the herman letters: Post# 231 - Energizer: Why Did You Get Rid of the Little Power Indicator Thing?

This is part two of a two-part experiment. Rival companies, the same complaint raised with each. Will they reply in the same manner? The issue is, back in the late 1990's, both Duracell and Energizer had a neat little power meter on the side of their batteries to show how much power is left. The user would place his fingers on dots on either side of the meter, and some portion of the "power meter" would change color. It was a simple gadget, very helpful when encountering a drawerful of batteries. Then, one day, it disappeared. My letter to Duracell is here.

I sent this to Energizer 7/10/2010:
Dear Energizer,

As a sales rep for several battery powered, home-use products, can you imagine the embarrassment when my products don’t work, or work with very low power?

Back in the late 90’s, you had a great and useful feature on your batteries. It was a tiny power indicator. The consumer could touch two contacts on the battery (AAA, AA, etc.), and a little meter would show l how much power was left. He or she could then gage whether a battery replacement was needed, based on upcoming use.

Why did you do away with this? When did it become a bad thing to know how much power is left? Is it better to leave us with our proverbial pants down, and end up with no power when we clearly need power? Is the strategy to get suckers like me to replace our 50% or 75% charged batteries before an in-home demonstration, or bachelorette party, to avoid this embarrassment, because we can’t easily tell without a voltmeter from Radio Shack? If so, that isn’t cool.

Let’s re-focus our attention on the customer on his or her needs, and maybe the bottom line will take care of itself. If I don’t sell my wares, you certainly lose out on the battery sales that go along with it.

Power to the People!

Jerry

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Subject: RE: Energizer MAX Batteries
Date: Thursday, July 14, 2011, 1:16 PM

July 14, 2011
Case ID: 3267470

Dear Jerry,

Thank you for visiting Energizer's Web site and for your inquiry. I am sorry to learn that our batteries did not meet your expectations; however, I am happy to assist you.

To compensate you for your time and inconvenience, I would like to send you a coupon to replace those batteries. You should receive this in 7-10 business days.

Thank you for contacting Energizer. If you need further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Energizer Consumer Relations
1-800-383-7323
http://www.energizer.com/
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Subject: RE: Energizer MAX Batteries
Date: Thursday, July 14, 2011, 10:10 PM

Dear Energizer Consumer Relations,

Your parents, Mr. and Mrs. Relations were cruel to name you like that. It's nice to see such an unusual name either helped, or didn't stop you in your career though.

Thank you for responding, and I appreciate your offer for batteries. I hope from my note, you are able to tell what types of batteries I was complaining about. You can probably tell from bar codes and credit cards, but the batteries were:

AAA Multi pack (It was 16 pack) for the "Saturday Night Special"
AA Multi pack (it was 36 pack) for the "Taiwanese Ticklers"
C Multi pack (12 pack) for the "Jumping Jelly Rockets"
D Multi pack (12 pack) for the "Incredibly Insane Inferno's"
9 Volt (6 Pack) for the Mighty Mega.

Again, I appreciate it.

Separate topic, but does Energizer plan on putting the little power indicator thing back on the sides of the batteries? Everybody liked it, and it was a good thing.

Sincerely,

Jerry
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The following letter came in the mail, dated July 15th, along with a $5 coupon:

Dear Jerry,

Thank you for contacting us about the products that failed to provide satisfactory service.

We apologize for your inconvenience. We are enclosing Energizer coupon(s) towards the value of replacement products.

Situations like this don't happen very often, but on rare occasions when a problem arises, we are very concerned. We appreciate your taking time to make us aware of the problem you have encountered. Customers like you help us maintain a high level of quality for our products.

Once again, thank you for bringing this situation to our attention. We hope that you continue to think of Energizer when you purchase lighting products and batteries.

If you ever have any further questions, please contact us at 1-800-383-7323 or visit us on the internet at http://www.energizer.com/ .

Sincerely,

Energizer Consumer Affairs
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