Apr 13, 2010
Don’t want the answer? Don’t ask the question: Part 2
After spotting this post, where I shared with amazement the call I’d received from my dealer regarding a recent service experience, my colleague Dan shared another story that bears repeating. This made me laugh – and shake my head.
Dan received a point of sale survey request while placing a web order at PETCO.com. He completed it, entering some comments about problems with the site, and appreciation that his reorder went much faster than his initial experience.
Here’s the form response he received:
Thank you for contacting PETCO regarding your feedback.
Your feedback has provided an opportunity for us to become a better company. We really appreciate and value your sincere comments as this would allow us to identify how we can go about improving our service based on your experience.
Please know that we care about our customers and what they think of us. By letting us know when we fall short of your expectations, we have the opportunity to address your concerns and to be better prepared to meet your expectations in the future. If we can be of any further assistance, please feel free to call PETCO Customer Relations directly at 1-888-824-PALS (7257). Thank you again for contacting PETCO.
Sincerely,
Michael G., Customer Relations Coordinator
At PETCO, Animals Always Come First… Our People Make it Happen!
It’s a pleasant response. But did it say anything meaningful? Dan read it as a “Thank you for sharing your thank you but we’re not going to do anything but if you want to get another thank you just contact us again, thank you!” note.
How do you read it? I found myself wondering (again) why smart well-intended people can ask a for a customer’s time, thoughts and feelings but seem to do so little with the response. With customers as with love, every interaction adds or subtracts from a relationship. At this last step in the customer experience, customer needs evolve – and a leader’s goal is to anticipate the emerging next need. Why did PETCO.com miss their opportunity?
Personally, I almost never go through the website to leave feedback. I always try to get a live representative over the phone. In very few instances, I know that companies actually DO read their customer emails, so I have no problem contacting them via email.
Chipotle is a fab example of this. Joe Stupp and Steve Ells have answered my queries on more than one occasion. They take their customer service and satisfaction extremely seriously, and rightly so.
Back to the original point–if Dan had more negative things to say in his initial email to PETCO, I would bet he would still get the form response, but a more personal response at a later date. In my experience, that’s pretty common. Companies work to fix the ‘problems’, but don’t take the time to give a sincere thank you when people have something nice to say.
Hi,
I am one of the managers of PETCO Customer Relations and I would like to thank you in pointing out an opportunity that we have missed in answering a PETCO.com on-line survey. You are correct that the issue raised was never addressed on the reply that Dan received. Since we were provided information about the problem on the website that Dan experienced, we should have given him an answer on why it happened, or what we could have done to resolve the issue. Knowing that Dan is actually happy of the service that he received on his recent visit to our website we could have just simply thanked him for the feedback he provided and assured him that we will work on the issue he raised to provide a much better experience on his next visit.
Thank you,
Greg B.
Jessica, your story doesn’t surprise me. And the fact that you’ve come to expect that “in very few instances…companies actually DO read their customer email” sadly underscores my headline and purpose for this post.
Think of the money and time invested by companies to build openings for customers to share. Better to ask fewer questions but act on the answers to all that you ask.
Thanks for stopping by. LCI
Dan,
Thanks to you and PETCO for taking an interest in this conversation and Dan’s experience. Any day with a lesson learned is a good day, right?
I’m looking forward to hearing the next chapter.
Appreciate you joining the conversation. LCI