Customer Service

Auto leasing deals abound these days, with offers that often seem too good to be true. How about a well-equipped Honda Accord for $250 a month with no down payment or any other drive-off fees? Or better yet, $199 a month for a Chevrolet Malibu? So, what's the catch? There isn't any if you know what you're getting into. There are always details. You need top-tier credit to qualify. You pay a penalty if you turn that Honda in with more than 36,000 miles. And the payment is not $250 a month because of that little matter of tax. It is more like $275, depending on where you live.

Re "Is it possible to get a human on the phone at Google?," Column, May 18 I agree with David Lazarus that it is frustrating to be unable to contact a "live" person for customer service. Some companies offer free live help for a limited time after you buy a product. Before I buy a product that may require help to use, I always ask about the customer support policy. Google, however, is a totally different issue. It is not charging for the use of its search engine. Its revenue comes from advertisers, which I am sure have no problem contacting Google by phone to talk with a sales rep. I can understand Google not providing live telephone support because the users pay nothing for services.

Americans spend billions on hair-care products each year, a remarkable investment for a part of the body with no real function. We clean it, nourish it and style it -- and we definitely mourn its loss. Lots of products and procedures promise to restore thinning or disappearing hair. One especially intriguing option is the HairMax LaserComb, a hand-held laser device that supposedly revives hair follicles.

At first blush, Ritz-Carlton , Drury Inn & Suites , Four Seasons , Hotel Indigo and Hampton Hotels might not seem to have much in common, other than being places to lay your weary head at the end of the day. Some cater to the high-thread-count crowd; others want to attract those who mind their money but also mind an uncomfortable accommodation. But according to a J.D. Power & Associates study released this month, those lodgings are "customer service champions," which focus on serving the clientele and not the other way around.

When it comes to choosing broadband Internet providers, you can't always get what you want. But with certain limitations, you can get what you need. If you use the Internet regularly, chances are you already have broadband -- that is, a high-speed hookup, usually through your cable television provider or phone company. But are you getting it at the right speed and right price? There are more choices than ever, even though you typically have to go with a provider that serves your neighborhood.

In the first study to assess the quality of L.A.'s wireless networks, L.A. Cellular's network performed better than those owned by AirTouch Communications, Sprint PCS and Pacific Bell Mobile Services. The survey did not include Nextel Communications, which built its service out of radio dispatch systems and sells mainly to business customers. L.A.

Bank of America has agreed to reduce the loan balances of underwater homeowners more aggressively than other banks, saying that by next month it will start contacting 200,000 borrowers who may qualify. The pledge is part of a side deal that BofA signed when it and other large providers of mortgage customer service reached a recent $25-billion foreclosure-abuse settlement with state and federal government agencies. Writing down the balance of home loans for underwater borrowers — people who owe more than their homes are worth — is a controversial practice.

Southern Californians are realizing the value of pennies forgotten in desk drawers and those darned nickels wedged in car seats. To be exact, Angelenos who shop at Hughes, Ralphs, Food 4 Less and Lucky grocery stores dug up and cashed in roughly $15 million worth of pennies, dimes, nickels and quarters in the three months ended Oct. 26. That's based on 373,396 transactions averaging $40 each. The coins were collected and tallied by Coinstar Inc.

IT'S Frette at the Ritz Paris and the London Savoy, Pratesi at the St. Regis in San Francisco, Fili D'oro at the Plaza Athenee in New York and Anichini at the Signature at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. We're not talking designer cocktails. We're talking sheets -- an increasingly important amenity at hotels. Even workaday Holiday Inn Express recently spent $53 million upgrading linens, adding duvets and 200-thread-count sheets on beds in the chain's 1,400 North American hotels.

For millions of people, the quietest room is never quiet enough. Even when surrounded by silence, they can hear a ringing or buzzing in their ears that drives them to distraction. The sound is called tinnitus, and sufferers — often people with hearing trouble thanks to advanced age or loud sounds — are willing to go to great lengths to stop the noise. Some plead with their doctors to cut their hearing nerves completely, but even this drastic measure won't help. The few patients who have had the procedure could still hear their tinnitus — and nothing else.

