I recently had an experience with a good online company that left me shaking my head. I placed an order for
pergolide — a daily medication for my aging horse with Cushings disease. During the order process, I was given an option to select shipping, and I picked the “Ground FedEx – USPS” option, which was listed for $5. I also added a comment in the order special request box asking for FedEx shipment because I’ve had problems with misrouted mail. Since the order form priced shipping FedEx Ground or USPS at one price, it appeared to me that I’d have the ability to select either one.
The medicine was shipped USPS despite my request. When I received the shipping confirmation, I sent the shipper an email asking why they’d shipped USPS when I’d requested FedEx Ground. Their response said that they normally ship USPS whenever the item is less than 13 ounces. The response made no mention of my request in the order — it was apparently ignored.
A business with great customer service would have read my comment in the order and would have contacted me before doing something else. A great business would have responded to my email with an apology for the mix up. A “word of mouth worthy” business would have modified its order form to give customers the option of selecting FedEx Ground at a higher price, if necessary.
Many, perhaps most, businesses won’t make the effort. That creates an opportunity for those who do. Create great word of mouth for your business by reacting with a great attitude when something goes wrong. If your ordering process creates misunderstandings, then fix it.
Does this mean I won’t order from this business again? Probably not, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend the business. When dealing with your customers, you’ll have opportunities to shine. Take them, and word of mouth will do amazing things for your business. If you have any questions or you’d like some help in developing “word of mouth worthy” customer service, please give me a call at 979-531-8300 or use the Contact form to send me an email.
Related articles
- 3 Steps To Master Word Of Mouth Marketing (women-unlimited.co.uk)
