Let's be honest. Do you read the manual -- often thick -- after your purchase of a computer, a camera or a cell phone? If not, you have lots of company.
Marketing experts, customer service consultants and corporate executives agree on the phenomenon. "There's no question that people are averse to reading the full instruction manuals -- that's a given these days," said Chuck Westfall, assistant director of the technical information department for Canon Inc., the camera and office-equipment manufacturer.
"Nobody's reading manuals because they are horribly written," said consumer consultant Tom Connellan, a customer-loyalty expert. Often written by the engineers who designed the product and bylawyers for the manufacturer, the manuals are usually not written with the consumer in mind, he added. And if the product is made abroad, there's a good chance some of the manual is an incomprehensible translation from a foreign language.
Here is the way chosen by Gateway, the computer maker, to avoid this problem and to improve customer satisfaction -- while reducing costs associated with its call centers.
Providing alternatives to manuals is one way companies believe they can differentiate themselves from their competitors. That's one reason Gateway started an online service and hands-on training sessions. "It benefits us and the user," said Gateway spokesman Greg Lund. "If we can make them happy, they'll want to come back and buy from us again when they're ready to buy another computer."
And that's just fine with customers like Battaglia [a Gateway customer who doesn't like manuals, but enjoys beeing put on hold for hours -- at least, that's my guess].
"Teach us as much as you can," he told the trainer. He laughed and then quickly added: "Well, teach us as much as we can retain."
And guess what: The owner's manual was free; the course cost $99.
Source: Caroline E. Mayer, The Washington Post, May 26, 2002
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