The Company
Decorating is hard work! This month, we focus on one woman’s nonsensical, agonizing wait for the perfect room by no fault of her own. Built on its promise to turn drab into fab, a popular furniture slipcover company’s customer service came apart at the seams. Let’s break it down!
The Situation
Giggled at the opening remark? Well, decorating is hard work that encompasses both hunting and gathering. Typically, that’s labor for an entire village. A triumphant hunting expedition on Craigslist is well celebrated in modern day. Two classic chairs with amazing bones and great shape were dragged to the cave needing only a new skin. Back to the wilderness she went, the internet in this case, to hunt for exceptional slipcovers. Quickly, they were found! Easily, they were ordered! Start the clock…
The pure excitement and sweet anticipation was more than could have been imagined. Once they arrived, devastating disappointment set in – one of the two slipcovers was damaged. Decorative perfection was not quite in reach!
The only option was to call customer service and determine next steps to receive a replacement. The good news is that the customer service rep (CSR) was wonderful: apologetic, reassuring, helpful. Our heroine did as instructed to return the item and ensure delivery of a replacement cover. Now, the real wait began. Weeks went by, no replacement. The second call to customer service was not as wonderful. The CSR had lots of attitude and spouted off, “Whoever you spoke to initially should have told you that it takes 4-6 weeks for a replacement. You’re just going to have to wait.” Huh? That’s longer than it took to get them in the first place! How can that be possible? Now, aggravation sets in. Damage has been done. Customer experience has plummeted. Not a good way to boost the ole Net Promoter Score (NPS). More weeks went by and two more frustrating “customer service” phone calls took place…
Fast forward: It took 65 days to receive the replacement slipcover with no apology, no discount, and no coupon. Clearly, no repeat business will follow.
What Actually Happened and What Should Have Happened?
With proper training of your customer service representatives, customers gain an incredibly pleasant experience that stays with them, paving the way for repeat business. Check out this customer experience blog to find out how a positive customer experience can help you create a lasting brand image.
Stay tuned for the next installment in our Customer Experience series where we break it down and dish out our thoughts on how to improve your own Customer Experience.
