FORTUNE -- Why outsource to India when you can tap your biggest fans to handle customer service? Skullcandy, the maker of high-end headphones, has pulled people from its core demographic of snowboarders, skateboarders, and surfers to help customers on its website via online chat. That includes surfers like Spencer Hirsch, 25, of San Diego, who occasionally logs in to chat with Skullcandy customers. Hirsch earns $10 an hour, but he also scores points to win free Skullcandy headphones and iPads if he can answer customer questions. Call it "fan sourcing," the next frontier of customer service. --Jennifer Alsever
This article is from the December 26, 2011 issue of Fortune.
For anyone who's wondered what 'tweeting' can do for business, here are the keys to using Twitter.
By Kim Thai, contributor
Thousands of companies have hopped onto the Twitter bandwagon, trying to find a way to bring in business (and hopefully, revenue) one tweet at a time. But it isn't as easy to Twitter -- especially for companies -- as one might think.
For those who don't know: Twitter's a micro-blogging site that MORE
Jennifer Lai - Jul 22, 2009 12:27 PM ET
By Scott Moritz
Dell's (DELL) customer service isn't so award-winning after all.
New York State Supreme Court Justice Joseph C. Teresi ruled that Dell engaged in fraud, false advertising and deceptive business practices. The decision is a victory for New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who brought the case against Dell a year ago charging that the company failed to live up to its responsibilities to its customers.
"For too long at Dell MORE
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| Company | Price | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of America Corp... | 7.95 | -0.16 | -1.97% |
| Intel Corp | 26.73 | -0.43 | -1.58% |
| Microsoft Corp | 31.27 | -0.17 | -0.54% |
| Ford Motor Co | 12.28 | -0.25 | -2.00% |
| General Electric Co | 19.39 | 0.17 | 0.88% |
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| Dow | 12,938.67 | -27.02 | -0.21% |
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| S&P 500 | 1,357.66 | -4.55 | -0.33% |
| Treasuries | 2.00 | -0.04 | -1.96% |
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