A lesson in how not to respond to customer queries, assuming that is, you want to grow your online store.
Now that summer's here, I wanted to enjoy the short but pleasant couple of months in the English sun by having some slightly raised planks of wood in a sunny corner of my garden. I needed some decking.
After a few days of research, I had decided on the type of decking and had a range of prices from various suppliers. I was ready to place the order when a final piece of research turned up a company that not only supplied decking but also had 'reject' packs that were significantly discounted. I was not overly fussed about the odd piece being imperfect, particularly if I could get a generous discount so I went ahead and ordered.
That's where the problems began and through my years of ecommerce experience there are a few fundamentals that were not being covered so I thought I would write about the experience and highlight what I would have done differently if it was my store.
I should stress that the product was eventually delivered, I was not being scammed and I was happy with it, but the experience was not a pleasant one and for the most part, this was unnecessary.
Let me list off my issues:
Don't promise what you can't deliver
The website clearly stated 'Delivery within three working days'. Was this is a factor in why I ordered with them? Maybe, but actually, price was the driving factor with this particular purchase. When the order was placed, the confirmation email indicated that someone would be in touch to confirm the delivery date. As it was a bulky item, this did not surprise me.
So I waited to hear from them. At the start of the third working day (delivery day) I had still not received any communication from the company at all.
At this point, I raise a support ticket in their support portal asking for a delivery date or an update. (I will talk about communication in a separate point).
At the end of day three, I had still not had a response so I go and look on the facebook page. Here I see a lot of people writing on the wall complaining that they are still waiting for delivery. My experience appears to be a common problem with this particular company.
Solution: For the type of product I was ordering a long delivery time is not unusual. In comparison, I had recently ordered a garden playhouse for my son, and it was evident from the company that I ordered from that this would take two weeks (on an agreed date). It arrived when I expected it to, and I was happy.
It seems that this company is advertising a delivery timescale that is consistently unachievable. If they simply were more upfront about this, then I would not be expecting delivery so soon after order.
The problem now for the company is that I have now entered a new phase where I have to engage with customer services. That is time-consuming for everyone involved.
Head them off at the Pass (Effective communication and anticipation of problems)
Problems happen. It's a fact of life, as someone who runs an online store you want to anticipate the problems and communicate this and the solution before the customer gets in touch with you. Head them off at the pass!
On day 2 of the delivery timescale, they should have known if they are going to achieve the promised delivery timeslot of 3 days. If not they could have sent me an email to say that there was a delay, but they expect it to be resolved by X date.
They have just saved themselves time, stopped me thinking about it and saved themselves a customer services query. Would I be happy? If the communication is worded correctly then I would certainly be happier than no communication at all and I probably would not be bothering the customer services team leaving them to focus on more proactive work.
Manage expectations
When communicating alway be realistic about when the issues will be resolved. On two occasions I was told the products would be delivered the next day and to expect an email from the courier confirming this. This did not happen and again left me, the customer, feeling frustrated and getting me closer to open a case for a full refund with PayPal.
Take ownership - don't fob off your customers
At one point I was told to phone the courier to get a delivery date.
The customer has ordered from you. Not your courier. It is not acceptable to tell a customer to call the courier direct to ask where the order is. That is your job or the job of your customer service team.
Take ownership of all the customers queries, particularly if you are not fulfilling what you have promised. Speak to relevant parties and then relay this information back to the customer. Always have a view then you are progressing this to a resolution.
Don't use premium rate numbers for customer service
....and answer the phone!
The cynic in me would say that if you offer poor service and then you charge for me to call you to try and resolve that poor service then that is part of your business model and a revenue stream. Why would anyone recommend your company to their friends and this basis? Your customer service number does not have to be free phone, but it should be at least a standard geographical number.
Also, if someone does call your customer service number, make sure that someone is there to answer during normal business hours. Try not to hide behind too many automated options too which do frustrate customers, particularly if none of the options address the reason for the enquiry.
Allow your customer's easy access to customer service
My route to getting someone from customer services to actual acknowledge my concerns was as follows:
- I raised a support ticket via the stores and received an automated email but nothing else.
- I waited two hours. I then decided to go on to their facebook page. I politely posted on their wall that I was struggling to get any communication from them. A response was posted to say someone would be in touch.
- After another two hours, I responded on facebook to say that I still had not heard.
- Only then did I get a phone call.
I had to go very public to get a response. This is the equivalent of airing your dirty laundry in public! Why would you want you customers to do that? It shows to the rest of the world that you are not responding in a timely manner. If a potential customer is looking at your facebook page before they but then this is highly likely to put them off proceeding with a purchase.
I ended up receiving two phone calls and the problem was resolved in a very polite and amicable way - they even refunded me and unsolicited 15% of the order as an apology. Had that been my experience from the start I would have no hesitation in recommending the company (and I would not have expected any refund). As it was they took a 'head in the sand' approach until I became persistent which is not good for either party.
Summary - Its all easy to fix
Almost everything that was negative in this shopping experience was easily avoidable. I'm upset on behalf of the business who actually have a great product but and almost certainly losing repeat business and new sales because of negative comments around the customer service experience. It could be so different so easily.
- Are you over promising on what you may not be able to deliver? Check that your advertised delivery times are consistently achievable.
- Do your automated emails give the customer all the information they need to put their mind at rest? Do you need a series of emails as the order progresses? Keeping the customer informed will reduce the likelihood of costly (in time & money) customer service calls.
- If problems do arise are you anticipating these and communication with the customer before they get in touch with you?
- When a customer does contact you are doing all you can to own the problem and solve it for the customer?
- Make it easy for the customer to contact you. It is tempting as an online business to hide behind emails addresses but you will create trust and credibility if you have a prominent customer service number and make it easy for clients to resolve issues by that method. This may not apply to all business models but in most cases it should.
One last thing to consider. It be useful to take the view that if a customer contacts BEFORE they have taken delivery then you have 'failed' somewhere in your communications. In that case, learn from it and work out how you would anticipate that enquiry next time. Do you need to update information on the website, in the automated emails or was it a bespoke enquiry that you could have anticipated?
Saying that if the customer does need to contact you make it easy for them and take the problem away from them and own it for them. Feedback to the customer a realistic resolution asap.
It's all so obvious. Are you doing it? It is worth checking and double checking and even asking past clients if there was anything you could have done better.
