A recent experience with Best Buy prompted me to do something I rarely do. Name names when it comes to customer service nightmares.
I often write about customer service. But it is unusual for me to call out the name of the business that caused the debacle. Best Buy proved to be the exception.
Best Buy Until It’s Not
The following is the story of a hopeful consumer lost in the frustrating world of lousy customer service.
Best Buy’s 5 Epic Customer Service Fails
The global pandemic ushered in a tsunami of service issues. Supply chain failures is among the biggest.
- While that may have played a role in the replacement of the faulty dishwasher
- Best Buy cannot hang their epic customer service fails on the supply chain.
The following are 5 customer service fails that every business – small or large – could learn from.
#1 – Giving Promises You Can’t (or Don’t) Keep
Best Buy, like many businesses, uses a third party for its installations. Coordinating is always tricky. I suspect the installer should not have promised a replacement dishwasher in 2-3 days.
- The promise set what was probably an unrealistic expectation.
- The installer also said I would receive a call to set up the appointment.
- I did not. Another fail.
How to Fix It
Stuff happens. Especially with today’s product availability and job market. It’s important that customers have a realistic expectation of what will happen when that “stuff” does occur.
- Make sure you have a process in place for delivery mishaps.
- Communicate what that is to your customers.
- Be hands-on in your response.
That last point leads into the next item of customer service fails.
#2 – Making the Customer Do All the Work
One of the traits I hate about much of customer service today is the do-it-yourself attitude.
- Product problems are sent to user forums for answers
- Or to Frequently Asked Questions that never have your question
- And some go to automated bots (with absolutely no sense of humor)
Despite being told I would receive a call to schedule the delivery of a replacement dishwasher, it was me picking up the phone to make that happen.
Any number I called routed me to the Best Buy outsourced customer service lines. There I discovered the giant obstacle standing in the way – the third party’s delivery tracking system.
- Its system showed my original order (the one with the damaged dishwasher) was “in transit”.
- In fact, it had been delivered and installed as a stopgap measure. The dishwasher worked but the door was difficult to open and close due to the HUGE dent in its door.
- Customer service assured me I could use it (gee, thanks) until an undamaged appliance could be delivered.
After 13 calls totaling 1 hour 55 minutes, customer service continued to tell me they could not change the status in the system. They had to get in touch with a mysterious system guru who could magically open the system to scheduling the delivery of a replacement dishwasher.
The lack of resolution forced me to drive to the nearest local store to speak face-to-face with a Best Buy employee. Having to go back a second time (in pouring rain) did little to lower my rising blood pressure.
- I received no call/update after the first visit (although my case had been referred to a manager).
- After the second trip, I received one call that they were still working on it, then days of silence.
- I received only an email of a local employee and the manager’s card with a number that rolled over to their outsourced customer service.
How to Fix It
Don’t have your customer doing your job.
- Be proactive – jump on email or the phone when a problem occurs. Let the customer know how you are going to fix the problem and when they can expect resolution.
- Change your system – develop a process that does not require access by a select few. At a minimum, have built-in alerts when notified of the problem and give it priority attention.
- Enable employees to resolve problems quickly – this last fail (the lack of empowerment) is a common business problem. So, it earned its own category below.
#3 – Handcuffing Customer Service
Nothing frustrates customers more than sharing their problem over and over. Discovering the employee representatives are powerless to fix the problem only ignites the flame of disgust.
In my situation, none of the customer service representatives I spoke to in my 13 calls were able to update the delivery status. Neither were any of the employees at the location, including the manager.
Crazy, right? The obstacle causing a quick resolution (scheduling the delivery of a new appliance) was a keystroke in the third-party system.
Customer service cannot do their job when handcuffed by overcontrolling processes. If customer service cannot physically change the system, you better have an immediate workaround.
#4 – Failing to Acknowledge Customer Communication
This failure baffles me, as evidenced by my prior posts on the subject. One of the easiest customer service tools is the simple act of acknowledgment.
The following is a summary of all the times this did not occur.
