If you've ever read any of my previous posts on customer service, you've figured out I'm somewhat obsessed by it. Since my company, a marketing agency, would go out of business if we did not give good customer service day in and day out, I expect that other companies feel the same way.

One such company, Lowe's, proved to me recently that they don't quite get it. Without boring you with all the details, something went haywire with my online payments. Lowes, like most retailers, uses a third party to process their credit card payments. In this case, it's GEMB. After having used the online system to pay my bills for months, the system didn't process one, then two of my payments. As soon as I noticed, I contacted customer service directly via the phone. HINT - if you want to actually speak to a live person at Lowes GEMB and not get caught up in their IVR, just don't enter anything and eventually you'll get transferred to a warm body.

The first person I spoke with told me that the wrong bank number was in my account and she was nice enough to take my payment over the phone without charging me the $10 phone payment fee. This was good. She also credited one of the bank charges, but had to escalate my case to a manager to get the other one credited. Fine, done...or so I thought.

Then, after checking my account again, the next payment I made online didn't get processed either and now I was charged finance charges, bank charges again, etc... I resorted to using the online email system to get this resolved...and to this point after numerous emails and phone calls, everything has now been credited. (Note - the online CSRs were very polite and helpful, but I prefer to speak to someone "live" in these situations.)

So I thought, as a business owner, I would want to know if one of my partners or employees was not giving what I consider excellent customer service. I notified Lowe's corporate home office through their Web site. Long story short, a woman called me yesterday to tell me that their online payment system is "self service" and if there was a problem, it was on my end since I had to enter the banking info myself. That was after she "thanked" me for my "honesty."

I asked her if there was any remote possibility that their could be an issue with the system and she said no. (And that was after I told her my company develops Web sites for a living and yes, things CAN and DO go wrong all the time). So, basically a customer service rep called to tell me that I'm an idiot and I can't enter information into a Web site properly. I hung up....more aggravated than ever. And ready to use Home Depot for my home goods needs.

The moral of the story here is that you do not accuse your customers of wrong doing in a situation like this. Could I have entered the wrong numbers? You bet. Could I have done it repeatedly over a course of two months? Not likely. And even if I did, do you Lowe's, think it was a great idea to call and tell me that? Your corporate office just undid all the good experiences I've had in your stores. And for what purpose?

Hopefully someone at Lowe's will get the point and fix their customer service problems, but not likely as I've found these issues usually start at the top and work their way down. But this situation illustrates that all it takes is one bad experience to taint the good that others in the company have done. And enough so to make me spend my money elsewhere.

In March 2009, I wrote a blog about "relevance" in today's society and the differences between Millennials, Gen Xers and Baby Boomers. Much study continues about the Millennial generation (people between the ages of 18 and 29) so it seems like a good time for a follow up.

I admit I take personal interest in this topic because as Active Integrated Marketing grows, we'll be hiring professionals from this group. As employers, we can't manage them the same way we manage members of the other generations if we expect them to remain loyal employees.

In a recent article by the Washington Post's Ian Shapira, the Pew Research Center found that millennials have less of a work ethic than those of older generations. The report also noted millennials stress parenthood and marriage above their careers and financial success. They define themselves as confident, self-expressive, liberal, upbeat and open to change.

Based on their own definition and their admission of their lack of work ethic (despite their reasoning), it's important that we communicate our expectations of their behavior at work to them and that we set guidelines of those expectations. As an employer, we have a right to expect certain things of our employees. For example, in the advertising agency industry, we expect to work long hours - it's not a 9 to 5 job in any way, shape or form. We make that commitment to our clients and we need employees that are willing to give that time. However, as employers, we have to make sure we compensate for that in perks and salary as well.

Seventy-five percent of respondents said they have a profile on a social networking site in the study. Going back to my last blog on the topic, I talked about the importance of millennials using their knowledge of social networking to their work advantage and older generations need to learn from them. Only 50% of the Gen Xers in the study said they have a social profile and even less, 30% of Boomers reported having one.

Whether we like it or not, social networking is here to stay. It will grow and morph at lightening speed and as the "older" generations, we need to keep up. So learn from the millennials and use their knowledge to the advantage of your companies and clients.

A few other interesting facts:

• Do you sleep with your cell phone? If you're a millennial you do! (ok, I admit it, I do too...). Eighty-three percent of the millennials in the survey have placed their cell phone next to their bed when sleeping.
• The study notes 37% of millennials are currently unemployed or out of the work force.
• Need to reach millennials in your advertising? According to a report from eMarketer  and Retrevo 23% of Internet users under 25 watched "most" of their TV on the Internet compared to 8% of all online adults.  

Have an opinion on millennials in the work place? I'd love to hear it. Post up!

One lucky person will drive off in a 1974 dark green Corvette coupe at the 2010 Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction in Scottsdale on January 20th. But the real winner will be the Chip Miller Charitable Foundation (CMCF) for amyloidosis research, as all proceeds from the auction of this Corvette will be donated to the Foundation.

Chip Miller was co-founder of Corvettes at Carlisle and Carlisle Events in Pennsylvania. Chip was very well known and loved in the Corvette community around the country and in March 2004, he passed away from a little known disease called amyloidosis. The Chip Miller Charitable Foundation was formed shortly thereafter to help spread awareness of this disease and raise money for educational and research purposes.

The Foundation's goal is for earlier diagnosis to affect better treatment outcomes. If Chip and his doctors were aware of the symptoms of amyloidosis when they first presented, he might still be with us today. The mission of the CMCF is to empower people with the knowledge and understanding of amyloidosis for earlier detection, ensuring a better quality of life for those afflicted with the disease and to help science find the cures.

The Corvette being auctioned at no reserve at Barrett-Jackson is a 1974 Chevrolet Corvette T-top coupe, with matching numbers, powered by the L48 350cid V8 with a 4-speed manual transmission, 65,000 original miles, factory air conditioning, power steering and power brakes. This Corvette is mostly original and includes owner's books and some trophies and awards from shows this car has won. The car is lot number 414.1 and is scheduled to roll across the block at approximately 7:00 pm Arizona time on January 20, 2010 and will be shown on Speed TV .

This Corvette was generously donated to the CMCF by San Diego Classic and Muscle Cars of Escondido, California. Other sponsors include Mid-America Motorworks , Bowden’s Autobody and Customs of Escondido California, and the C3 Vette Registry for including a 1 year membership to the winning bidder of the car.