A few weeks ago, our 23 year old dishwasher finally gave up
the ghost.
We went to Sears to replace it. We’ve had good success with them
when it comes to appliances, so they’ve earned our business.
As Sears normally does, they engaged a contractor to deliver
and install the dishwasher. The technician did a good job, except he neglected
to reattach the power to our garbage disposal.
It happens. I called the contractor to get it fixed, they
agreed, and we set a time to do it. Since I would be out of the area visiting
my family, we scheduled it for a week and a half in the future: sometime after
1PM on Monday, August 10th.
When I got back around 1PM on the 10th, I checked
the messages and learned that the contractor had called to set an appointment
for the previous Friday, and then again for noon on August 10th. So,
I called to find out what happened; after all, On July 31st I had a
confirmed appointment for 1PM or later on August 10th.
The first woman I spoke with was pleasant, but strangely
unwilling to address the error or move around the schedule times to address
their error. The soonest someone could be at my house was Friday. So, I asked
to speak with her supervisor, who may be able to help.
Her supervisor was unfazed and unapologetic. When I asked
her what she would do if she were in my place, she replied “I would have been
at my house at the scheduled time.” When I reminded her that that was 1PM on
Monday the 10th, she hung up on me.
The rest of the story: my water heater also broke
(conveniently, while we were away). Since we knew that buying it from Sears
meant dealing with the same contractor, we went to Home Depot.
Did you see what happened? Since Sears’ contractor had a
supervisor who simply does not have the temperament to talk with customers,
they lost my appliance business. It’s not that I am being a jerk; we just didn’t
want to have to deal with that same supervisor again.
What’s the lesson for your business? No aspect of customer
experience can be taken for granted. Your sales, profitability, and company
value depend on it. Don’t allow untrained or unqualified employees to speak
with your customers – and don’t allow your vendors to get away with it, either.
It’s not Sears that screwed up; it was their contractor. However, since Sears
did not manage all aspects of their customer experience, their loss that week
was at least $1000 (equipment and installation).
If your business struggles with customer experience, we can
help! Our network includes global experts in the field, and our Strategic
Mindset® process will help you design a sustainable, scalable business that
leaves little to chance. Call us at (202) 640-1908 or e-mail us to discuss your situation!
Ingar Grev
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