I follow a few different consumer advocate sites. The struggle between consumers and retailers can be quite compelling when one or both feel they have been disadvantaged in a transaction. Unfortunately, businesses have a tendency to gloss over the finer details of their business transactions, and consumers tend to not read or care about such policies until it becomes essential to use them. In these retail and consumer characteristics lie the origins of many conflicts.
More and more individuals are catching on now to the importance of making a very public stink when a company is studiously ignoring them and refusing to rectify a problem. Twitter, Facebook and other such social media sites make it all too easy to publicly rant against a company and, depending on the level of concern of the business for its public image, can result in a very quick resolution. Sometimes a truly passionate individual will create a public spectacle that catches the attention and imagination of the general public. Once you’ve seen the video, who could ever forget Dave Carroll’s rant United Breaks Guitars?
The reason I enjoy consumer advocates so much in general is because they have the public visibility that gives them automatic credibility in the eyes of big business.
But if one is not a musician or a particularly talented writer, how does a sole consumer get the attention of a seemingly impenetrable customer service brick wall for a large company? One way – turn to a consumer advocate. Someone who can, and does, speak on behalf of the individual consumer and who has the resources to get the attention of large companies. Especially when they hear from multiple consumers on the same customer service issue and decide to take it up as a bit of a crusade. In fact, while researching this post, I found that having experienced such a massive success with his own customer service rant, Dave Carroll has actually launched his own consumer advocate website: gripevine.com. The site appears to be in early stages as yet, but since many of the gripes posted so far have already received a response from the companies’ social media support team (or equivalent) I plan to keep an eye on it and see if the concept catches on.
My favourite Canadian consumer advocate is currently Ellen Roseman, who is a business columnist with the Toronto Star newspaper but also has a very active online presence including her own On Your Side blog. I like Ellen specifically because she regularly takes on the big telecom companies. The reason I enjoy consumer advocates so much in general is because they have the public visibility that gives them automatic credibility in the eyes of big business. This should not be the case, but it is. If you have a large audience, companies care what you have to say. If you don’t have your own large audience, well, let’s just say indifference is the standard response.
Since I am hugely passionate about travel and all things associated with that activity, I also have a favourite consumer advocate who specializes in the field of travel. His name is Christopher Elliott, and he also has a very active online presence, especially via social media sites. And while Christopher does specialize in travel-related consumer complaints, he also addresses some non-travel related consumer advocate issues. One of these recently hit home with me, based on an experience I had a couple years ago. The culprit in my case: Sears Canada.
Christopher Elliott’s blog post about Sears.com, titled “Where’s My Sears.com Refund?” identifies a very problematic issue in that companies that sell online are very quick to take your money when you make your purchase. However, they can be incredibly slow – think molasses here – when it comes time to refund that same money. This rule of thumb holds true even when the reason for your refund is totally their fault.
In my case, I ordered a couple of clothing items through the Sears Canada online site, and asked for delivery to a store across the road from my workplace. I received an e-mail saying my order had been processed and should be delivered to the store within a week. I would receive another e-mail when the items were ready for pick-up. Well, a week went by and no second e-mail was received. I thought, since it was so close to my workplace, I would just drop by and see if the items perhaps had arrived. They had not and the clerk at the desk had no explanation. Another week passed, I tried again and still no luck. This is when I thought I would try to resolve the issue. So I sent an e-mail asking about the status of my order. I received a prompt reply – basically saying the order had been processed, but not received in the store as yet (well, I knew that already!) and asking me to wait another week to see if it showed up, and if not they would consider it lost in transit, issue a credit to my credit card and request that I re-order the items. Really? How likely is someone to re-order from the same company when they’ve already lost one order in transit anyway?
So another week passed with no sign of my Sears order. I wrote back and asked that they consider my order lost and cancel it. Sears concurred they had lost my order, urged me to re-order my items (which I had long since gone out and purchased from another store in the interim) and stated “You should see that the credit has been done by your next statement or the one thereafter depending on your billing date.” By the time a month had passed from my initial order, I wrote again to find out the status of my refund only to hear back yet again “In regards to your inquiry for the credit, you should see that the credit has been done by your next statement or the one there after depending on your billing date. Please be advised that it does take a little time to get this done.”
Fascinating – the day after I initially placed my order, the Sears charge appeared on my credit card. Yet a week after officially cancelling my order, not only had Sears not managed to issue the refund to my card, they weren’t quite sure just how much longer it might take. Three weeks after this exchange, a refund finally appeared on my credit card. The only problem? The refund issued wasn’t for the correct amount. Sears had withheld their typical ‘restocking fee’ charged if an item is cancelled or returned. But in my case, I never received the order in the first place – it was lost by Sears! At this point I just about lost my mind. I wrote to Sears yet again, laid out the entire series of events and pointed out that although the restocking fee was only a small amount – $3.00 plus tax – it was my money they were withholding based on their inability to provide service. I received yet another “We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you” response, along with confirmation the additional amount would be refunded. But I can assure you of one thing – I have never again ordered anything online from Sears. Nor will I.
Contrast this with a recent online purchase from Old Navy. I placed an online order, which qualified for free delivery and was in face delivered to my home with lightning speed. Once I received my items I found that one of them didn’t fit properly. I had the option of either mailing it back with the enclosed shipping fee (handy!) or dropping it off at a retail store for my refund. I chose the latter since I figured I had a better chance of getting a timely refund that way. When I returned the item the clerk scanned my original invoice, and the item, and then when I went to hand her my credit card for the refund, she said it was all automated and would be returned to my original method of payment based on the invoice she had scanned. No need to see my card. And sure enough, the next day a refund was issued to my card. Would I purchase online from Old Navy again? In a heartbeat!
My advice based on all this? Check out companies’ reputations online before deciding if you want to do business with them. And if you do run into problems when dealing with a company? Don’t be afraid to be your own consumer advocate. And be direct. If you want a specific action from the company to solve your problem – tell them what you want. Be persistent. Finally, if all else fails, put your case in front of a professional consumer advocate. If it’s worthwhile, they will take up your cause.