3BTs – airport, pink, and technology in action

1. Anticipating seeing someone. I have to pick someone special up from the airport later.
2. Pinks in bloom in my garden. Recently planted, the pinks are starting to show their colours, release their perfume and decorate my previously dull garden.
3. Ah, the joys of a ‘Multipoint’ headset! Carrying two mobile phones just got a lot less painful thanks to Jabra…

Shopping Online – Two Very Different Examples

I would probably say that most of us shop online, or have done at some point in our lives. I do a lot of online shopping, whether groceries, cars (yes, I once bought a car online), clothes, shoes, electronics or simple things like blank media, I think it’s a good option for people who are busy at work (or who prefer a bargain). The online shopping experience can be varied. Below are two recent examples of “customer experience” online…(together with a bit of a rant about one of them).

Example number one:
I have two mobiles – one for work, one for pleasure. This generally means I have two headsets, so a bit of online research led me to purchase a multipoint headset from Jabra. The item arrived within two days of purchase (delivered to the address I specified i.e. work). Plugged it in, and to my dismay, it didn’t work. I called the retailer (yes, they have a dedicated customer support number) and I was given the option of full refund or replacement. I chose replacement. One week later a second headset was mistakenly delivered to my father and a third delivered to me. It works perfectly. The retailer in question even refunded my postage charges. (Oh, and the headset sent to my Dad was returned to them).

Second example:
New phone purchase from one of the UK’s mobile providers…placed the order online, requested delivery direct to my mum’s house (North of Scotland). An email confirmation arrived; to my annoyance it not only states that the order cannot be delivered to mum, but that because of fraud prevention it can only be delivered to my billing address. On checking the details, I noticed immediately there was an error. The shipping and billing address were listed as my former postal address (i.e. the place I lived two years ago). I contacted the retailer and was assured the order address had been changed.

One week later, no phone. The delivery service (red vans, you know the one) claimed the item was refused and they sent it back to the retailer. I had been in all day and taken no calls. Hmmm. Not difficult to work out what happened…is it?

Another week passes and a second attempt to get the phone that I’ve already paid for…and guess what, today it was again delivered to my old address and again “refused” by my ex. Duh! Stupid people.

Hours have passed since I sent an email to complain and ask for a refund (i.e. there is no phone number for this online retail experience) silence.

How annoyed am I?
How glad am I that I stayed home all day?

Companies really should be doing everything in their power to keep good customers loyal. Unluckily for this retailer, I pay for a phone on their network which I give my mother. It will be transferred to another mobile phone provider as soon as I can arrange it.

Customer service – 0/5
Customer experience – 0/5
Overall experience – 0/5