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American shoppers: Gauging their happiness; avoiding holiday scams

Shoppers at a mall in downtown Norfolk, Virginia in 2017. While many shoppers say they enjoy the convenience of the indoor marketplaces, the brick-and-mortar shopping palaces are having difficulty competing with the proliferation of online retail platforms. Offering lower prices and free shipping, the digital marketplace comes with unique risks of consumer fraud and holiday scams. (photo credit: Mobilus In Mobili via Flickr/CreativeCommons)
Shoppers at a mall in downtown Norfolk, Virginia, in 2017. While many shoppers say they enjoy the convenience of public marketplaces, the brick-and-mortar shopping palaces are having difficulty competing with the proliferation of online retail platforms. Despite offering lower prices and free shipping, the digital marketplace comes with unique risks of consumer fraud and holiday scams. (photo credit: Mobilus In Mobili via Flickr/CreativeCommons)

How important is customer service to you? In addition to valuing the quality of the product you’re buying, how much do you value the quality of service you received when buying that product?

Tom's first guest today developed a research tool that is used to track people’s overall satisfaction with their consumer experience. Claes Fornell is the Distinguished Donald C. Cook Emeritus Professor of Business at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, and the founder and chairman of the CFI Group. The tool Professor Fornell and his team developed at the University of Michigan is called the American Customer Satisfaction Index, or ACSI.

Claes Fornell joins us on Zoom from Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Then, Tom speaks with Angie Barnett, the president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland. From porch pirates who steal packages, sometimes within seconds of their being delivered, to internet scams designed to take over your computer and/or your wallet, to all manner of other larcenous schemes, the holidays present opportunities for nefarious characters to prey on folks, especially older folks. We'll talk about what we can do to guard against these scams.

Angie Barnett joins us on Zoom from Baltimore.

Claes Fornell is chairman of the CFI group and creator of the American Customer Satisfaction Index; Angie Barnett is president and CEO of the BBB of Greater MD. (courtesy photos)
Claes Fornell is chairman of the CFI group and creator of the American Customer Satisfaction Index; Angie Barnett is president and CEO of the BBB of Greater MD. (courtesy photos)

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Rob is a contributing producer for Midday.