My wife and I recently splurged on a new bedroom set with a "serious mattress". We spent a LOT of money (at least it was a lot to us). The furniture is made of hickory and came with a few cracks (wood splits) and a couple of dents and dings. We did not know about the issues until the furniture was in our bedroom. Due to the difficulty of the delivery people getting the furniture in the house, we chose to keep the furniture and work out the details with the funiture store.
Oh... And they damaged a wall corner getting the furniture up the stairway.
Our stress has been a bit high to say the least.
It is an interesting thing to review the events that transpired that cause one to say, "I think we should step away..."
The sales person said the furniture was manufactured by Amish people and the reality is the furniture has the name "Amish" in it but nearest I can tell, no Amish folks touched it. I could be wrong - but I am pretty sure the furniture was imported from Taiwan. How do I know that? There are stickers on the back of each piece that say, "Made in Taiwan". I wonder if Amish people live in Taiwan...
This particular furniture store delivery team is similar to the cable company. They promised delivery between the hours of 11 am and 1 pm. Then they did not make the appointment on time. Wait. Our cable company actually made their appointment on time...
While some of the damage issues were potentially caused by the furniture manufacturer, some were the result of storage and handling.
Quick point... I really believe the Customer Experience can be greatly enhanced by "correcting" the mindset of the Customer. Right now our mindset may be encapsulated by the following questions:
-
Will we be taken care of?
-
When they say, "We will take care of you, is it like the way they have taken care of us thus far?"
-
Do they really care about our needs?
-
Are we just another Customer to them?
Thus far, we have been told we will be taken care of. Yet, the furniture store waited for us to take digital pictures and we have had to call them to find out what is going on. They should be calling us and they should have come out to our home.
What are we to assume? No one has come to our home to inspect the furniture and take the pictures themselves. We are in the "dark". When Customers are left "in the dark" - they create the stories that fit the situation - in other words - they go negative.
Naturally our mindset is beginning to slide now. Our willingness to negotiate is diminishing. We want the quality furniture we purchased. Nothing more, nothing less.
What should have happened or should be happening...
-
Tell the truth. While the furniture is definitely high quality, it was not likely touched by Amish people. We would have bought it anyways. Just tell the truth.
-
The furniture should have arrived when they said it would arrive - not a second later than promised.
-
The store manager or sales manager should have come to our home immediately to inspect the damage and address our concerns. That would have said, "We really do care and your concerns are our top priority." Actions should match the words.
-
The digital pictures should not have been our responsibility. Someone should have come out with a digital camera and taken the pictures the way we would have taken them. We did not create this problem, therefore, we should not be inconvenienced and we should not be doing their job for them. Actions should match the words.
-
We should be getting periodic updates. We should not be calling the store to find out what is happening next. We should be kept up-to-date without calling the store to find out what is happening. Actions should match the words.
-
They should send out someone to repair our wall corner damage or arrange to have it repaired. Actions should match the words.
Customer service failures happen. Studies have shown that a poor Customer Experience may actually be recovered in such a manner that the Customer actually feels better about the organization.
That remains to be seen.
Comments