The Brand Man Speaks

BUYING ONLINE? Beware of co's using the UPS/USPS shipping method

Millions of Americans buy online everyday because of the simplicity of the purchase experience as well as competitive prices (to brick and mortar) and low or no cost shipping.

Increasingly, more online retailers are turning to a hybrid shipping method to save money and thereby offer more consumers "free shipping". Free shipping has become an almost mandatory offer to get consumers to buy from one online retailer or another.

VIPs at Zappos and Prime customers at Amazon get quick free shipping and value that amenity to the point it is now a commodity. These companies use UPS or Fed Ex for shipping and my experience has been extremely good with both.

Three weeks ago I bought items online from Under Armour clothing and then last week from Footlocker. Both companies use a new hybrid delivery system that quite frankly stinks. They use UPS and USPS together to deliver. The process starts with a UPS pickup from the online retailer but there is a hand-off to USPS (your not so friendly postal service) when the package gets to your neck of the woods.

What I have experience is the package gets lost for a while (can't be tracked by either party) and definitively arrives late. My Under Armour package just showed up one day after I had already asked for a credit and a re-order.

UPS says the problem is USPS. USPS says its UPS. The bottom line is the customer gets the bad end of the deal and no one takes any responsibility for the problem.

My recommendation? I now ask an online retailer how they ship. If they use this hybrid, I search for the product elsewhere. I believe this attempt to save money will only alienate consumers. To save a penny to lose a dollar is not good business.

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli

 

Southwest Air one of only the carriers NOT refunding FAA taxes to fliers directly

As of today most of the major airlines including US Air and Delta have announced they are directly refunding FAA taxes paid by fliers for trips occurring during the non collection time by the FAA (which will go through this fall as the Senate failed to resolve this matter before their summer recess).

Originally the airlines instructed fliers to try to navigate the IRS.gov site to get a refund. You can imagine if the debt ceiling legislation matter in Washington was an example of government failures, you can further imagine trying to address this refund matter directly with the IRS to be just as difficult for the lowly consumer.

A call to Southwest Airlines this morning proves the usually consumer friendly airline is behind the 8 ball on this issue and is refusing to refund the funds directly or assist fliers who paid these taxes prior to the FAA tax collection shut-down with handling it through the government. Shame on Southwest as consumers have come to know this brand as one that steps to the plate and handles these kinds of matters proactively versus the legacy carriers specifically. Management and marketing asleep at the wheel on this one.

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli

The Brand Man Speaks launches "@elitalks" on twitter for current updates on marketing news

Beginning today, The Brand Man Speaks launches its first twitter account @elitalks to provide its readers with faster more current and sometimes of the moment comments on what's happening in our world of consumption.

Using twitter for its greatest strengths, @elitalks will comment on news, rumors and information as it happens/surfaces that sparks a Brand Man response or reaction.

Please sign up for my twitter account.

Thanks

Eli

US Post Office may thwart absentee voters efforts this 2010 election

In many states and in some communities the number of initiatives and their physical descriptions on the 2010 ballot for the Nov 2nd election are so large that absentee ballots may be too heavy for regular postage. Unfortunately, few states have provided instructions on proper postage so many absentee ballots may not get to their destination and votes will not be counted because of too little postage being placed on the envelope.

A call to several major city post offices to inquire what was the right amount for that area produced unfavorable results. Some said the 42 cent stamp would be enough others said two stamps and even others said they couldn't tell without weighing the ballot requiring a personal visit to the post office.....a dreaded experience in my personal opinion that only gets worse not better with time.

If you want to make sure your vote counts, you can do one of two things. Place a bunch of stamps on the envelope (say 3 o 4...which might be too much but safe not sorry) or just go wait in line at your local post office and get them to tell you exactly what it is going to cost.

Absentee ballots were created to make it easier to vote when you could not vote in person in your local community. This process isn't making it much easier and could result in votes not being counted which would be a shame and against our democratic system.

With all the technology advances we have today, couldn't someone have come up with an app for smart phones that might help address this dilemma?

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli

Medicare: A brand in trouble due to its own staff incompetence

I have not been a regular contributor to my blog, the brandmanspeaks for quite some time.

Having become a primary care-giver for an elderly parent has taken a great deal of time, especially time away from staying on top of the marketing issues of the day and the consuming world around us.

I am compelled today to return to this blog primarily because one of the biggest brand problems I see facing Americans today is the brand "Medicare".

