Customer service (part 2)

Recently, I wrote about the lacklustre service we experienced from a furniture retailer. This retailer has continued to be very un-customer focused and there are lessons to be learned for all businesses, so take heed!  (Here’s a link to the original article)

So to pick up the story … Firstly, we were told delivery would be ‘about 6 weeks’ – this was in early October. We didn’t have anyone coming to stay for Christmas, we had no particular deadline, so that was fine. We were happy to put it to the backs of our minds and just wait.

Around the 15th December (10 weeks later), we had a call to tell us the table was ready for collection from the warehouse, 20 miles away, Monday to Friday between 10am and 4pm. I don’t know about you, but for me, the lead up to any major holiday is frantic, busy and stressful with many clients having urgent deadlines. Last Christmas was no exception and taking half a day to go and collect a table was not an option or a priority. We were also leaving for Cornwall on 21st, so we had no choice but to leave the table in the warehouse.

Lesson 1 – communicate with your customers. If your promised delivery date moves for any reason, let them know. Don’t just leave them wondering.

In the first week of January, they phoned to say ‘your table’s still here – you can collect it Monday to Friday between 10am and 4pm’. I told them I was aware of that, but for 2 working people, that’s not very convenient.

Lesson 2 – Think like a customer. Those collection times from a warehouse 20 miles from your home are not very user-friendly. They suit the retailer, not the customer. A weekend or a late night collection would be much more customer-friendly, even if it was just once a month.

Ultimately, Mr B managed to leave work early and collect it today! Almost 4 months after we ordered it. He had a last minute opportunity to go, which meant that he didn’t  have the invoice with him. This apparently was a problem for the warehouse guys, until Mr B got a little bit shirty and asked how many rectangular oak tables they had awaiting collection, and could they not get the details from the office or computer system? Ultimately they tracked it down and it was all loaded into the car. But then they pointed out there was money owing, as we’d only paid a deposit. ‘No problem’ replied Mr B, pulling out his credit card. But no, the warehouse couldn’t take payment. It had to be done at the showroom (a couple of miles away).

Lesson 3 – Don’t make it difficult to pay. If the majority of customers have an outstanding balance to pay on collection, surely the warehouse could be set up to receive outstanding balances?

This whole experience has made me wonder about this company’s cash flow. Because of their poor communication and inflexible collection facilities, they have had to wait an extra month to receive our outstanding balance. Surely that can’t be good for business.

Lesson 4 – Don’t jeopardise your cashflow through shoddy procedures. If the service or product delivery and payment systems are efficient, you will benefit.

We won’t be buying any more furniture from this retailer, or recommending them. What a different story that could have been if they had thought like a customer instead of putting their operational requirements first.