Customer Service Pays Big

No one understands this better than Newegg.com, the leader in online computer retail. Consistently ranking well in customer service, Newegg has exploded into a multi-million dollar company. They've been one of the fastest growing online retailers and are now one of the largest. So how'd they do it?

Newegg Knows How To Keep 'Em Coming Back

Back in the early days of internet shopping, nobody had ever heard of Newegg. It was hard to find the best price for any particular product. It often involved tedious searching and usually wasn't worth the hassle.

Then came Shopzilla.com. You'd simply type in what you were looking for and would be presented with a list of prices from competing websites. I used to buy from whoever had the lowest price, no matter what. After several years of using Shopzilla to find products, I noticed a few trends:

1. When it came to computers, a new site called Newegg.com frequently had the lowest prices.
2. Whenever I bought from Newegg, I rarely had problems. And if I did, they were quickly fixed.
3. Aside from Newegg, the lowest prices generally came with the worst service.

After a particularly bad experience with an online retailer, I was fed up with late shipments, horrible return policies, and arrogant employees. I decided to do all my computer shopping at Newegg.com. They had the right products at the right price and treated me well.

After Nearly 10 Years In Business, Newegg Still Delivers

From start to finish, Newegg still does a great job at selling products. Specifically, here's what they do well:

1. They have competitive pricing.
2. They ship quickly and use quality carriers like UPS. Often, products ship for free.
3. They have clear-cut and generous return policies and warranties. No fine print here.
4. They are easy to contact if needed, but it's even easier to solve the problem yourself online. No need to call for an RMA, just print one out yourself.
5. They make it easy to return a product if there are problems. No receipts or order confirmations required, they keep track of all of this for you.

In other words, they've eliminated the most aggravating aspects of online shopping.

How Excellent Customer Service Has Helped Newegg Get Big, Really Big

Take me as an example.

It's obvious I'm a loyal customer of Newegg. And it's because I feel loyalty from them. Whenever I need computer hardware, Newegg is the first place I go and I almost always find what I'm looking for. Over the years I have personally purchased over $5,000 of computer products from Newegg.com. In addition, I have recommended close family and friends to Newegg which has resulted in an additional $10,000 of purchases.

$15,000 of sales stemming from one loyal customer ain't bad. And they could have forgotten about all of it if I wasn't impressed by the first purchase or two. Multiply that by millions of loyal customers and you begin to realize why Newegg's net income in 2008 was $28.8 million.

We can learn a lot from companies like Newegg. They remind us who keeps companies in business and help us realize that we don't have to settle for poor treatment. Although good customer service can be expensive to implement, it pays off in the long run.

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