Congress and the White House have been trying to figure out how to deal with Medicare given the explosive costs of providing care to older Americans. Some of the issues are due to enormous increases in the cost of hospital and doctor care, more Americans living longer and needing the financial support of Medicare and Medicare fraud which is growing rapidly.

Another issue, and one that is NEVER talked about but is a cancer within the Medicare system is its staffing issues. Duplication and incompetence seem to run rampant in the Medicare system and no one in government is paying attention to this internal crisis.

On several occasions upon reviewing Medicare billing summaries concerning my mother's care I have found examples of what appear to be doctor overcharges and charges for services NOT rendered. The amounts tend to be small, so unless you are really studying the summaries the way I do, you would likely miss these erroneous payments. Fraud is a strong word, but charging more for services than the cost of services provided and/or charging for services NOT provided seems like fraud to me.

The problem is not only the fraudulent charges but also the difficulty trying to right this wrong when you contact Medicare.

The first time I contacted Medicare's fraud hotline the man on the phone gave me five reasons he wouldn't take my information and three other places to call, despite the fact that the number on my mother's billing to report fraud was the number he was handling. He expressed NO interest in the fraud inquiry and the places he sent me were equally uninterested. I gave up the first time.

The second time I was more incensed when the same doctor got paid for a in office visit when my mother no longer was seeing him professionally. I called went through a long process talking to six different people and was told something would be done about it, but that there was NO follow up back to me to let me know if the case was handled. Not too reassuring. But I hoped for the best.

Today, I called Medicare's fraud hotline again after finding that same doctor charged for more services NOT rendered. Services he could not provide since he hadn't seen my mother in six months, (since we fired him). I got bounced around to four different Medicare representatives who all said they were taking copious notes during my call, yet not one could handle the matter and kept passing me along.

When I finally got to the Level 2 claims agent, Barbara, I introduced myself and then my call was disconnected. This after 45 minutes on the phone. I called back into the system and had to start again with another entry level agent who said there were NO NOTES from any of my previous conversations and I would have to start the process all over again. I hung up in frustration.

Washington will not be able to make improvements to the Medicare (brand) system until they purge the organization itself. Until that time, doctors will be able to abuse the system with ease given the difficulty of reporting Medicare fraud as the process now stands.

A win for the bad guys.

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli

Relentless pursuit of mediocrity: Toyota including its Lexus brand no longer stand for quality

I know dear readers it has been a while since my last post. Family illness matters have taken up a large amount of my free time these past months.

I have a little more free time and figured what better subject to relaunch the blog with than the current fiasco Toyota Motor Co. is facing, especially here in the US.

Along with Honda, Toyota changed the whole notion of automotive quality and consistency teaching a lesson to both the Americans and Europeans about how to build a car Americans will buy and buy again that is a good value and highly dependable. In recent years Toyota's marketshare increased greatly especially due to its success with the Camry model.

Toyota also changed the luxury car game with the introduction of Lexus 20 years ago. That brand become the poster child for reliable dependable luxury and in short order put Mercedes and BMW on notice they were here to stay and command attention. They introduced innovation after innovation including a car that can park itself...(wouldn't want to try that given their accelerator problem).

Lexus touted its slogan, "Relentless Pursuit of Perfection" and the halo built from this brand helped the overall Toyota brand image improve and dominate car buying.

In recent weeks we have learned that the armor does indeed have a flaw and the unintended acceleration problem (going back as far as 2002 and well covered up... I now understand) got so out of hand that millions of cars (I believe more than last year's production worth) have to be recalled. Government information indicates Toyota looked for excuse after excuse (similar to Audi's nearly suicidal move in the 80s) to explain away the unintended acceleration problem. Now they have been forced to deal with the problem, its cost and the bigger issue the demise of the once quality is king image, especially with Lexus. In my opinion Lexus should drop the "Relentless Pursuit of Perfection" slogan for a while because people are just snickering these days.

Is this a case of assuming brand image can cover all ills? It can for a while but just a while, reality does set in and consumers do not like to be fooled and taken advantage of for too long. It is not easy to recover from massive quality mistakes that a car maker tries valiantly to make the fault of the "stupid" driver putting the floor mat in a bad place...and with the state of the world economy, Toyota can't really afford this image damage.

The good news or silver lining? Maybe more American's will see that Ford and GM (what's left of it) actually make pretty good cars these days, thanks to Toyota, and are worth buying again.

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli

Lack of Civility cuts across occupation, race and political affiliation...is the end of the empire near?

I just felt compelled to write a short piece on what appears to me and many others to be an rapidly approaching end of any type of civility in this country....maybe the world....that reminds one of the decline of the Roman Empire....

