Give up any point of the customer’s experience and you give up your brand
Our built-in microwave oven broke a couple of months ago. Not a big deal in the general scheme of things. But a big deal in a household with two young kids where microwave cooking is mission critical to keeping peace at meal time. We bought the brand of microwave we did (a well-respected premium brand) because we associated the name with all sorts of positive brand imagery. “No problem-o,” I thought, as I went online to search for a brand- authorized repair service. Finding one, I called to make an appointment. Much to my surprise, the outfit operated like most utility companies, telling me a service rep would be there on the date specified, but within a five-hour window. Feeling a bit less respectful toward the premium brand, I acquiesced after a bit of polite discussion regarding the policy. The rep came on the appointed day, said we needed parts which would take a week to order, at which time I’d have to set up another service appointment which would, again, be within a five hour window. To put it mildly, I reluctantly agree. The repair guy arrived a week or two later with the parts he told us were required and realizes that a misdiagnosis was made. We’d need different parts. Repeat last sequence of events, with one minor change. The repair rep missed the appointment. At no time during the five-hour window did anyone show up. No need to go on with the repair saga. It’s just context for the rest of the story, to whit: During this process I communicated with the Customer Experience Center of this well-respected premium brand and told them about the terrible experience I was having and that it had the potential to sever my relationship with the brand – for more than just five hours. It was not the experience I expected from the brand whose name was associated with all sorts of positive brand imagery. I was told that the brand had no control over its after-sale service providers. These firms were independent contractors and I’d have to deal with them myself. Needless to say, no more experiences with this brand. The relationship is over. Diagnosis: Bad oversight of the customer’s entire journey with the brand. Moral: Give up any part of the customer experience and you give up the brand.
November 12th, 2007 at 11:16 pm
Some big companies neglect even the most important customer touch points. I recently got tired of receiving email from a well known brand of personal computer I had recently bought. When I clicked on the unsubscribe link it took me to a page where they tried to upsell me on different products, and where they listed a form to fill up with your information to… subscribe! (all the fields were required). At the bottom of the page, after scrolling two or three screens, was an obscure link with the word “unsubscribe”. I don’t understand…they already have me as a customer and they ruin any good feelings I may have towards them by making me jump through hoops to stop receiving their email.
March 4th, 2008 at 11:28 am
Great point. I had a similar experience with a major online book seller this morning, who told me they’d cancelled an order I made in December, due to me not “approving” their delay – something that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. I understand delays in shipments can happen, but cancelling an order entirely without my approval? The only thing they should have said was, we’re sorry for the major delay in shipping, your book is on its way and your next order is free (or something) due to this inconvenience. Of course, when I tried replying to their message, my email was bounced back becasue that was one of their “no reply” e-mail addresses. So then I had to spend another 15 minutes sorting through their Web site figuring out who to contact to help me resolve the issue.
I think the experience aassociated with a brand far outweighs any of the other reasons you’d spend your time and money with that particular brand. Companies should take note.