Back in the mid-1990s I registered an awesome domain name with the idea of working with flooring stores to sell flooring online and have the goods picked up at their store. I mentioned it to a couple of major flooring manufacturers back then and they almost flipped out. (Eventually, I sold the domain name to a retailer.) Then iFloor.com started popping up stores all around the USA and offered buyers online to pick up their flooring at their neighborhood iFloor store location. Borders Books and other brick-and-mortar stores began to also offer order online and pick up at their store too. The idea of buying flooring online and shipping to your local store has always intrigued me, even today.
Well recently I decided to give it a try to see how brick-and-mortar stores are handling ordering goods online and shipping to their local stores for customer pick-up.
1. The Good
I am an avid fly fisherman for trout and I am always attracted to great fishing deals. Recently Cabelas had a closeout on a $200 Ross fly reel for $99. For me it was a no-brainer, I want one. Since Cabelas has a store I drive by quite often I thought I would save the shipping costs and pick it up at my local Cabelas store. After placing my order it took about 3 days to receive an email stating that the reel was in and I could pick it up. Great, I was going to be driving by the store tomorrow evening and I could pick it up and my wife wouldn't be the wiser. :-) The Catalog window at my local Cabelas store had a responsive, friendly clerk and everything went smooth. Plus, we opened it up in the store and made sure it was correct and undamaged before I left the store. I was out of there in five minutes and I would definitely do it again if the situation arises.
2. The Bad
Next, about two weeks ago I decided I wanted the latest, version 3, Flip Camcorder to use at Surfaces 2011 to show flooring retailers how easy they can make their own in-store marketing movies and easily post videos to their website using my powerful, custom-designed, exclusive content management system. At first I was going to order it from Amazon.com, pay the freight and have it delivered to my home. Then something popped in my head to try Walmart.com and use their "Ship-To-Store" program. Walmart.com also said this particular Flip camcorder was only available online but could be shipped to any location. What they heck, I know Walmart makes returns easy if it is damaged or something is wrong. Plus, I go by there on my way to Office Max and to my barber all the time.
Well after placing the order online Walmart states it takes 1-2 days to process and 7 to 10 days to be delivered to your local Walmart store. At this point I am a little nervous, but no big deal. I ordered it on Jan. 9th, what possibly could go wrong? On 1/19/2011 at 10:59 AM I sent Walmart customer service an email after I logged on to my account and saw a note my shipment was "delayed" at a warehouse which is approximately 1 hour away from my local store. Delayed? Why? I have already waited 10 days and I am running out of time before leaving for Surfaces. My pateince is wearing thin. I send them an email asking for an explanation and I also tell them I could have purchased this from Best Buy for the same price and free shipping. I finally got an email reply from Walmart at 8:59 PM that night with no apology, no "I am sorry", just a canned, template email stating their policy of it takes 7-10 days. Geesh, this makes me really love Walmart as a customer!! Finally it came in on Jan. 20th and I picked it up today, but I won't use Walmart's Ship-To-Store again to save the freight.
My point is when ever you correspond with customers online don't send out canned, cold, un-carrying email replies. Be compassionate and remember customers come first. Your customer's positive word of mouth and positive reviews online are precious. If you make a mistake apologize and work even harder to win back their trust.
By the way, you might just see a video or two from Surfaces posted on this blog... so stay tuned next week. :-)
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