Earlier this month, my wife and I ordered some flowers online for some family members who had helped us out in a pinch with watching the kids. I've ordered a number of times from them before, and they always provide a quality product with decent customer service (e.g. the one time the order came with a broken vase, I called and they rushed out a duplicate bouquet the next day with a replacement vase). But recently they did something that just struck me as a little bit ridiculous.
A week after placing the order online, I received an email directing me to a customer satisfaction survey about my orders. I typically fill these out if I have the time, as I figure it is my chance to get my voice heard, even if all I have to say is good things about the company. I filled out the survey, giving them good marks on almost every area. The only section I gave sub-par ratings to was the shipping costs. Almost all of these flower services have to charge a relatively large amount for shipping & handling, so this company was not above average in shipping prices. However, it still was, in my opinion, beyond what I would want to pay for shipping a product that already is costing a decent amount. So I marked the survey as "Not satisfied" with the shipping costs, and put in the comments that I wish shipping charges were reduced or made free to help ensure I continued being a customer.
About a week after that, I got a call at home at about 8 PM from a customer service rep. She wanted to let me know that they had received my comments and that they were indeed passing them on to be considered. That was the entirety of the call. Just informing me that the survey that I had submitted had been processed, and that someone was going to look at the answers I gave.
Then, this morning, I received an email from the company asking me to take ANOTHER quick survey, this time to see if my "issue" had been resolved. So, in their mind, I created an issue by filling out the survey, and their "resolution" was to let me know that they were going to look at the results.
I filled out this second survey. I clicked "No" when they asked if my issue had been resolved. In the comment box, this time, I mentioned that I really didn't see a need to contact me to let me know that my comments were being reviewed, as that was sort of implied by me filling out and submitting the survey.
How much do you want to bet I'll be getting another call in a week, letting me know that my latest comments are going to be considered in an upcoming survey review?
Possibly related posts (auto-generated):
January 29th, 2008 on 12:00 PM
I emailed McDonalds about something at one of their stores and I was sent a survey. I was called and emailed to let me know that they were doing something about it. I then got follow up emails and phone calls and an actual letter with coupons.
January 29th, 2008 on 12:56 PM
I would have said that I expected to pay $X in shipping and was charged $Z, so to "resolve the issue" would be to credit you with that amount. Otherwise, there's no real way to resolve that.
January 29th, 2008 on 1:01 PM
i always fill out surveys, especially when i've received good service. :Dthey seem to be over the top on this though…they're probably just excited to get feedback or something. hehe.
January 29th, 2008 on 1:04 PM
The point is there was no real issue in the first place. I expected to pay $X shipping, which is what they charged. However, from a satisfaction standpoint, I would have preferred to pay nothing for shipping, or at least a smaller amount. This was my chance to tell them that a sure-fire way to keep me as a customer would be to severely undercut their competitions' shipping prices, but they treated it instead as a complaint that needed resolution to ensure the transaction met some minimum customer satisfaction standard.
January 29th, 2008 on 9:47 PM
Hee hee… you're going to be stuck in Groundhog Day. The never ending loop of overwhelming customer service.