Between Serena's  unsportsmanlike/unladylike behavior at the US Open that cost her the match, Kanye West's selfish and inflated ego stage stealing from Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Awards to Congressman Joe Wilson's outrageous outburst during a Presidential speech to congress, ("You lie")....what has become of us, our cultural...more importantly our future? We are in deep trouble and it doesn't look too promising for things to get better.

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli

Sears Tower to be called Willis Tower; will brand change undermine iconic skyscraper?

When Chicago became home to the tallest building in the world (now eclipsed by buildings in Asia) it was an important milestone for the windy city giving it great cache and bragging rights over New York. Retail giant Sears was the building's primary tenant and since the 70s when the huge building was opened it instantly became a notable US landmark: The Sears Tower.

Now the building's owners are changing its name to Willis Tower to reflect its new largest tenant, Willis Insurance out of London. And a great debate has ensued.

Ballparks, stadiums and notable buildings make a bundle when they sell rights to name their structures to high paying sponsors or building tenants. Names change often in this world as one company's fortunes decline another takes up the helm with new naming rights and signage.

In the case of the Sears Tower, the brand ID for this impressive structure that just opened an observation deck of glass hanging off the top of the building, is key to its stature. It has been called the Sears Tower since day one and changing it now seems a bad move. The Sears Tower is more than a sponsorship or important tenant name (Sears has NOT been a tenant for over a decade or more). It is a name tied to the building itself; its Brand ID. Sears is still based in the Chicago area and although not the major retailer of the past, it still is a important retail player US wide and closely tied to its Chicago area roots.

Additionally, the name Willis just seems flat doesn't roll off the tongue and somehow in my mind will diminish the iconic nature of the "Sears" Tower.

I have read the name change is a done deal but does that mean it is a good idea when it comes to tourists and Chicago's brand? It will take a long time for people to "forget" the Sears Tower brand and ask to be taken to the Willis Tower. Further, naming the building after an obscure English insurance company no one in the US knows about or cares about also seems foolhardy and anti-American, no?

Fans of the Sears Tower are taking their case to the world via Facebook and other social media to try to generate enough negative support for the new name to try to force the building's owners to not change the name. They also are seeking landmark status for the building and its name (although the building is not old enough for such a status as those things go), hoping a government decree will make it impossible for Sears to be replaced with Willis.

Some have said changing the name of the Sears Tower would be like changing the name of the Empire State Building or Eiffel Tower...it just wouldn't be done no matter how much money was put up for the rights. What do you think?

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli

Ford takes bailout money from Energy Dept; Chance for brand to be #1

Ford Motor Company has successfully avoided the need to take the government's bailout money like both GM and Chrysler and has been able to keep its employees, dealers and operations mostly intact.

Now Ford has announced that it will take some US Taxpayer money but as an investment from the Energy Department to develop and launch fuel efficient automobiles.

I think Ford is doing the right thing and handling this economic situation far better than its (former) competitors. The Ford brand has enjoyed unprecedented positive perception among the American public because of its expert handling of this difficult economic condition in the auto industry. Fox News asked me if I thought this perceptive would be hurt now that Ford has taken bailout money.

View my interview here:
Ford Takes Government Money

I think that Ford has the opportunity to become the premier auto company in America, a position it has long desired but been unable to obtain. Ford could be the "hero" company that saves the American auto industry if it plays its cards right and brings the right product to market.

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli

Cheerios under fire from FDA; fair or unfair?

Good old American cereal brand Cheerios is under fire from the FDA for posting drug like claims on the boxes of one of the country's favorite morning foods.

For several years now General Mills has promoted heart health by encouraging consumers to eat its Cheerios brand which contains whole grains which have been determined to assist in lowering one's cholesterol.

Out of the blue, under the new O'bama administration, the FDA has decided to crack down on what it believes to be questionable marketing practices and benefit claims.

The FDA says Cheerios' claims are "serious violations" of federal law as the words "clinically proven to help lower cholesterol" indicate the product is a drug without drug claim approval. The FDA doesn't dispute the claim just insists General Mills needs to apply for FDA approval to use those words.

The cereal has used this language for over two years with no prior complaints that I am aware of.

In a time when world food protection issues are not being handled by the FDA anywhere near as well as they should, this bold PR move against a honorable brand seems gratuitous and overblown. I suspect as do many experts that in the coming weeks, General Mills and the FDA will come to a compromise over the language given it is important for consumers to know what kinds of inexpensive basic foods they can consume that are good for them in a country where obesity impacts over 60% of the population.

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli