My assistant, Kelly, is one of the most passionate QVC customers I know. She LOVES QVC…and Diamonique® jewelry…and Dooney & Bourke…and…, well, you get the picture.

To keep track of all the products she gets excited about, Kelly keeps a list. Lots of avid QVC shoppers do. I’ve talked with customers who keep their favorite item numbers almost anywhere--scrap pieces of paper, post-it notes, you name it. However, Kelly’s list is in Microsoft Excel. It’s in a SPREADSHEET, people! She is NOT kidding around.

When I learned of this list-keeping method (dare we say obsession?), I encouraged Kelly to create her very own Wish List at QVC.com. And, I let her know all the reasons it’s perfect for a professional list-maker, such as herself.

First off, it’s easy. When our holiday programming gives you ideas and you want to be able to remember a product, go to the item’s QVC.com Product Detail page. Then just click “Add to Wish List.” The item gets added with its price. On the QVC.com homepage, the Wish List link is right up at the top right of the screen.

Wish List is really convenient. You can sort the items in various ways, such as lowest to highest price. Anytime you’re ready to order, you can Speed Order or add the item to your shopping cart directly from the Wish List.

And, the Wish List keeps track of everything for you. You can write notes to yourself about the item and save it in the Wish List. You can even set a reminder to send the item to someone for a gift or compare two items you’re considering.

Everyone wants to give just the perfect gift–and who knows what you want better than you? Besides the holidays, your list makes a nice bridal or “special occasion” registry you can send to family and friends. Visit the Wish List anytime to view what you’ve saved.

I’m happy to report that earlier this month, Kelly--if somewhat hesitantly--started her online Wish List. It’s still a work in progress, but as she moves away from her spreadsheet “system,” I’ll ask Kelly to post here and share her experiences firsthand.

And if you have any Wish List tips I missed, go ahead and share. The more the merrier, especially during the holiday season.

All the best,
Dan

P.S. – check out the video tutorial. We've added even more great features to Wish List (like email a friend) since this tutorial was created, but it still gives you a great idea of how to use this feature.

Last month, I had the honor of presenting the 2008 QStar Customer Focus award to Alayna Pagano, the vendor representative for Clarks shoes. This was QVC’s 10th annual QStar awards, a celebration which recognizes top performing vendors in a variety of categories.

It was a proud moment for me. I had the chance to talk to a room full of admirable vendors about QVC’s passion for service excellence. And then I shared some reasons why Clarks deserved this achievement.

With Clarks, their excellence goes beyond the exceptionally comfortable leather shoes they’re known for. Clarks CONSISTENTLY demonstrates an impressive level of care with customers, helping us be at our best 24 hours a day for you.

Here’s a little about the service sense driving this brand’s efforts to delight you as a customer.

• In August, Clarks’ product experts travelled to QVC’s four call centers. In several educational seminars, they invested a lot of time to demonstrate the colors and features of samples of their shoes for our representatives. This type of one-to-one session builds our representatives’ product knowledge to help you when you need us.

• Anticipating customers’ needs for more narrow and wide widths, Clarks has begun to expand this size assortment at QVC.com. Additionally, to present a more fresh style on air, the brand is updating both its Clarks, Privo by Clarks, and Clarks Artisan Collection product lines.

• Clarks is offering more men’s shoes: responding to your feedback, Clarks is featuring several new styles in its men’s shoe line on QVC.com.

I use this blog as my platform to tell you about the care, effort and attention that goes into everything we do for you. Clarks walks with us in those endeavors every step of the way.

I’ll close by sharing the names of the other nominees for the Customer Focus QStar award category: SPANX, Joan Rivers Worldwide, and TomTom, Inc.

All the best,
Dan

In 2000, when I returned to the United States after running our Customer Services operations in our QVC United Kingdom division, I remember how different the Internet was. I couldn’t schedule a tee time or make a dinner reservation online.

Today, that’s completely changed. Now websites can only be competitive by catering to people’s needs to be able to take care of business instantly.

Isn’t impressive service just the way it should be? This is why we give you many ways to customize your orders, update your account settings and generally manage shopping to your liking at the Q. Whenever you need to drill down to the actual how to steps, you can find that in our Customer Service section online and that will take you into our FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions.

Here, I’m highlighting services I’m most proud of. In fact, customers have contacted me on how much time they saved or to say thanks for being able to serve themselves.

For people who thrive on maneuvering in the online world, our Order Status is your home base. Maybe you place an order, submit and confirm it, and then a few minutes later decide a different color or size would be better. No problem. As long as the status of your order is showing “In Progress,” you can still edit the item.

Just use the orange “edit” links and follow the page paths to make changes. You can also:

• change a payment method
• change the address for where the order will be shipped
• or check the status of an order or return

It’s all close at hand and in your control. For your security, you’ll always be asked to verify your email address and PIN for your customer account to access all order information.

If you find your phone is like your sixth sense, we offer many self services when you call our Customer Service line at 1-800-367-9444. You can check if an order shipped, check stock availability for an item, see if a return has been processed, cancel an order, and manage your Auto-Delivery plans and orders (see also my topic about Auto-Delivery services.) There are other serve-yourself options, too.

We’ve made these many options available to accommodate the numerous requests we’ve received. But when you need our warm, helpful Customer Service representatives, we’re here for you. Just call us at 800-367-9444 between 7 and 1 am ET, 7 days a week.

All the best,
Dan

“Dear Q - Why are you shipping Pre-Sorted Standard?” This was the title of a thread in the Q Did What? Forum; as you can imagine, it’s one of my favorite forums to read because I find out so much. Anyway, after paying a few dollars for shipping, some customers were dismayed at why there was a “USPS Presort Standard Rate” mail label on their package. After all, isn’t this the rate used for catalogs and credit card offers?

Having worked in our outbound delivery areas for many years, I know that we use this type of label in certain cases. But no matter what, QVC keeps its delivery promise of getting your package to you by the estimated delivery date provided when you placed your order - regardless of what parcel shipping carrier is being used. And, we make sure of it while maintaining standard shipping and handling prices across all product categories.

Over the years, I’ve worked on a number of projects with my colleague Andy Quay, our vice president responsible for daily outbound delivery operations. I talked with him about the use of USPS Standard Mail, and he explains it like this: as fuel and other costs rise, using a blend of postal and UPS shipping methods gives us the edge to maintain our overall shipping and handling fees.

In recent months, the Standard Mail ship method wasn’t meeting QVC’s delivery standard in certain areas. Andy’s team addressed the issues immediately to prevent delivery delays in those impacted areas.

Any package – no matter what ship method is used – must meet QVC’s estimated delivery dates. Every week, we check it out. Andy’s team tracks each carrier’s performance in meeting estimated delivery dates. In areas where the delivery service doesn’t meet QVC’s on-time standard 95 percent of the time, we modify the shipping method in that area.

With all that said, we know that any QVC show and our products will cease to dazzle you when deliveries don’t arrive on time. That’s why every day, we strive for service excellence to stay true to our delivery promise.

All the best,
Dan

Why wait until November to cast a vote? You’ve got the power to choose moment by moment right here at the Q.

How?

• By choosing to tune in when there’s a myriad of other programming choices available.
• By landing at QVC.com when there are millions of other websites vying for your attention.
• By saying yes to brands like Bare Escentuals or Maxx New York or no to others you just don’t care for.

The power of one can motivate a gigantic shift. One voice saying the same as hundreds more will bring about change. It’s your choices in viewing, or buying, or rating, or returning that tell us what else to offer you or what to make better.

At QVC, we closely watch cause and effect: how did OUR decision about offering Easy Pay or changing a product feature or introducing a new returns method impact YOUR customer satisfaction. More than ever, we’re taking note of what you’re telling us through product ratings and reviews, customer surveys, community forums, and your letters and emails to us. Essentially, we’re collecting your votes.

So vote on! We’re acting on what we hear to continuously improve your shopping experience with us.

All the best,

Dan

One way QVC is “at your service” is by keeping you informed. Our E-Mail Services keeps it simple.

This is how it works: when your email address is on your customer account, you can elect to be informed via an email for these types of notices:

• E-mail Notifications - learn about upcoming events, new products, special offers
• QVC Customer Service Correspondence – informs you about Waitlist, credit card orders and special messages.
• Order/Shipping Confirmations - for orders placed over the phone and on the web
• Our QVC Program Guide – sent weekly

Use our E-Mail Services tool on QVC.com to make your selections. Click into “My Account” and then click into “QVC Communications Settings – E-Mail Subscriptions” to see which options you’re currently signed up for. And, please use E-Mail Services in QVC.com to add your email address to your account if you haven’t already given it to us. When you do, you’ll be joining our cause to work together to reduce our usage of resources like paper and gasoline.

