This is a story of a brand in New Zealand that failed to connect with a customer. Yours truly. 5 times.
I love magazines. I have my favorites: Monocle, Dumbo Feather, Frankie, Another Man, and some music-related magazines. What I love it what they call mook (book + magazine).
Very close to where I live in Auckland, I found a store selling all this kind of magazines. It was love from the first moment. A love that disappeared within few weeks.
FAILING TO CONNECT #1
The store is full of beautiful and amazing magazines. What it lacks is the “customer experience”. The store guys are always behind the bar, listening to music or watching stuff online. No interactions whatsoever, unless you buy something. In this case you receive the standard “digit your four pin number” and “thanks!”.
FAILING TO CONNECT #2
This shop has a website as well. I once sent an email asking if it was possible to order a book. They didn’t have it in store, but I knew they could order it for me. Keep in mind that the book is worth at least $60.
I received no answer to that email.
FAILING TO CONNECT #3
I went in the store, asking the guy about it, mentioning they didn’t answer to my email. The guy said to me:
“Oh, the email is read by our Australian team, and could be they don’t forward the email. Leave your name and email address, and I’ll let you know in few days, because I don’t know what we can and cannot order”.
Now, really? It’s the same brand, even if you have teams all over the world. And I didn’t hear something like “oh, shit, sorry mate, I’m gonna check out what went wrong with your email…better, I’m gonna call the Aussie guys right now and we solve it”.
After 2 weeks, I had no news about my book. No email, no phone calls. Nothing.
FAILING TO CONNECT #4
I decided to go back to the shop, where I found another guy. I explain the whole situation, and he said:
“Sorry, I’m new here. Leave me an email address and your name, and we are going to answer you like tomorrow”.
After few days, I received an email from another person saying:
“Hi. I found your note in the shop. You are asking about a book, but I don’t understand which book you are referring to”.
Of course you don’t: I’ve been vague because I was testing you , since you already failed to connect with me 4 times, and I wanted to cause some sort of reactions”.
FAILING TO CONNECT #5
But, hey..now I have an email and a person to talk with about what happened, and eventually I can order the book!
Once I explained what happened to her, she answered:
“Oh really? Well, it can happen. Anyway, you can send an email via our website!”.
Wait…what? I explained to her I sent an email via their website and that’s when it all started. So I said to her:
“I love your store, but you really need to at least add an email address YOU (here in Auckland) can read and you have to be sure someone is reading it to answer to your customers, that I suppose they are the only reason you are in business”.
No answer after that. No sorry. No information about which book I wanted.
You know…I wasn’t looking for a voucher or a sorry…I was just looking to help a store that I love to do better. Their offline and online teams are not talking , and the single teams are not doing a very good effort for a customer like me.
I said I love your shop, and you are not listening to me? Ah by the way…the book I needed? Ordered online. With another shop. Someone who cares.
No wonder businesses are failing. Businesses are made by people. If people suck, businesses suck. This business failed to connect with me 5 times in less than a month.
Something is wrong. Don’t you think?
