Customer Service has become a recurring theme here at IsThisMarketing.com. Your Customer Service team is the front line contact with customers who have an issue, need, or interaction with your company. Train that team to service the customer as efficiently and appropriately as possible. A solid solution from your Customer Service Department with a client will pay off in repeat business and referrals.
Bad Customer Service results in negative publicity such as this.
The newest issue is online customer service, further enforcing my belief that researching a company on the internet is very important, however, when purchasing a product, when possible. Pay the extra couple bucks, and buy it from a local retailer, and keep a person who actually speaks to you like a human employed.
Recently I needed to purchase a camera. As is the norm these days I researched products throughout the interwebs, and decided on a specific camera, and found it cheapest through Google Shopping at ShopKingCamera.com.
What an absolute disaster this transaction has been.
First the site was not updated to reflect they were closed for a week to observe a holiday I have never heard of. So after 5 days wondering what was the issue with my overnight delivery, Google was able to “contact the seller” verify they were closed, and inform me that I should allow the merchant an additional 5 days to respond.
When they finally returned to the office it took them another 2 days to catch up with the backlog. I called to find out what this delay was, and asked why there was no notice they were closed despite them taking orders, and verified that my change of address had been updated through Google Checkout to them. The representative who was short with me on the phone acknowledged the current address in Florida.
Can you believe my surprise when the item was shipped to Michigan?
So I called again. The representative said that it did indeed look like their mistake but since it was “an expensive item” they would like to try to get the package back from the post office (since they didn’t require a signature for the overnight delivery, the item was left at a vacant doorstep). I told the rep, “Yeah I know it’s expensive, I paid for it and am still waiting for it to be delivered to the correct address.”
So after another week, I submitted a refund request through Google Checkout as the camera shop has stopped taking my phone calls. Google “contact the seller” again and said the seller thinks I should go to the vacant house and see if I can find my camera as they have done all they need to in the delivery process. Complete Lies. So Google suggests that I initiate a chargeback on my credit card for the product.
Here’s the rub. I picked this retailer because they offered the Google Checkout. Here’s what you need to know.. Google Checkout offers no buyer protection, nor do they have any interest in mediating any of this issue despite their records being the transaction tracking that identifies every misstep by the merchant..
Needless to say here I am a month later $250 poorer discussing this issue with my bank, and still no camera to shoot photos with..
Be wary of Google Checkout, and by all means DO NOT SHOP with ShopKingCamera.com