- Return calls – customer service promised a return call the same day on three separate occasions. That did not happen, nor did I receive a call back on any day.
- Twitter support – I gave Best Buy Support on Twitter my case number and asked for help. I received a canned referral to FAQs. It did say if that did not help, I should send my contact info. One problem – they never responded (canned or otherwise) after I sent it.
- Email response – as I only had a Best Buy employee email address, I reached out for an update – twice. I received a voicemail (from a different employee) in response to the second email. That’s when I was told because it was an online order, they could not help me.
After I received that last voice mail, I used my only means of contact (the email) and blasted off my response. In part, it read:
It took you four days to tell me you cannot help me??!! I have been lied to, misled, and thrown curves all along the way. The bottom line, Best Buy (directly or indirectly) sold me a damaged dishwasher. It should not be up to the purchaser to track down its replacement…
The Best Buy response? Nada, Nothing, Crickets.
How to Fix It
The fix is obvious – acknowledge customer communication. Even if you do not have the answer, keep the customer updated and set expectations.
Ignoring customer communication tells your customer you do not care about their problem.
Is that really the message you want to send?
#5 – Neglecting to Accept Responsibility
The final fail is a major cop-out – pointing the finger at someone else. Frankly, customers don’t care who caused the problem. They just want it fixed.
Few businesses handle every aspect of their services. They partner with other businesses to deliver services like customer service, fulfillment, and technical support.
Telling a customer there is nothing you can do because it’s not your system is not an answer.
How to Fix It
Yes, it’s challenging to manage so many moving parts – the online sale, the shipment from the manufacturer, the delivery, the installation.
But the bottom line is the customer looks to you to fix the problem. It is your brand on that site.
- Take responsibility – don’t put the customer in the middle or blame someone else. Own the problem and work like mad to fix it.
- Contracts – have a signed contract with provisions for performance for third parties. Hold them to it and make them prove results. If they repeatedly fail, find a new partner.
- Internal performance – ensure your employees are held to the same level of performance to improve the overall customer experience.
Overcoming Customer Service Fails
Every business is going to stumble, especially the more you outsource. Ensuring customers feel like you genuinely care about fixing their problem goes a long way in how they view your brand.
Be on the lookout for these five common fails and have a plan to overcome them.
- Not honoring promises or offering unrealistic expectations.
- Forcing customers to continuously follow up due to lack of resolution.
- Neglecting to give business representatives the tools they need to fix problems.
- Failing to enforce performance standards for acting on customer communication.
- Mismanaging third party relationships through lack of oversight and accountability.
Thirty days after the original delivery, I received the replacement dishwasher. Except for a few minor annoyances, it was installed without hiccups (knocking loudly on wood). However, the entire experience will definitely influence my next major purchase.
What customer service fails are on your Top Ten list? How would you fix them? Share your thoughts in Comments.
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This reminds me of the months my sister spent trying to track a window air conditioner she bought from another big box store. She had to proactively call the store, the 800-number, and coordinate things between them to get a replacement AC out in the middle of the heatwave. She encountered some helpful people and some who said they couldn’t do anything after a product had been shipped. She was able to play them off one another.
Eventually, she learned the warehouse didn’t have the same model, so the god customer service rep upgraded her to a better model that was available at the local store, and instead of forcing additional fees on her, they discounted it to a lower price that the first one was. The manager of the local store even said if she had to deliver it personally, it would be done. You guessed it. A week or so later the first AC arrived, battered in the box. The front grill was dented. My sister contacted the store about returning it, but likely due to the damage, they told her to keep it. And it actually works.
That was a great example of how a customer service team turned a fiasco into a success. Sure, it took a long time and many hours on the phone to get it done, but it worked out well for my sister and led to a lot of free positive word-of-mouth for the store.
That’s just it, Paula. I think most people will put up with a lot if they feel SOMEONE is trying to help. I think I was most disappointed in the local store response. They could have done something similar to your sister’s situation and been more proactive in getting it replaced. Thanks for sharing your story, Paula.