In the past I have written about customer delight, here’s one that goes down as how to make sure that you never get an order from a customer again.

I had a speaking engagement at a luncheon and wanted to put something unique at each seat to have the attendees remember me  (we are marketing people after all).  So with some brainstorming with Dan, we came up with a take away that required me ordering hot pink duct tape.  Being the cost conscious person that I am, I looked for hot pink duct tape on the internet and found the quantity that I needed at the price I liked.  I selected the delivery time that would get the tape to me with enough time to put my give away together.  I placed the order on line.

When I got the confirmation a few minutes later, I noticed that I had ordered the wrong color.  I called the business immediately and straightened the color situation out.  The gentleman on the phone assured me that that he changed the order and that I would receive my merchandise on time.  This was on a Thursday at the close of business.

Friday came and went.  I never did receive an email with the tracking information, but it was a crazy day and I didn’t notice.  Monday the UPS man came, with a different order, and left.  I called the business, as my duct tape was supposed to arrive Monday, and got no answer.  During the rest of the day I called 7 times with no answer.  I emailed at least 5 times, saying that if the order was not on my door by 9:00 am Tuesday I would not be accepting the order.  Finally Tuesday morning I called and got an answering machine.  I left the same message as I sent in my last email.

Tuesday afternoon, I got a phone call saying that they knew on Thursday that they had to order the color that I requested and knew I would not be getting it on time.  No one let me know!  Their offer to appease me was that they would keep the hot pink duct tape on hand, so the next time I needed it, it would be there.  Do you think I will be ordering from them again?

So if you can’t figure it out, here are the take-aways:

  1. Be Honest, if you can’t do something, let you customer know and let them know where else they might look for your product or service.  They will be more apt to try you again due to your honesty.
  2. Answer your phone!  At a minimum, have a way to leave a message.
  3. Respond to your emails from customers immediately.  Tell them the truth.

Has anyone had an experience like this before?  Let’s hear the good and the bad, so we can help business provide the best service possible.