Here’s how to be sure you’re signed up: On QVC.com in E-Mail Services, when you select the checkbox for “QVC Customer Service Correspondence,” you’ll receive the majority of customer service information in your designated email box instead of by letter.

Use this same section to be in the know about our Today's Special Value® ahead of time by signing up for the Today's Special Value® Email. E-Mail Services is also the place to select any of our free, monthly E-Newsletters related to your interests, such as beauty, cooking, “What’s new at QVC,” and more.

We’ve made it very handy for you to update your email address online. And, just let us know if you have an idea for an E-newsletter or type of email you would like us to consider. Our Customer Service representatives are happy to share your comments with the appropriate departments.

All the best,
Dan

Recently, I was talking with Al Ulozas, our senior vice president of Affiliate Sales & Marketing about QVC being available in high definition. Since Al’s team partners with TV service providers so that QVC can be broadcast on their systems, you can imagine how focused this group is on the possibilities for “QVCHD.” When QVC made a high-definition TV signal available nationally to video distributors on April 30, 2008, we became the first multimedia retailer to release an HD channel.

The cable industry describes HDTV as the most dramatic change for viewers since the introduction of color television. It’s definitely dramatic for QVC. It means we’ll be able to deliver a more colorful, clear presentation to you, along with better sound quality.

Our Broadcasting team is thrilled with how HD will bring our products to life. For instance, with handbags or apparel, you’ll be able to see subtleties in texture, patterns and fabric that standard-resolution video doesn't adequately convey.

HD’s movie-screen format will give QVC a wider “sidebar” space than the existing format. We’re considering using this space to offer additional products to you. One possibility is “picture-in-picture” for HD-exclusive product you wouldn’t find anywhere else. It’s also more space to tell you about product details and our services.

So when can you view the clarity? Your TV service provider would be able to tell you. Feel free to ask your provider anything that’s on your mind about HDTV in general. Remember, to get most channels in HD, you’ll need to subscribe to the HDTV service offered by your TV service provider and have HDTV equipment that displays high-definition resolution.

To see what channel(s) QVC is currently being broadcast on in your area, you can visit our Program Guide on QVC.com and type in a zip code. As more TV service providers agree to carry QVCHD, and more channel locations become available with QVCHD, you’ll be able to see these listed here as well.

I’ll also put in a little plug here for our HD products to meet those equipment requirements I mentioned. Shop our electronics section here on the website or check the program guide for upcoming shows.

All the best,

Dan

We know our customers love Easy Pay. As more and more of you discover the benefit of spreading payments over a few months, we recognize how you want to stay on top of the installment schedule for your orders. This is clear by the number of calls we take to help you do this, and if you like managing your Easy Payments schedule on your own, you can easily sort this information online.

When you want to see your exact easy payment amounts – what’s coming up as well as what you’ve paid – use Order Status in QVC.com. You can view just those orders on Easy Pay.

You can view the billing date column to see the month, date and year when each future Easy Payment will be billed to the credit card or other method of payment used to place the order.

You can verify the order number, item number and its description.

Most importantly, you can view the dollar amount per installment as well as the total number of Easy Payments designated on the order.

QVC.com makes it easy to see this order list anytime of day and keep current with your payment schedule. You can even print the list of Easy Pay orders to have the details close at hand.

One of our many goals is making our services as easy as possible so they take minimal effort on your part. We believe this online feature can help you manage all of your Easy Pay orders.

Be on the look out for more Easy Pay offerings this Saturday when we present our Fall Fashion Day. Have fun shopping.

All the best,

Dan
Senior Vice President – Customer Services

Thanks to all of you who are reading “At Your Service.” I really appreciate those who have put time and thought into posting comments. I just wanted to make mention that while I truly enjoy reading them, our blog format is not interactive to allow responses. Nonetheless, your enthusiasm shows just how this active, online community has become a place to deepen your relationship with QVC any time you want to.

In addition to the blog comments, I read the forums. Your chats tell us that the “Customer Reviews” for products is a VERY popular feature on QVC.com. I like that this online service of ours lets you share your actual product experiences with fellow shoppers. Taking those reviews into the forums, customers talk candidly about specific items and brands - sometimes even “live time” as a product is being shown on TV. “Reality shopping” is here.

