Technology can only bring you so far in delivering a memorable customer service experience. It still takes people to move a potentially bad interaction with your brand from the permanent loss of a customer to a footnote in a legacy of positivity. [related]
I was inadvertently reminded of this on Sunday when I was scrolling through Twitter—and, no, I’m not going to use this platform to once again advocate for an Edit button on my favorite social media platform.
In this case, I noticed an industry friend’s tweet expressing her dismay that her husband’s effort to pick up her traditional Mother’s Day doughnut from a local shop known for its larger-than-life sweet confections was thwarted when the shop gave away the doughnuts he ordered to another customer.
It seems this thoughtful husband didn’t realize that, even though he had ordered the doughnuts he wanted online ahead of the Sunday rush, he still had to wait in line to pick them up—and he certainly didn’t expect his wife’s favorite doughnut shop would give away the confections to someone else.
I replied to my friend’s tweet and mentioned that, when I’ve ordered doughnuts from my favorite local shop online, they’ve set aside the ones I ordered for me and allowed me to pick them up at the agreed-upon time, even though I’ve had to wait in line with those who hadn’t ordered ahead lately.
Typically, the doughnut shop I frequent—by “frequent,” I mean every six weeks or so—allows those who ordered ahead to skip the line, but they temporarily halted that policy due to social distancing. They’ve since created a separate door for those who order online.
I mentioned all of this in a Twitter reply to my friend and included the doughnut shop where her husband ran into problems in my response. I even compared it to the classic Seinfeld episode centered around confusion about a rental car reservation Jerry had made for him and Elaine.
I later learned my friend’s husband got his money back but she was still left without her Mother’s Day doughnut and both were left wondering if they’d ever go back to this local shop, which was new to online orders but popular enough that it’s not likely to go out of business any time soon.
I also found out that this doughnut shop had blocked both of us on Twitter because of this interaction. Talk about making a bad situation even worse. Not only did you disappoint a loyal customer who was excited to celebrate her day with your product, but you proceeded to alienate that customer too.
When Technology Isn’t Enough
I know we’re all big-time advocates of the power of technology and understand it can be used to solve a lot of problems for a lot of people, but it’s certainly not a cure-all and sometimes the human touch is needed to smooth over a potentially explosive situation that could have long-term ramifications.
Sure, an issue with a doughnut may not seem like much, but I’m guessing my friend will be taking her business elsewhere next Mother’s Day—and probably telling everyone she knows about the awful experience she and her husband had with that local shop.
Instead of apologizing and offering a solution, the staff at this local shop treated my friend’s husband like the enemy and he came home empty-handed and frustrated—all because the shop workers didn’t take the simple step of removing the inventory that was already sold from the display case.
I’m still unclear why this doughnut shop allows customers to order ahead if they don’t set the orders ahead for them anyway. What’s the advantage of ordering ahead if you still have to wait in line and you aren’t sure if the doughnuts you ordered will be sold to the people right in front of you?
I understand a lot of small businesses—and even some huge ones—are incorporating new technology and new tools into their day-to-day operations as a way of staying afloat during the coronavirus outbreak but sometimes it’s important to think with your brain and not rely on the tech.
