The hidden hassles of home delivery
The fabled chair (unbroken of course)
In my recent blog post I waxed lyrical about the customer service of John Lewis. However, the last few days have driven home a vital point for any retailer or e-commerce business – your brand is hostage to your partners, and particularly the courier/delivery company you use.
I bought an office chair from John Lewis – when it arrived (promptly) a lever was broken so I swiftly arranged for a replacement to be delivered and the first one to be collected. All good, but sadly this is where the catastrophe began.
First, the delivery company (City-Link, who I have no hesitation in naming and shaming) tried to deliver the replacement chair on a Thursday – the one day of the week I’d specifically told them to avoid. Their leave-behind card said the next delivery attempt would take place the following day, so I duly waited at home all Friday.
By the end of the day, I checked online only to find that delivery had apparently ‘been attempted but no-one was home’. Not only was that untrue, but they said another card had been left. Also untrue.