{"id":4717,"date":"2004-02-12T22:20:46","date_gmt":"2004-02-13T02:20:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/formerlyknownas\/2004\/02\/12\/bad-estimate-great-service\/"},"modified":"2011-08-05T14:59:02","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T18:59:02","slug":"bad-estimate-great-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2004\/02\/12\/bad-estimate-great-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Bad Estimate, Great Service"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Unlike some highly esteemed webloggists, I don’t normally talk about my high-tech consumer purchases, but tonight I wanted to relate a shopping experience with Amazon.com<\/A>.  <\/FONT><\/P>
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I recently found out that I have carpal tunnel syndrome in my right wrist along with pinched nerves and other decrepitude in my neck.  [Sigh<\/EM>] <\/FONT>It quickly became apparent that maintaining a laptop in an ergonomically correct position is difficult, given that the monitor is attached to the keyboard, so I decided to get an additional keyboard.<\/FONT><\/P>
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\"crystal  When I ordered it, yesterday, it was estimated that the item would not be shipped<\/EM> for another 5 days, and would not arrive for another 3-5 business days.  I got regular ground delivery — Free Shipping variety — and bemoaned the fact that it would be such a long time until my Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse duo arrived.  <\/FONT><\/P>
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Well, golly, the doorbell rang at noon today, and the UPS guy handed me an Amazon.com box with my Logitech Cordless MX Duo. Cool.   I’m charging the mouse now.   There are a whole lot of buttons and keys on this new-fangled device, so it might take me a while to use it proficiently (or even awkwardly).  <\/FONT><\/P>
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Is this a new (but old-fashioned) marketing technique: lower expectations and then thrill your customers with surprisingly prompt service?  It’s working, even for skepticalEsq<\/EM>, consumer kvetsch.<\/FONT><\/P><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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