As soon as I read the press release, the following song went off in my head: "My customer service has a first name, it's V-I-E-R-A. My customer service has a second name, it's C-O-N-C-I-E-R-G-E...." Not too snappy, is it?What in the world am I talking about? It's Panasonic's free customer support for the new owners of the company's plasma and LCD HDTV's. I make a big deal about this because almost everyone has free customer support for their electronic products. Panasonic has given theirs a name: VIERA Concierge.
I guess it's like if you own a chicken. As long as you don't give the chicken a name, the kids won't mind it if you slaughter it and eat it. But give it a name and it become a pet. And the kids will never eat a pet.
By giving their free customer support a name, Panasonic probably thinks you'll adopt it as a pet. You'll feel all warm and toasty about your HDTV. You'll come home at night and pat it on its little head.
Here's an interesting line from the press release: "One unique privilege is access to Panasonic’s HDTV loaner program, which makes HDTV loaners available at no charge to customers who have a Plasma or LCD undergoing repair."
Now think about that a second. We're not talking about an old-fashioned 19-inch tube television here. We're talking about a 42- or 50-inch behemoth that weighs a ton and is extremely unwieldy. How are we going to get the broken set out of the house to get fixed? And how are we going to get a loaner in the house?
Oh, here's the answer to my questions: "The VIERA Concierge service also includes priority scheduling for in-home service visits, if necessary, with most repairs completed in two days." A little guy is going to show up at the door with your loaner and camp out until the set is fixed. Sounds a little farfetched to me.
What else does this service provide? The release says, "a Concierge Benefits Card providing a customer ID and dedicated toll-free telephone number which entitles them to a range of valuable privileges within the United States."
That's right: a card with a phone number. An exclusive phone number. Imagine that. Panasonic customer service has a phone number. I would bet that every company that makes TV's around the world has an exclusive customer service phone number.
And those "valuable privileges" the release talks about? It's probably the "privilege" of being able to call that customer service phone number.
But thank god that Panasonic has given its customer service a name. Now I'll know what to curse under my breath when the TV breaks down.
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