It’s one thing to have a quality problem but the way you address it can make all the difference in the world.
You may have heard that Wal-Mart is trying to compete with Amazon in online shopping. They are offering features like in-store pickup, short lead-times and free shipping. I thought I would take a chance and try them out. I found a set of two acacia wood outdoor chairs with a five-star rating and I ordered them. I assumed the chairs would require assembly and I was ready for it.
The package arrived ahead of schedule and I was impressed. I was also impressed with the quality of the chairs. The wood was finished to perfection, the cushions were well-made and the construction of the chairs was substantial and sturdy. The assembly instructions were clear and written in perfect English. I was ready to go.
This is when the problems began.
Each chair was missing one critical structural part which made it impossible to complete the assembly. Fortunately, there was a phone number for the manufacturer and instructions to call if there were any problems. I called them right away and they picked up.
The call center was off-shore, but that was OK. What wasn’t OK was that they required all the Wal-Mart ordering details before they would even help me. This was frustrating but after searching through e-mails and paperwork, I finally found the number they needed and reported the problem.
After being placed on hold for what seemed like an eternity, the support associate told me that they didn’t have the parts and they couldn’t send them to me. I was surprised by the response and suggested that they go to the warehouse and open a complete box and send me the missing parts. I was placed on hold again. When he came back he said they would not be able to do that. I asked him what I should do with these chairs and I was placed on hold again.
After another long delay, he offered me a $20 discount if I just bought the parts on my own. I was confused and asked him where I could buy these parts. He suggested going to Home Depot and buying a piece of wood to manufacture the replacement parts myself.
I was shocked by this answer and I offered the following observations to the young man on the phone. First, I wasn’t sure if Home Depot sells acacia wood. Second, I have no idea what these parts actually look like. Third, if I could carve chair parts out of solid wood, I probably wouldn’t be buying chairs from Wal-Mart. I asked him for another option and I was placed on hold again.
After another long delay, the associate offered me a $40 discount if I just “made” the parts on my own. This just seemed like a desperate response from a company that didn’t really have a plan for a missing part. I told them their options were unacceptable. I was placed on hold again.
This was the longest delay of the phone call. Eventually, he returned and told me they would send two replacement chairs and I could keep the other chairs. Yes, that is correct. They couldn’t send me the replacement parts from a box in the warehouse but they could send me the complete box.
This was probably one of the most bizarre support calls I had ever made and there are some interesting lessons here about the real cost of quality.
Make sure your quality is right. Getting things wrong costs money and a loss of goodwill with your customers. It is mission critical to do whatever it takes to make sure your products are right the first time, every time.
“Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of intelligent effort.” – John Ruskin
Have a plan when things go wrong. If things go wrong, have a plan to take care of the customers. Make things easy for them because they are already frustrated. Make sure your processes don’t create more irritations. Be genuine, apologetic and generous in your solutions to fix the problem.
“Quality is free. It is not a gift, but it is free. What costs money are the ‘un-quality’ things – all the actions that involve not doing jobs right the first time.” – Phillip Crosby
Listen to your customer’s suggestions for solving the problem. Your customer may have a solution to fix the problem that is better than your plan. Listen to them and do what you can to accommodate their requests. Give your support teams the authority and flexibility to go above and beyond for customers.
“Customers don’t expect you to be perfect. They do expect you to fix things when they go wrong.” – Donald Porter
In the end, the combination of poor quality, poor planning and poor support is deadly. The real cost of poor quality is leaving your customers feeling confused and frustrated. And frustrated customers look to your competitors for their next purchase. I don’t think Wal-Mart is ready to compete with Amazon yet. In my opinion, they still have a lot of work to do. I think I’ll stick with Amazon for the time being.
If you are looking to improve quality and create a workplace culture where employees are absolutely obsessed with customer service, I recommend this book: The Service Culture Handbook by Jeff Toister.
{Photo credit: IKEA}