The bird is looking dapper...

Someone made him a top hat out of cardboard! He looks so dashing.

KthanksGottaGoBye!

Speaking of chat tool representatives, doesn't it seem like they always want to get out of the conversation as soon as possible?

Me: "Do you offer blahblahblah on overnight shipping?"
RetailChatRep: "The answer is yes. Did I answer all of your questions today?"

No, not yet. Why the rush? I love the idea of chatting online with a sales rep rather than picking up the phone or going into a location, but there's often a sense of urgency that they have to run. Whether it's online, in a store or on the phone, customer service representatives need to give shoppers their full attention and enough time to get all answered.

Better-informed shoppers make better-informed purchasing decisions and ultimately have a better experience with the retailer -- so please, let's not rush a Q&A session. It's in the best interest for everyone.

Online chat reps, please speak up

I’m all about using the “Chat Now” tool on e-commerce sites – why pick up the phone when you can just send an instant message to a customer service representative and get all of your questions answered on the spot? In my mind, seeing that feature on a site shows the company is not only thinking about the customer experience but it’s also an industry innovator.

I recently found myself chatting away with a customer service representative from online retailer Newegg.com. I was in the process of purchasing a wireless Rock Band guitar as a part of a birthday gift and wanted it shipped to the recipient’s home before I visited that following weekend. My obvious goal was that I wanted to be there when they opened the box. After the customer service representative answered all of my questions and assured it would arrive in time, I couldn’t have been more pleased with my first Newegg experience.

That is, until the next weekend when I arrived to find the Rock Band guitar box completely exposed and sitting pretty in their apartment. The gift wasn’t opened without me; Newegg just put the mailing address on the box itself and shipped it out on its way. So much for the surprise.

I completely support retailers that are going more green and cutting back on packaging costs, but my frustration lies with the customer service representative: After conversing for more than 10 minutes, they didn’t care to mention my gift would arrive completely exposed? I don’t know Newegg, perhaps I’m not that all impressed with you and your chat skills after all.