All It Takes is a Call

I have written in the past about providing a great shopping experience and how little things can win or lose a loyal customer. Recently I had a chance to encounter both ends of the customer experience spectrum with two different companies.

The Good Call

I recently booked a weekend at the Bodega Bay Lodge. I found the listing through Yahoo! Travel and there were some good ratings so I had an expectation that the place would be nice. The night before I arrived however there were very heavy rains and some flooding occurred which ended up blocking one of the main access roads guests would take to get to the hotel. I checked road conditions online before leaving but there was no information about the road I intended to take being closed.

To my surprise and delight though Bodega Bay Lodge called my cell phone (which I provided with my online reservation) and left a message about the road conditions and provided alternate directions. I wasn’t a guest yet, but they were already taking care of me. This to me was the sign of a company that has an eye on customer satisfaction and all it took to win a loyal customer was a phone call. On an ecommerce related note, if you do reserve a room take note of how they are even cross-selling in their own checkout/registration process. Why yes I will take some chocolate-dipped strawberries to go with my room!

The Bad Call

On to my next experience which actually preceded the first example. I ordered a steamer pot online from a well-known department store in the last week of December. The delivery date was set for the end of the year. Well into the first week of January having not received my purchase or any email/phone call explaining the delay, I called the customer service number. A customer service agent answered, was very polite, and only needed a minute to get my order information and provide me with the status of the order.

The order was actually being filled by a drop-shipper. The drop-shipper though did not have the item in stock and had no idea when they would get the item in stock. They sent a cancellation to the department store but obviously there was a disconnect somewhere along the way as I never received notification the order was cancelled, not to mention a refund. The customer service agent said they would process a refund within 3-5 days.

The Ugly Call(s)

Ten days later, I called back asking why I had not received a refund. The customer service agent gave some explanation about the drop-shipper not having credited the money to them first. I was floored. Why are they holding my money when the issue is between them and their supplier? I was promised an expedited refund.

Five days after that, I called again to ask about the status of my refund which was now long overdue. I had to do some serious deep-breathing to maintain calm while discussing why I couldn’t care less about them not having received a refund from the supplier. The supplier did not charge my card—they did. In the end I told them a chargeback was coming their way since my card was charged but the goods were not delivered. So here is the tally of costs.

Can You Afford Not to Call?

Bodega Bay Lodge

Costs: one local call + 2 minutes of employee time to provide directions

Result: one happy customer + multiple word of mouth references as I tell this great example of service to many friends, relatives, co-workers, etc

Unnamed Giant Department Store

Costs: three customer service calls + chargeback fees

Result: lost order, lost customer, many more word of mouth references telling all friends, family, co-workers, strangers, and anyone else I may encounter to avoid this site like the plague for fear of having an experience like mine.

Takeaways

• Own the experience: do not lay blame on a drop-shipper. Your customers may not care. They bought from you so only you can make it right with them.
• If using drop-shippers, ensure you are updating status for any orders that cannot be filled. A small problem (canceled order for an item out of stock) may only mean loss of an order but if left unresolved could snowball into a mass negative word of mouth campaign and a chargeback.
• Consider your drop-shipper performance in filling orders. If the experience with them is bad, it will reflect poorly on your store so you may wish to find another drop-shipper if possible.
• Because you are smaller than the ecommerce giants, take advantage of the fact that you can be more agile, make calls, resolve problems in a more personal manner. Acting small can help you get big in the long run.

Paul Boisvert
Yahoo! Small Business