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For those who have read my previous post on the customer service experience from PPCP Online, here is an update and closure on the matter.

About a week after I raised my opinion on the experience, one of the owners, Nat, of the online store called me again. He repeatedly apologized on behalf of the store for the inconvenience caused to me, and positively arranged for the replacement unit of the Stetige tripod to be personally delivered to me.

He also explained that there was a lack of units during the Chinese festive season earlier and was not able to respond to my needs in time. I told him that the least they could have done was to tell me the truth in a timely manner, so that I wouldn’t have flared up.

True to Nat’s word, the replacement unit was delivered on time. To my surprise, a small gift was included in the unit. The unit itself turned out to be in good condition and performed better than the first one.

In conclusion, I still believe in good customer service, whether online or in the Real World. Whether the customer is right does not matter, but communication and positive-thinking are more important. I do appreciate PPCP Online’s effort and will consider to continue shopping there.

Technorati Tags: product review, customer service, stetige, tripod, ppcp online

I ordered a Stetige tripod from www.perfectpixelcameraparts.com on 29 January 2008. It was delivered quickly, just one or two days later.

However, the unit that I started using broke down after a few days of use. When I pulled open the legs, one of the legs’ locking bracket broke apart and became loose. As a result, this leg was unable to open to the fixed position anymore.

I started contact the store on 9 February 2008 to ask for a replacement unit. Jeremy Tan from the store confirmed that once the Chinese New Year period was over and new stock arrived, he would deliver the replacement.

On 19 February 2008, I wrote to orders@perfectpixelcameraparts.com and info@perfectpixelcameraparts.com to request for an update since I had not heard from them since early February. Jeremy said he would contact me again within a week.

Up till 7 March 2008, I have not heard from Jeremy anymore. It has been more than a month since I last used the tripod and I have not been able to get a replacement unit.

I seriously do not recommend PCCP Online as a retail merchant because:

1. contacting and communicating with them is difficult
2. do not honor dates
3. poor order fulfillment and defects replacement

Nat and Jeremy Tan from www.perfectpixelcameraparts.com are not retail people that you want to spend your money on. They are unreliable and slow. Do not buy anything from their store unless you want to suffer high risk of customer dissatisfaction when your order breaks.

Bear in mind, I still have faith in the quality of the product, but it is the utter failure of customer service that the store shows.

Save time and money and avoid buying anything from PPCP Online, www.perfectpixelcameraparts.com.

Technorati Tags: product review, customer service, stetige, tripod, ppcp online, bad review, poor customer service

After a long time of waiting for my Google Adsense publisher earnings to accumulate, I’ve finally received my first payment from Google via Western Union Quick Cash method. The feeling of getting paid a three-figure for publishing online ads is satisfying and honorable. It’s not often that I get noticed by a billion-dollar company once in a while. :)

For most of us publishers residing in Asia where Western Union remittance is common, I’d recommend using Western Union Quick Cash to get paid easily. In your Google Adsense account, go to “My Account” -> “Account Settings” -> “Payment Details“, select “Setup Western Union Quick Cash” and follow the wizard.

If you have set for payment to be released (under “My Account” -> “Payment History“), your earnings will be sent to you by the end of the month after your account balance reaches your payment threshold (usually US$50). I saw that mine was issued on 24 December 2007, but I didn’t realize until I checked the page a week later. Somehow, Google Adsense did not notify me by e-mail, which I expected.

You will be able to see the payment details in this page, such as the payment date, money transfer control number (MTCN), and payment amount. Print out a statement of these details by clicking on the link at the bottom “Statement of Earnings”. Go to your nearest Western Union branch with these details and a government/state issued identity document. Fill up the Western Union Money Transfer “To receive money” form, where you will need to use the printed statement for the sender (Google) details such as its address and MTCN.

Here is the form from CIMB Bank Malaysia which has Western Union services in most, if not all, branches. CIMB is, like most other banks in Malaysia, horrendously slow. I had to wait more than an hour with four customers ahead of me.

Western Union and the bank takes a cut of about 0.9%, according to the prevailing US currency exchange rate. They pay cash in local currency.

Some of you may ask, what are my tips for making money using Google Adsense. I’ll share three tips here.

1. Build a good source of content that is fresh, relevant, and pleasantly-presented. Remember that ads are meant to help lead visitors to useful products and services which will make the experience of going to your site more valuable.
2. Optimize the context and placement of the ads (e.g. using “google_ad_section” tags), check out Google Adsense Help for more information on how. Large rectangles, vertical banners and link units are the best, YMMV.
3. Make use of channels to help monitor the performance of different types of ads (according to site, format, placement, etc.) so that you can take action as per tip #2.

I’ve yet to see my earnings payment from Nuffnang Malaysia, but meanwhile if you have a good experience with Google Adsense or more tips on using Google Adsense, share them here by adding a comment.

Technorati Tags: google, google adsense, make money, earnings payment, western union, quick cash, money transfer control number, cimb bank, ad earnings