Follow On TwitterCustomer Stories: I’m Lost And Can’t Find Your Store
BizSugar
It’s safe to say that a large percentage of our customers are not very tech saavy. But for some strange reason, I always expect a minimum level of computer competency whenever I speak with a customer on the phone.
For example, if a customer is able to find our store via the world wide web, isn’t it safe to assume that they know how to use a web browser? Shouldn’t they have at least a basic grasp of what a URL or what a web address is?
I discovered the hard way that this assumption is grossly false. This particular customer came across as a competent web user but turned out to have a very Google-centric view of the web.
Photo By Nalilo
Me: What can I do for you today?
Customer: Yes, I found your website the other day via the world wide web. But today, I was unable to find your store again. Fortunately, I jotted down your phone number. Is your website still available?
Me: Yes ma’am, we are definitely still around. We can be found at www.fakestoreaddress.com.
Customer: For some reason I can’t find fakestoreaddress.com. Are you sure your website isn’t down?
Me: Yes ma’am, I’m on our site right now.
Customer: Oh wait, I think I found it. Ok great. I was looking for your “Something Blue” Wedding Handkerchief. Can you help me locate it?
Me: Sure. Click on “Wedding Handkerchiefs” on the left hand column and then click on “Something Blue Handkerchiefs”.
Customer: I don’t see any such category on the website. All I see are a bunch of wedding favors.
Me: Are you sure? The left hand column is clearly labelled with a link entitled “Wedding Handkerchiefs”.
Customer: I just don’t see it. Like I said, I see a lot of pictures, but nothing on the page says “Wedding Handkerchiefs”.
This was really strange. We don’t sell very many items and “Wedding Handkerchiefs” is one of our most prominent categories.
Me: Are you sure you can’t find it? It’s in bold on the left hand column.
Customer: Hmm, there’s a search box here. Let me type in handkerchiefs… Okay, I see something here called “Something Blue” handkerchief.
Me: Ok great. Put that in your shopping cart. I’ll walk you through the checkout process over the phone.
Customer: Thank you so much. Ok, the item is in my cart.
Me: Ok. Click on the checkout button and fill in the required fields such as your name, address etc…
Customer: Ok, give me a moment. I don’t see a checkout button but there is a button here telling me to complete my order…Ok filling in my information. Give me a sec.
Me: Sure thing.
Customer: Ok, I filled in all my information. Am I done?
Me: Not yet, you need to click on the “Confirm” button to finalize your order into our system. It’s located in the lower right corner.
Customer: I see a “Complete Order” button. Ok, clicking it. Alright, it looks like it went through!
Me: That’s funny, I don’t see a record of your transaction on my end.
Customer: Are you sure? My screen clearly indicates that the order went through. Let me check my email. I think I have an email confirmation.
Me: Really? That’s strange. I don’t have any record or anything. Would you mind reading it to me?
Customer: Sure. It says “Checkout Complete” for 1 Something Blue Wedding Handkerchief at $9.99.
Me: Hmm. The product name sounds correct but the price is wrong. What else does it say in the email?
Customer: At the end, it says “Thanks you for shopping at www.IGotTheWrongStore.com”.
Me: Huh??? That is not our store. You just bought your hankie from one of our competitors.
Customer: What? I don’t understand how that could have happened. I just typed “wedding handkerchiefs” in Google and then clicked on the first link. I did exactly what I did last time.
Doh! The Google rankings change practically everyday. No wonder this lady couldn’t find us. She didn’t know how to enter a web address!
Me: I’m sorry ma’am, but you just purchased something from a different store.
Customer: Oh really? If I was at the wrong store, I don’t know how I got your phone number.
Me: It’s probably because our spot in the search engines changed positions, but never mind. Is there anything else I can help you with?
Customer: Nope. I got what I wanted to get. Thanks!
Me: Thank you for shopping…er…not shopping at www.fakestoreaddress.com.
**click**
I spent quite a bit of time on the phone with this lady and didn’t even get a sale to show for it. What’s even worse is that I think she clicked on one of our Adwords ads to find our website originally. I should have known something was fishy when she wasn’t seeing the same buttons and links I was describing, but I couldn’t put it all together in time.
Maybe next time I should check if our competitors have an affiliate program I can join.
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come on, admit it. Dr. House is right, people are idiots.
Ugh! You were much more patient with this woman than I would be. You had to give her a dual lesson in shopping and online usage, well above the call of duty.
Still, it was an important lesson one that I hope that the customer learned!
wow that sucks
That’s great.
and, I like Dr. House too, Richard.
oh no! That’s terrible…. but funny.
I used to help people file their rebates (for a computer no less) online and wow. I would have to start with “See the blue E on your screen… double click that.”
Then I moved on to helping people make credit card payments online. I’m tellin ya… there are some very unsavvy tech people out there.
I guess I would have support staff ask them to read what’s in the address bar, and explain what that is if they’re not familiar. Explain in really simple terms where to find it. Then if it’s not your domain, have em switch it.
Note: This is also better than having them check the logo, because it avoids phishing more precisely.
Wow, that’s horrible. That lady actually cost you money by clicking on your Adwords. It blows my mind that people can’t do the most simple things online…
All’s not lost – people tend to remember who they spoke to even if they don’t remember where they bought online. Always encourage your customers to bookmark your page. Tell them to use Digg or StumbleUpon.
Search engine rankings don’t always remain the same. This is true!
P.S. I have visitors asking how to subscribe via rss too. Once they know (when you point them in the right direction), it will be easier.
Sadly this story doesn’t surprise me. Being a computer programmer myself, I certainly don’t expect people to understand technology the way I do. That being said, I am continously shocked by the lack of knowledge out there. I don’t blame the people; I think the problem is that technology changes so fast and people are so busy that it is difficult for them to keep up with it all. I guess we all just have to maintain patience, which is one of the most important traits to have when you’re working for yourself anyway.
I wonder what I would ask Mahler if I had the chance to travel back in time and meet him in person.
This doesn’t surprise me either. There are many people who never have to use a computer for work or otherwise so they have no clue how to use the World Wide Web. My RN mother is one of them. *sigh*