There is one principle that I wish companies would learn: customer’s don’t care how your business is structured; they just want it to be easy to work with you. Or as the late, great Dr. Michael Hammer would call it, ETDBW – Easy To Do Business With.
Sadly, so many companies have decided to make it increasingly difficult.
Back in 1997 I co-wrote an article for the Economist Intelligence Unit about the Virtualization of Financial Services. One of the biggest challenges we discussed was “channel integration” – the seamless integration of the web, branches, and ATM (cash) machines. Nearly 15 years later, companies have still not addressed this issue.
All these years later, we still see the same old problem.
Netflix recently announced that it is separating its DVD distribution service in a new business called Qwickster. Not only does the cost go up for consumers, but now you need separate accounts. I can’t imagine a company making it more difficult for customers to do business with them. Subscribers have been leaving in droves. OK, I realize that they are probably positioning their DVD business to be sold off. But in the process, they have significantly de-valued both businesses.
Yesterday I decided to pre-order an iPhone 4S from Verizon Wireless.
I went online, filled out all of the forms, and submitted my order successfully. Or so I thought. Ten minutes later I received an email saying that my order was cancelled and that I needed to call them if I had not requested the order to be cancelled. Given that I am in the UK, this was a bit of a hassle, but not a big deal. I called 3 times and only got voicemail. Admittedly, given the timezone difference, it was quite early there.
I fished around their website and found a place where I could send a message via email. I wrote telling them I did not want my order cancelled.
Not knowing if I would get a response to my email, I continued calling. After about a half dozen tries, I got through to someone who was very helpful. She couldn’t find a reason why my order was cancelled so she put me on hold and called the internet order group. She was told that the order could not be reinstated and that I needed to place a new order. Therefore, the nice woman transferred me to phone sales. I asked the sales agent if they could pull up the order I made previously and just re-enter the information instead of giving it all again over the phone. I was told that it was not possible since all internet orders are handled by a different group.
In the end, I decided it would be easier to place another order via the internet, which I did. I received my order confirmation and did not get a cancellation notice this time. I left my computer feeling like everything had been handled.
A few hours later, I received an email back from customer service in response to the email I sent much several hours earlier. They said, “This order was canceled out of the system because your order was placed from a foreign IP address and our system auto cancels any orders that don’t come from a domestic IP address. Since you were able to call in and speak with our customer protection team, they were able to approve you for service.”
Hmmm, this is a different answer than the one I received when I was on the phone!
The email continued…
“Our records indicate that you placed another order which is currently waiting to be processed by the expected ship date of 10-14-2011. When it’s time to process the payment and ship the equipment, you will be notified via email if there are any issues with the order. If the order completed with no problems, you’ll receive an email with your FedEx tracking information.”
One person tells me the first order was cancelled. But another tells me it will ship. And I also learn that my second order is still being processed which means it may or may not be approved. Basically I don’t know if on October 14th I will receive one iPhone, two iPhones, or maybe none at all.
Clearly, the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing.
I wish companies would learn that customers do not care how they are structured. Customers do not think about internet versus phone orders, they just think in terms of orders.
What can you do to make your company ETDBW?
UPDATE: Since writing this blog entry, Netflix killed Qwickster recognizing it was a bad idea. And I also heard back from Verizon Wireless. It appears that my first order was indeed cancelled and not re-initiated, and only the second order is active. Let’s see what actually ships.