EL SEGUNDO HERALD February 11, 2016 Page 3 Burkley & Brandlin LLP A T T O R N E Y S A T L A W Living Trusts/Wills, Probate, Employment Law, Personal Injury Trust and Estates Litigation, Business Litigation, Civil Litiga tion 310-540-6000 Lifetime El Segundo Residents *AV Rated (Highest) Martindale - Hubbell / **Certified Specialist Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law, State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization Brian R. Brandlin • Bruce R. Brandlin • Christopher P. Brandlin 16-1410ps_sby-ie-16-009 ©2016 lacmta New Line 501 from NoHo to Pasadena Starting March 1, 2016, look for the all-new Metro bus Line 501, o=ering Express service from North Hollywood to Pasadena. Save up to 20 minutes on your commute as you ?y down the carpool lane on the 134 Freeway with limited stops and easy connections to partner transit services and Bob Hope Airport. For detailed timetables or to plan your trip, visit metro.net/line501. Metro Eases Tra;c Everyone knows that congestion is bad, but we really can improve the way we get around. Right now, Metro is easing tra;c by delivering 1.4 million rides each day. And we’re planning future relief all over LA County by adding more bus and rail service, >xing freeway bottlenecks, funding local road improvements and updating our strategic transportation vision. We’ve come a long way in a short amount of time, but we still have so much more to do. Let’s get it done, together. Learn more about The Plan at metro.net/theplan. New TAP Website At the all-new taptogo.net, you can load your card, register for free balance protection, see if you’re quali>ed for a reduced fare and search for a TAP vendor near you. Visit taptogo.net and unlock the full potential of your TAP card. Metro Seeks Input on 2017 Fiscal Year Budget Metro’s annual budget sets transportation priorities across Los Angeles County for the coming year. Before the budget goes to the Board of Directors in May, Metro will review the budget process, highlight themes and gather comments at its regular Regional Service Council Meetings in March and May. For meeting information or to provide your comments, go to metro.net/budgetcomments. metro.net @metrolosangeles losangelesmetro The Jewelry Source 337 Main St. El Segundo. 310-322-7110 www.jewelrysourceUSA.com ©2007 Police Reports Monday, February 1, 2016 A burglary (vehicle) report was taken at 2017 hours from the 2100 block of East Rosecrans Avenue. Unknown suspect(s) gained entry into the victim’s vehicle by smashing a window. No property was taken. A traffic accident (with injuries) occurred at 2031 hours in the 2000 block of East Park Place. Vehicle struck a fence and overturned in a ditch. One male adult was arrested at 2256 hours from the 2000 block of East Park Place for felony DUI and child endangerment. A found property report was taken at 1004 hours from the 500 block of East Grand Avenue. A key was found at the location. A property report was taken at 1004 hours from the 300 block of West Acacia Avenue. A rifle was turned in for destruction. A found property report was taken at 1233 hours from the 300 block of Main Street. A credit card was found at the location. A violation of a court order report was taken at 1248 hours from the 300 block of Standard Street. An attempt burglary (residential) report was taken at 1454 hours from the 700 block of Indiana Court. Unknown suspect(s) attempted to gain entry into the victim’s residence by striking a door knob. Suspect(s) did not gain entry. Tuesday, February 2, 2016 A vandalism report was taken at 1802 hours from the 400 block of West Maple Avenue. Unknown suspect(s) slashed a tire on the victim’s vehicle. Warrant-One male adult was arrested at 2311 hours from 119th Street and Aviation Boulevard for one outstanding Gardena PD misdemeanor warrant. One female adult was arrested at 2339 hours from the 1400 block of East Imperial Avenue for public intoxication. An online identity theft report was taken at 1921 hours on 02/01/16 from the 300 block of Bungalow Drive. Unknown suspect(s) used the victim’s personal information to open several accounts. A theft by false pretenses report was taken at 1619 hours from the 900 block of Cypress Street. Wednesday, February 3, 2016 A shoplifting report was taken at 1936 See Police Reports, page 12 What Happened to Customer Service? By Rob McCarthy You’d think that American companies would have learned by now that poor customer service is killing business. Surveyed buyers say that customer support is as important to them as the price and quality of the product or service. A frustrated customer isn’t going to keep quiet. People will talk when they feel they’ve been poorly treated by a business, says the head of a consumer-service trade group. One bad experience is multiplied every time it’s retold. “The reality is that our negative customer service experiences are far more memorable than our positive ones and we typically embellish those negative events to anyone that will listen,” said Bill Crutcher, president of the National Customer Service Association. Consumers lately have been telling anyone who’ll listen that dealing with customer-service agents is frustrating and time-consuming. If the customer is always right, they wonder why customer-service agents seem to go on the defensive rather than try to resolve the issue. The Harvard Business Review found that 84 percent of people expected more from their last customer-service experience than what they received. Hearing negative words like “can’t” or “won’t” or “don’t” add to customer dissatisfaction scores, the Review reported. Another 82 percent of customers have stopped doing business with a company because of poor service, a Zendesk survey found. Two-thirds of people said they’ll switch companies because of poor customer service. That survey by Accenture also found that 82% said their service provider could have done something to keep them from switching. Stephen Burnett, a business professor at Northwestern University, has noticed a “painful” decline in customer service. “I do not even bother to call an airline if there are weather problems in the U.S,” he said. Getting a person on the phone is nearly impossible, he explained. “First of all, companies, by and large, like to have as few employees as they can. People are expensive, emotional and you have to supervise them,” he said. Companies have over automated customer service, and in his opinion made a miscalculation about dealing with people. They aren’t robots. There is a fundamental difference. “A robot deals with things completely uniform. When dealing with a customer, he is anything is but uniform,” Burnett said. Today’s automated customer service phone systems are a one-size-fits-all design, the Northwestern professor said. Not everyone shares the same level of sophistication and enthusiasm for using technology to report a complaint and have it resolved quickly. “That’s the problem with these automated systems. They’re forcing everybody to use the same system regardless of their sophistication. And, they over-automate to the extent that you can’t talk to a person.” American Express surveyed customers and learned that 46 percent prefer to talk to customer service by phone about complicated issues. In a separate survey by NewVoice, 75 percent reported that calling is the most effective way to get a quick response to their concerns. Automation is one direction that companies have taken to reduce their employee costs. Another is outsourcing customer-service duties so that complaints are handled by a non-employee. “Instead of talking to an employee of Macy’s, you may be talking to a person who handles who-knows-what. All they’re going to know is what they reading off a computer See Customer Service, page 12 Herald in Giza, Egypt The El Segundo Herald visits the Great Pyramids in Giza, Egypt. Lance and Connie Wight of El Segundo recently toured Egypt and Jordan where they visited Amman, Jeresh and Petra Jordan, and Cairo, Giza, Abu Simbel and Luxor in Egypt. •
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