Think Customer - Cell Phone Addition

This is somewhat off-topic from a strict process control sense, but a company named Asurion deserves a shout-out. Let me explain.

I have a 14 year old son who is on his second cell phone. When we replaced phone #1, the saleswoman at the Verizon store suggested we get the insurance plan on his phone. For something like $2 a month, we’d have the peace of mind of a $50 replacement program. Sure, what the heck. But the cynic in me thought “wait until they need to make good on this, the fine print will contain a loophole the size of Montana”.

Now fast forward almost a year. I come home from work one evening and there’re a long, sad face looking at me. Apparently, my son’s cell phone attempted to pull a Michael Phelps in the washing machine. And while now very clean, it was also very non-functional.

But wait – I have insurance! I went out to the Verizon web site and found the online link for submitting a claim. The link opened a new tab to the Asurion web site. Oh boy, passing the buck, this can’t be good.

Well I was dead wrong. The Asurion web site was the most intuitive and easy to use experience I have ever had online. It was obvious these guys had done their homework. And the spin cycle seems to be a common ELE (extinction level event) for cell phones.

And the best part? Even though I filled out the information at 7 pm, I got a confirmation email that the replacement phone was on its way for next day delivery! That’s think customer.