I have recently been buying lots of things on-line, which I have been doing for quite a number of years. I'm a typical bloke and I hate shopping. I really detest the whole experience. I don't like people when I'm shopping, they get in my way, they infuriate me as they don't seem to know what they want and where they want to be. I don't like trying things on, as that's time out of my life I'm never going to see again. Due to the fact that I hate the experience so much means I'm not an enjoyable person to be around when shopping. My girlfriend will vouch for that. Anyway, I established many years ago that I would much prefer to purchase as many things as possible on-line, so its something I do regularly.
The reason for this post, is that I recruit for a lot of retailers and I like to understand how they work as a business, so explore their websites and see the comments people have made about them. This helps me understand my clients and enables me to offer advice to my candidates. I recently had two completely different experiences from two different sites and I wanted to discuss it, to see if anyone else has noticed this worrying trend. The two sites I used were Game.co.uk and Amazon.co.uk. One, the service was second to none, the other was absolutely disgusting, followed up with shocking customer service.
Firstly, lets talk about the positive. Amazon.co.uk. Admittedly I ordered from Amazon, however the products were dispatched by independent suppliers, but still the service was immense and I was felt to feel appreciated as a customer. Now the suppliers in question were Areema Limited and PJP Electronics. Both products I ordered were delivered well within the time stipulated and actually arrived on the first of the five day window they stated. Both companies deserved the 5 star rating that I gave them.
Now here is the reason that you'll find the service so good on Amazon. There is so much competition on Amazon from competing suppliers that there is a fear amongst them. If they do a bad job then they wont get any more business. Customer feedback is the key to getting better service. Its the best form of marketing for these companies, and its free. All they have to do is do a good job. This is how business used to be, and its how business should be. What happened to the customer is always right?
If we look at Game.co.uk on the other hand, this definitely doesn't apply. They clearly feel that they don't really have much competition, and therefore if they don't do what they say, it doesn't matter as the customers don't have anywhere else to go. This was made clear by the service that I received.
I pre-ordered a product well in advance of the release date, it was a massive release and was going to be in high demand. Game contacted me to advise that due to the amount of pre-orders they were going to take money from my account early, not a problem I thought. All I'll say is that the product eventually arrived 5 days after the release date, although I'd had to go out and buy it on the day of its release when it hadn't arrived. This is bad service in itself, but when you mix this with the fact that they were updating their website, and their phone system, so there was no way of contacting them, it makes it atrocious.
I eventually managed to find an email address on-line and contacted someone. A few days later I got an email from their customer service department with attached terms & conditions with regards to when a product doesn't arrive. Not the response I was expecting, no apology. I wrote back to advise that I have spent a lot of money with them in the past, and threatened to take my business elsewhere. I eventually got a response over a week later, from this I gathered they didn't actually care as they had enough customers even if they lost my custom.
When you look at these two examples it just goes to show that competition clearly leads to a better service. Game.co.uk clearly feels it can treat its customers any way it likes, as there isn't enough competition for them to go elsewhere. If this is the case, then someone needs to step up to the mark and show them how its done. I'm sure I'm not the only one that's been made to feel like this by Game.co.uk
I'm not saying the Amazon way will work for everyone, but if it means that retailers are scared into offering a good service then I'm all for it. Too long we have suffered from poor service. We're the customers and we're always right. Remember that!
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