The Value of Free + Instant Help = Priceless

As I contemplated as an employee how, to sum up, my personal experience with the K40 Consult service, the refrain in the best selling single US song in 1980, “Call Me” by Blondie came to mind:

Call me (call me) on the line

Call me, call me any, anytime

Call me (call me) my love

You can call me any day or night

Call me

While many companies today deliver what I like to call “lip service for customer service”, K40 bases its entire reason to exist on serving the customer. Now sure, you can think or say it’s easy for an employee to praise its employer and sing its platitudes from on high. Doing such helps one look like a team player, right?

I can tell you that as someone with nearly three decades of brand-building experience, I learned a long time ago that true, personal stories are the best way to help customers truly understand and perhaps even appreciate a company’s culture and commitment.

I’m a fact-seeking, “prove it to me” kinda guy. So, when I pondered how I could explain the value of the K40 Consult service, I realized a “mystery shopper” type experience would serve as the best example of what a prospective or current customer could expect whenever they needed to call K40.

With the above prelude established, here’s my story.  I had just rejoined the company in late November after many successful years in the technology industry. To get familiarized with the latest features and performance of the K40 product line – as well as the K40 Consult service – I was given several radar detectors to try out long-term.

As a gadget geek, I was excited about the products and couldn’t wait to share them with my tech-savvy family. And to put that K40 Consult service to the test, I specifically targeted the night before Thanksgiving to try the K40 team out during our annual two-hour drive up to visit family in Wisconsin.

Honestly, I expected to be rush handled and perhaps even experience a bit of irritating distraction from the Consult team. Why? Who really is thinking about business and performing their professional role 100% when a person’s mind is likely on family, football, and feasting on a great meal? Or, since Thanksgiving Eve has become quite a night on the town, perhaps the team members might even be having a few drinks with friends.

Wow…was the “movie in my head” a complete opposite of what transpired.

I had my wife call the K40 Consult 800-323-5608 number around 7:30 pm to make sure whoever answered didn’t recognize my voice as well as that my wife’s number wouldn’t be recognized as local. The phone rang twice and was answered with a warm and friendly “hello this is Brian at K40…how can I help you?”

Via speakerphone, so I could hear the conversation, my wife proceeded to tell Brian we were driving up to Wisconsin and were first time users of the K40 radar detector we received as a gift (all true!). He enthusiastically asked where we were headed because his family has property in Wisconsin. Brian then also asked what type of driving conditions we would experience on our trip (city or highway, in-town environments or mostly open non-commercial areas, etc.) so that he could help her set up the K40 radar detector for maximum performance for our travel route.

Being her first time using the K40 and in a semi-dark cabin (she doesn’t like lights on when we’re driving…go figure), she incorrectly pressed a few buttons or wasn’t fast enough in making selections while in various setting menus. Brian patiently repeated various commands until she had the detector optimally configured.

Why is mentioning Brian’s demeanor important? He’s a young man with a young family. He could have easily had disinterested annoyance in his voice and/or rushed my wife along so he could get back to relaxing with his family or visiting with friends.

Besides being treated with respect and courtesy, Brian also left us with a feeling extremely valuable to the ownership and continued use of the K40 detector.

Confidence.

With Brian’s in-depth knowledge of police radar use and the K40 radar detector, we knew nothing was left to chance or misinterpretation. While product support at other consumer electronics companies often at best consists of a bare-bones user manual that recommends visiting a website for further assistance (try doing that in a swiftly moving vehicle), we enjoyed a concierge-like experience that took care of all our questions and concerns.

The proof of the effectiveness of the configuration advice given to us by Brian is that four months later, the K40 radar detector has enabled us to drive ticket-free and has done such with minimal false alert annoyances.

When I heard about the Consult service as I contemplated returning to K40 as an employee, I dismissed it as not being as valuable as it was made out to be. If, after reading my experience, you have that same doubt, the solution is simple. Just call the Consult team at 800-323-5608. You don’t even need to own a K40 product. Ask questions about radar and laser use. Ask what types of products would be best for your vehicle type and typical driving environment. The call is free and available whenever you want. The benefit?

Priceless.