To check out “Customer Reviews,” find the link on any item’s Product Detail page. Find out what others think of the product’s performance as well as what features they used most or least. Reviews can also touch on how colors compare to our show on TV or the photos on QVC.com.

I hear the frustration when a customer’s product review can’t be posted. Reviews that don’t meet all or part of QVC’s Product Rating & Review Guidelines cannot be accepted. Some reasons why reviews are declined are:

• a different product or retailer is also mentioned in the same review
• content is inappropriate or unrelated, or a question is asked
• the information focuses more on a service issue (like delivery or returns) rather than the product

I applaud you for taking responsibility to submit genuine, honest, meaningful information for every review. With regard to the forums, each post matters. QVC's Community is a place where each participant deserves an enriching experience respectful of each individual.

Again, thanks for reading “At Your Service.”

All the best,

Dan McDermott
Senior Vice President – Customer Services

Not too long ago my kids needed their mom’s help or mine to do anything. Then overnight, the girls became teenagers, and now I hear: “Dad, I can do it myself.” Each daughter said it with confidence, and each time I tried not to take it personally.

Many QVC shoppers echo the same request – “let us do it ourselves.” And, why shouldn’t you want that? So, we made it possible.

Now you can adjust your Auto-Delivery plans more to your liking, either online or by phone with Automated Customer Services. On QVC.com, just select your Auto-Delivery orders in Order Status to do any of the following:

• View your next estimated date of shipment or the number of days between shipments (the shipment interval)

• Change shipment frequency: on plans like vitamins or food items that ship every 60 or 90 days, you can now adjust this frequency

• Delay the next shipment date: this is especially helpful if you’ll be out of town and don’t want your next Kansas City Steaks shipment to be delivered while you’re away

• Change item options like color or size, the payment method, or the address for the next shipment

• Change the quantity for Auto-Delivery products that need to be replenished, like food, vitamins and beauty products. If you decide you no longer need the entire plan, you can cancel it here, too

Okay, I know you’re looking for the bullet point that says you can get those steaks – or wreaths or candles - sooner than the estimated delivery date. Our website gurus are really good, but this one comes down to how quickly we can obtain items from our vendors. It’s a great idea so we’re keeping it on the white board.

On our Automated Customer Services line at 800-367-9444, we’ve made these Auto-Delivery options possible:

• You can hear the next estimated delivery date of a shipment

• Change the frequency of shipments for a plan or delay the next shipment date (where applicable). There’s also an option to cancel the entire Auto-Delivery plan

As always, when you need to connect to us, our representatives are here for you. But whenever possible, we’ll give you options for services you can take care of yourself.

Let us know what you think of this self-service and what other services you would like to do yourself.

All the best,

Dan McDermott
Senior Vice President – Customer Services

We celebrate a lot at QVC. Today, we’re celebrating the start of our new blog focused on Customer Services. Thanks for checking it out!

Customers are at the heart of the dialogue everywhere at QVC. I think that with all teams making decisions centered on “what’s best for our customer,” we’ve created a shopping experience that’s so unexpected in a 21st century retail world. You tell us every day how we’re doing. We listen. Then we take action.

We select products, refine our services, and bring inspiring stories to QVC to give you the best experience possible. It’s how we continually delight our customers because we include you along the way. And, it’s got to be why millions of you keep tuning in and coming back every day.

It’s also why iQdoU? (Okay, I just had to say it.)

For the past 17 years, I’ve been working in many departments across QVC. Five of those years were even spent “across the pond” working for our QVC United Kingdom division. I can tell you that in the U.S. and across the globe, QVC employees are united by our core values like Teamwork, Commitment to Excellence, and Openness and Trust. In our dedication to you, we try to live these values daily to discover ways to continually improve. That’s just one reason I’m still here after 17 years.

Today in leading our Customer Services team – a very dynamic, interactive arm of QVC – I wanted to start a blog that gives us another way to connect with you. I see it as a place to share an inside look at Customer Services – what’s coming soon for more convenience, what we have now that makes our relationship with customers so unique, and how we partner with other pioneering teams to make the Q your shopping destination.

Who knew this blog stuff could be this motivating? I’m looking forward to bringing you a variety of topics, such as using online Customer Reviews for products, managing Auto-Delivery plans on QVC.com, exploring QVC’s rigorous quality evaluation for all products we sell, and many others.

In the meantime, have a great time finding something special at QVC.

Dan McDermott
Senior Vice President - Customer Services