Low-cost airlines that cut out many of the extras might not be expected to get high marks for service - just as fast food is unlikely to win culinary awards. But J.D. Power & Associates' 2012 Customer Service Champions did not include long-established carriers such as Delta Air Lines, United Airlines or American Airlines among the 50 companies from various industries that won the distinction this year based on value, service and other measures. Instead, the report listed low-cost carriers Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways and San Francisco upstart Virgin America as the only airlines to win the award.

Drivers gave the service departments of the Lexus and Mini brands the highest ratings in the latest J.D. Power & Associates customer service index study. Lexus was the top luxury brand. The Toyota Motor Corp. unit scored 861 points out of a possible 1,000 on the J.D. Power scale and stood out in three of the five measures: service initiation, service facility and service quality. The rest of the top five in the luxury segment were Cadillac (852), Jaguar (849), Acura (838) and Porsche (836)

It's sad indeed when a respectable business organization gets so puffed up by its own reputation that it decides there's no downside to treating its customers like chumps. Here's the latest example of such corporate arrogance in action: the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Advance ticket sales for Angels soared after the team announced its 10-year, $250-million contract with slugging superstar Albert Pujols in December. That's the good news. The bad news is that over the last week, they've squandered considerable fan goodwill through an execrable display of contempt for their paying customers.

Hotel brands generally received low scores in a large survey of customer service experiences. Hampton Inn and Marriott were the only two out of 12 major hotel brands to receive "good" ratings in a study by Temkin Group, a customer service research firm. "Many of the hotel brands in our study aren't delivering the level of hospitality that consumers want," said Bruce Temkin, managing partner of Temkin Group. The research is based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers in January 2012.

Federal customs officials made permanent Monday a program to streamline the process for entering the U.S. at international airports across the country. The Global Entry program, which began as a pilot program in 2008, allows U.S. citizens, legal U.S. residents and visitors from Mexico, Canada and the Netherlands to use an electronic kiosk to clear U.S. customs instead of lining up for an interview with customs officials. The process cuts the wait time by up to 70%, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Zappos.com, the popular shoe website, was the victim of a cyber attack by a hacker who gained access to customer information on the company's internal network and systems, Chief Executive Tony Hsieh said in an email to employees. In a separate email to account holders, the company said the potentially exposed information included names, email addresses, billing and shipping addresses, phone numbers and the last four digits of credit card numbers. Zappos said the database that stores full credit card numbers and other payment data was not affected or accessed.

At first blush, Ritz-Carlton , Drury Inn & Suites , Four Seasons , Hotel Indigo and Hampton Hotels might not seem to have much in common, other than being places to lay your weary head at the end of the day. Some cater to the high-thread-count crowd; others want to attract those who mind their money but also mind an uncomfortable accommodation. But according to a J.D. Power & Associates study released this month, those lodgings are "customer service champions," which focus on serving the clientele and not the other way around.

Back in those innocent days recalled in Pacific Bell's TV commercials about the two lifelong friends who grew up sweet on Mary Ellen, dealing with the telephone was simple. There was a rotary dial and a monthly bill and that was about it, unless Grandma's unexpected death in New Orleans required getting out the egg timer to make sure a scratchy long-distance call didn't last more than three minutes and cost more than a Sunday at Knott's Berry Farm.

Most people go to Disneyland for the rides. Peter Hoffman is going there to learn how to sell rides. Hoffman, the owner of Sierra Chevrolet in Monrovia, and other Chevrolet dealers and their sales staffs are headed for classes at the Anaheim theme park and elsewhere designed to turn fast-talking car salesmen into personable Prince Charmings. They will learn such rules as a prince or princess never smokes in public. That takes the magic out of the Magic Kingdom. They will also learn that sometimes it's better to be a little bit like Dopey.

The Los Angeles school board agreed Tuesday to renew a deal with the district's dental insurance provider over the objections of a board member who had persuaded his colleagues to defeat an earlier version. Two weeks ago, Richard Vladovic complained that MetLife had tried to overcharge him for a mouth guard and then provided poor customer service, even though he acknowledged MetLife representatives eventually apologized. Vladovic won the support of three other board members to reject a three-year, multimillion-dollar contract renewal with the company, which provides insurance to nearly 100,000 current and former L.A. Unified School District employees.