Long McQuade, customer service failures
By Stephen Pate, NJN Network, Charlottetown, PEI, Canada March 27, 2009
The retail experience is mainly about instant gratification. Why is so much retail business happening over the web?
You want something, go to the store, find it, buy it, and part with money for the gratification of possession and use. If the item is not available, retail loses out to internet shopping which provides perfect information and lowest price which is a constant consumer goal.
People brag about how cheap something was indicating their ability to find value. The shopping bots find the lowest price and also tell you which vendors have the best service. You can get reviews, everything in one place. What they don’t have is the instant gratification of taking something home now. What retail is lousy at is out-of-stock. However, customer service with FedEx or UPS means I can order something today and have it 3 days later.
Example – I decided my old turntable is unreliable. Checking out the web I get an idea of what’s good and bad but don’t purchase since it’s not a compelling need. Then by chance I go to Sobers on Saturday for a small part. Bingo, they have a turntable I saw on the web – the reverse of normal retailing – at a good price.
On Tuesday I go back ready to make a purchase. Turns out the item was rented once and I see the needle is broken. The sales clerks run around with no idea how to get the money from my wallet to the till. They look at replacement needles but put them back without making me an offer. That unit is dead without a needle. Offer the customer something off an upgrade needle would be the smart thing. Only the sales people lack training and wander aimlessly behind the counter. Some actually flee the area which is amusing.
Enter Dave Skinner who is a very good retail sales person with one flaw – he hates customer service. Dave checks the computer and the same unit is in a box in Summerside, calls them up and gets a promise from Darlene to ship it next day. “You should have it by Thursday. I’ll call you when it comes in.”
On Thursday at 5:30 pm I call Dave and the turntable is not in. He calls Summerside and Darlene is working on Darlene problems and didn’t ship. Dave promises tomorrow but he forgot to check it Wednesday or Thursday. Dave lets the customer expedite his own order, which is wrong. If I wanted to play expediting clerk, I’d order off the web, get a FedEx tracking number and know when my goods would be here.
The problem is customers in retail are into instant gratification and so are the sales clerks. The customer, me, is back home looking on the internet and checking if that turntable is the right one. The deal is ready to be unhooked. The deal itself is not much. What does matter is reinforcing the customer perception that retail costs too much and only works for small emergencies. If you have to wait anyways, why not get best price and complete information.
Every year more and more business slips into the internet world because retailers don’t get it. They keep blaming price when price is not the only factor. Customer service is always more important.
We’ll see if Skinner and Darlene can pull this off. It’s not about how nice they are or aren’t. It’s all about attention to customer service details. Sobers is now Long and McQuade who are usually better at retail than this. Dave MacDonald the former owner must still be the manager. MacDonald is a customer service disaster legendary for his mood swings from charming bon-vivant to raving maniac. They must be hoping inventory and location are going to save them. Only with the parents in a rush to find a gift or musicians who need credit.
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