citizens to take an active role in shaping Phoenix's future.

Loving it at Levitz - NOT

Customer service is one of the most important valuable assets that a company could have. Having trained customer service representatives who have the talent to deal with crisis situations is a worthwhile investment.

My parents recently bought furniture from Levitz in Tempe, AZ. The floor model of the leather sofa and matching chair they wanted was in impeccable shape. But what was delivered was far from perfect craftsmanship. The sofa was delivered with a big dent in the seat and leather on the matching chair didn't match. They did not accept the order and phoned customer service. They never anticipated spending 72 hours dealing with Levitz’s customer service that were far from helpful. Levitz told them they would only get 75% of their money. Why would anyone want to pay for bad craftsmanship?

A day later Levitz tried to redeliver the sofa. After another round of unsuccessful attempts at dealing with customer service my father decided to call the store where the furniture was purchased. He had less success with the salesperson that hung up on my father. Not one to be pushed around he again attempted to get resolution from the situation. Finally today he got confirmation that a credit would appear on his statement.

I did a Google search on Levitz and much to my surprise customers are not "Loving it at Levitz". One site had over 66 complaints on poor customer service and poor craftsmanship. Hello, CEO Jay Carthers, you really need to pay attention to what customers are saying about your company and put some proper marketing dollars behind great customer service. Also consider firing those furniture makers who have poor skills.

Phoenix is Rising

I've final settled in Phoenix. After 18 excellent years in NYC I'm in the desert. Why Phoenix? It's still a new frontier wild with possibilities. Now is the time for smart business minds to gather here and take hold of Phoenix.

Think about it, "Phoenix, the city of the future." It's still small enough and manageable that it can be done. Property is still inexpensive, labor costs low, climate beautiful. Well until the summer months.