Customer Service is Just a Game -- Some Know How to Win; Some Don't

I had originally intended to write a blog about KMart opening on Thanksgiving Day; however, many other media outlets (Huffington Post, for example), have done so, already.

But, that potential post spring-boarded into two other examples and one mammoth blog post on 'predictability and programming' that I'm hoping to have up before next Monday.

I won't be shopping on Thanksgiving. I understand the necessity of certain things to be open (hospitals, pharmacies, police, etc.); but anything non-essential should be closed (and, that even includes football -- because, although the players are *well* compensated; there are countless others involved in the day (from stadium workers, to TV to newspapers, etc.) that aren't; and they all have to be there. I'd miss football; but I understand me wanting that to exist is hypocritical.

So, why, then, did KMart decide to open on Thanksgiving? Well, first off - they obviously know people will be there (ideally, they've done some market research to ensure they aren't opening their stores so *no one* is there). And, that's where the predictability/programming comes in (which I'll be discussing later).

Essentially, those blaming KMart for this decision are missing the point. The ire should be facing the shoppers that will be there (it's a which-came-first conundrum ...). If no one shows up on Thanksgiving, odds are this won't happen again next year. But (as I suspect) if people show up in droves, we've seen the future.

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Over the weekend, I had occasion to head out to buy bagels for a large gathering at my home. I went to the local shop (Stacie's Bagels), because I like the flavor, and I'd prefer to not go to a "chain."

I got there, and -- as expected -- the line was quite long. I was holding a coupon for a dozen bagels ($6). I finally spoke with the counterperson and began placing my order ... I needed an egg sandwich (probably ... $4?); a platter with eggs and hash browns ($2) and some cream cheese. While I was working with the clerk to determine which cream cheese I needed (finally settling on four different types .. probably $10 worth); I was leaning in to speak with her (since the place was so busy, it was hard to hear).

Stacie, the owner, apparently wanted to get to the cream cheese (she's a tiny woman, and *everything* she does is super-important (in her eyes). Everything is done incredibly fast, and she seems to have no patience.

(As an aside, part of the problem is the situation with a lot of businesses. She's understaffed, because she wants to maximize profits; so ... lines are long; people get annoyed; and -- ultimately -- she loses customers ... but, I digress.)

As she was leaning in to get *her* cream cheese, I leaned forward to speak to my clerk. Stacie turned on her heels and said, "Could you excuse me, I'm trying to work here!" (not in a calming way; more staccato and accusatory). With that, other patrons on line rolled their eyes and gave me a sympathetic look.

I then said to the clerk, I have a coupon here, for a dozen bagels, $6. Her face saddened and she said, "Oh, I'm sorry, that was a misprint, it's actually $7." I scowled, but I'd been waiting long enough, I simply said, "Fine." I had people waiting at my house, and I didn't feel like arguing over the fact that, whether it was a misprint or not, the coupon *has* to be accepted. I said, "fine -- no problem. I need two dozen bagels ..." And, I began listing what I wanted.

She scowled again and said, "Oh, the coupon is only good for the first dozen." Um ... why? Does it take longer to collect the second dozen? I said, "Well, I would like two dozen." And she said the second would be full price.

I then said, 'OK, never mind then." And, as she began asking, "Oh, so just one dozen?" I was already walking out of the store. I *presumed* they would call me back ... why would you let a  $40 order walk out over $3 (this *after* I'd already accepted their "Oh, the coupon is a misprint" tale; and -- let's not forget -- they'd already made up an egg sandwich and egg platter (now garbage, unless they decided to peddle them off to some unsuspecting person). In the end, over $3, they *ate* $6 worth of food, AND lost a customer, AND lost a customer who went home to write about it.

I headed down the block to another bagel store and placed my order there. When I got there, I saw a sign that they accepted competitor's coupons. I lamented my predicament (that I'd left my coupon on the counter, when I'd walked out angrily). And, the gentleman gave me the coupon discount anyway (because, he probably realized he would *gain* a customer over the other business' stupidity).

It's like shopping for gas. If you get to a corner and there's a Hess, Sunoco, Mobil and Shell -- and they *all* have the same price; and the lines are all the same, how do you decide which to go to? What if you knew one of them always had a guy on duty to wash your windshield?

It's all a game; and some companies get it, and some don't.

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Each week, I buy coldcuts for lunches. I normally do my shopping on Mondays, and Best Yet has the best prices, so I always head there.

