Yesterday at our Speaking of Audiobooks column that featured Downpour - An Alternative to Audible, one of our listeners commented on Downpour's accessibility issues for the visually impaired. She had a bad experience with their customer service area when she requested assistance as a blind listener who must use a screen reader.
Blackstone's management acted immediately. I was talking to a member of their management team behind the scenes and I was quite impressed with their urgent desire to remedy any problem now.
Their President/CEO responded to the listener at the Speaking of Audiobooks column (http://www.likesbooks.com/blog/?p=12556) and Blackstone asked me share that response in other forums if I felt it was appropriate. Since our GR Romance Audiobooks group is affiliated with Speaking of Audiobooks, I'm sharing their response here:
"Taking great pride in our products and services provided through Downpour.com, Blackstone considers its customers valued members of our family owned and operated company; it is the goal of any successful company to truly understand the needs and concerns of its customers feedback which is shared with us almost instantaneously in today’s world of social media.
I want to personally thank you, Shannon, for posting your candid comments regarding an unpleasant experience with our Customer Care Team – it is our responsibility to listen and address all concerns. We will be implementing additional processes to ensure that our customer care representatives have access to all departments and resources within the company in order to create solutions for the needs of every customer, no matter how big or small.
I would also like to extend my apologies, and assure you that we will be looking into solutions to make our site and our apps more compatible for our visually impaired customers using assistive technology. Blackstone Audio and Downpour.com have always been strong supporters of individuals with disabilities and know they are a very important part of our customer base."
Blackstone's management acted immediately. I was talking to a member of their management team behind the scenes and I was quite impressed with their urgent desire to remedy any problem now.
Their President/CEO responded to the listener at the Speaking of Audiobooks column (http://www.likesbooks.com/blog/?p=12556) and Blackstone asked me share that response in other forums if I felt it was appropriate. Since our GR Romance Audiobooks group is affiliated with Speaking of Audiobooks, I'm sharing their response here:
"Taking great pride in our products and services provided through Downpour.com, Blackstone considers its customers valued members of our family owned and operated company; it is the goal of any successful company to truly understand the needs and concerns of its customers feedback which is shared with us almost instantaneously in today’s world of social media.
I want to personally thank you, Shannon, for posting your candid comments regarding an unpleasant experience with our Customer Care Team – it is our responsibility to listen and address all concerns. We will be implementing additional processes to ensure that our customer care representatives have access to all departments and resources within the company in order to create solutions for the needs of every customer, no matter how big or small.
I would also like to extend my apologies, and assure you that we will be looking into solutions to make our site and our apps more compatible for our visually impaired customers using assistive technology. Blackstone Audio and Downpour.com have always been strong supporters of individuals with disabilities and know they are a very important part of our customer base."
Sincerely,
Josh Stanton
President and CEO