Holiday Hangover
In the name of science-and because I didn’t want to spend much time in the malls-I did a lot of my holiday shopping by catalog this recent holiday season.
During the 154 days between July 24 and Dec. 24, 1998, my household received 201 catalogs, including 41 apparel books, 47 food catalogs, 19 housewares catalogs, 15 book and/or video catalogs and 79 gift catalogs.
The catalogers that mailed the most into my home were Harry and David, with 19 books, and Victoria’s Secret, with 16. Interesting juxtaposition. If I was ordering that much food, I wouldn’t fit into the lingerie. And if I had a lifestyle that warranted wearing so much lingerie, I wouldn’t have time to sit around eating a lot of fruit, would I?
I found that the catalog I ordered from often depended on when it arrived. J. Peterman’s initial catalog containing merchandise based on “The Avengers,” for example, probably would have gotten a better response in my home-if it had been delivered prior to the movie coming out and getting trashed in the media. But in fairness I should note that some consumers did bite. J. Peterman president/COO Arnold Cohen told a keynote audience at the DMA fall conference that the catalog had sold 20 of the $2,000 Emma Peel catsuits-and had 20 more on order.
While timing may get a first order out of a prospect, customer service is what will keep them coming back. Like most people, I’m vocal about things that please or displease me. Make me happy and I’ll shout your praises. I’ll tell my friends. I’ll tell my family. My grandchildren will sing songs of you. But cross me, and a pox on your house. I’ll tell even more people.
I think the best way to judge customer service is to see how a cataloger handles problems. Williams-Sonoma goes right to the top of my customer service list for just such a situation. A set of bowls I ordered arrived with one chipped and cracked. I called and the rep was so efficient she made me want to place another order right then and there. She told me a return label and the replacement set would be on its way immediately. Sure enough, the label arrived within four days-but two weeks later I was still waiting for the replacement. During a 21-minute call this rep was helpful, responsive and apologetic, explaining that the replacement order had accidentally gotten cancelled and that she would send another out ASAP.
Near the end of the call she asked if there was anything else she could help with. I mentioned that a tin of crackers I had received in the same order arrived half crushed to powder, but that I couldn’t return them because the person I gave them to had already eaten them. I just wanted to let them know. She immediately offered to throw in another tin of crackers with my bowls. Would I order from Williams-Sonoma again? You bet!
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, I’m not so sure about. I ordered a pair of earrings from them with no worries, as I’ve always had positive experiences with the catalog and the museum’s retail store. The earrings arrived, significantly smaller than pictured, tarnished and poorly made. I wouldn’t have paid $1.99 for these in a discount shop, let alone $49 from a catalog. I called and expressed my displeasure with a representative, who gave me the impression I was taking up too much of his time. He said I should write a letter to include with my return, which they would not send a return label for. I expected some sort of response, and I got it. A form letter.
The museum did something else I found distasteful. It and Video Previews take customers’ credit card numbers before they barely have the person’s name. This felt very impersonal and cold. How would you like it if, say, a Macy’s salesperson demanded your credit card number as soon as you walked into the store?
But there were other positive experiences. Winterthur’s representative actually went to a storeroom to check on the type of frame a print I inquired about was in. And when my items arrived, the packing slip included a coupon for a free visit to the Winterthur museum in Delaware. Nice touch.
Victoria’s Secret took the “hey girlfriend” approach to selling. The phone rep informed me-effectively using the tones of a confidant-that both items I had chosen were on sale that day. She read through the upsell items quickly, giving each an appealing description different from what was in the catalog.
The Daily Planet also offered a number of upsell items in a friendly, relaxed manner. There were just a few small problems. Number one, way too many items were suggested, making me quickly grow weary of the exercise. Two, many of the catalog’s pages weren’t numbered, making it a little difficult to even find them. I gave up halfway through her spiel and just started saying “no” without even thinking about it.
My friends at Williams-Sonoma also made a faux pas. They offered me upsell items-not from the “autumn” catalog I was ordering from but rather from a “fall” book I had never received. Needless to say, no upsell here.
There were a few other little bumps-Crate & Barrel didn’t include a packing slip with my order, and Harry and David sent a catalog to my workplace with a “this may be your last catalog” blurb on the cover (obviously oblivious to the almost daily mailings to my home)-but otherwise I ended the holiday season pretty positive about shopping direct.