They seem to rotate through various offerings each month -- one week it's Chicken Breast; one it's turkey, etc. Each time they offer Chicken Breast, I go there, and they've run out; so they do the right thing, and offer me something else as a substitute (although, from a profitability concept, this fails ... if I'm getting a discount on one type of coldcut, from my wholesaler, but then, I'm giving something else away, I'm *losing* money on that secondary type. It's great for customer service; horrible for business.

So, this last week, the chicken breast on sale was gone. So were all the other types of chicken breast I normally susbtitute, so we finally settled on turkey breast.

I asked, "Why doesn't the person who orders, just order more?" And the response was, "We always run out on Monday, and the next truck doesn't come until Tuesday; so Monday afternoon is never good."

Really? So, you're *aware* of the problem, but you don't actually want to do anything to change it (like, maybe, order more ... maybe track the number of orders you're losing (and, eventually, the amount of revenue you're losing, when those customers just go elsewhere). And, nowhere in the collective minds of upper management is a thought to "just order more."


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As many of you know, my main hobby is boardgaming. In the past, there were roughly six *major* online retailers (all of whom had slightly different prices, shipping policies and inventory. 2013 saw two of them, effectively, go out of business (Thoughthammer closed its doors and Boards & Bits seems embroiled in some heinous situation that has locked up his inventory (although, with nearly no communication ...)). So, that leaves, roughly, four.

Black Friday (and Cyber Monday) is part of this world, as well. Now, Black Friday brings forth a LOT of emotions. Here on Long Island, a number of years ago, we had the infamous "trampling" episode, where people died because others, behind them, wanted to get into the store.

Some retailers have done the smart thing. PC Richard (an electronics retailer) has said, "We won't have timed deals and we won't run out of stock ... and if we *do* run out of stock, we'll still allow you to purchase it at that price." Great -- I don't have to go there at 4am to ensure I get the TV I want.

Now, where are they making up the difference (compared to, say, Best Buy?) Well, maybe Best Buy is cheaper (although PC Richard price-matches). For the most part, the differential is financing for large purchases. But, if I just want to ensure I get the thing I'm looking for, PC Richard is going to trump Best Buy (which *may* run out, and has offered no assurances).

So, this morning I log onto the boardgaming site, and I see that one of the companies -- Miniature Market -- has released its Black Friday sale (through Monday).

I see they have a game I want. I head to the site (to see what else they have, since my group typically places large orders ... when you have 20+ members, that happens). The game I was interested in was out of stock. There's an option to chat with someone in real-time, so I chose that, basically to ask if new stock would be released for the sale.

Effectively (since I don't want to make this longer), the policy is "First-come, first-serve" (I guess, since it's online, there's no risk of trampling death). Since they didn't know when they would be getting new stock, it's no longer part of the sale.

I get this - it's a loss-leader. The idea is to get someone in, then have them look around and buy more stuff; and -- if they come there, thinking they'll be buying, and what they want isn't there, they'll just buy something else.

I thanked the rep and told him I wouldn't be placing an order, but they should look into allowing customers to still purchase "out-of-stock" items, especially when the customer doesn't have a drop-dead date when the product is needed by (which is the case with me).

His response was, effectively, "we don't have that mechanic enabled, and this is the way we've always done it."

So, we have another "this is how it's always been done" approach ... except, this year, two others with that mindset went out of business ... hmmm ....

I said he should go ahead and let his supervisors (or, more correctly, the CEO) know that the company just lost a $500+ order over the fact that "things are always done this way." I explained that I didn't expect anything else from them -- I knew he didn't have the power to change it; but, if I were a business owner, I'd want to know the reason why my customer went somewhere else. I asked, if he didn't feel comfortable providing that suggestion, I'd be happy to do so; just give me the CEO's email address.

support@miniaturemarket.com

I asked, your CEO's MAIN email address is the customer support email for his company? That's how he communicates with family? Friends? etc.? He said, "that's the email you need to send it to." Again, I declined, and said simply, "meh ... I'll just blog about it instead .... "

Sure enough, 30 minutes later, I got a response from a supervisor (although, ironically, again, there's no way for me to reach *her* directly, since it's only the generic customer support email). She did the correct thing -- apologized for inconvenience, etc. And, if I want to buy the game when it's back in stock, she'll honor the price. Fantastic.

Of course, there's more -- the retailer has free shipping above a certain amount; I would like the game to be included in *this* order (and the whole thing can ship together), That remains to be seen. Ultimately, I may just tire and decide to order elsewhere.

At some point, *someone* will be unique; someone will start a new trend, and they will mop the floors with companies that "always do the same thing." At least, I can hope.