Company one - in business for about 100 years
For Christmas I buy dress shirts for my brother from an established upscale men’s store. He has a standard size so it is easy to buy sizewise. But I like to see him wear different patterns and colors. I usually buy several and let him choose his favorites. My first order I received three out of five shirts with no email or note about the other two. I regularly checked online and the other shirts were in process for over a week. Then they ‘disappeared’ from the system.
I tried to re-order the 2 MIA shirts, one was out of stock; the other I decided not to reorder. And ordered two other shirts. Even though my address was verified, somehow the unit number was used for the street address and it couldn’t be delivered to my home. I had to pick up at the nearest FedEX office
After I ordered the two new shirts, I received a confirmation that the MIA shirts were now being shipped! When the shirts arrived after 3 weeks they were only covered in tissue and no encasing bag.
After the holiday I finally returned the unwanted shirts at a local store with a medium reception. To top if it off, they had a their huge sale after the holidays!
Inefficient:
- Website - slow loading and hard to search for items using criteria - had to start over several times
- no extended phone support during holiday rush
- no chatting capabilities
Inconsistent
- phone - first couple of phone calls they were closed during extended holiday hours posted on website
- packing and shipping not the consistent
Unprofessional
- specials/sales seem to change everytime I log in - they seem desperate for business
- when I called during the day was on hold for an hour - no warning of how long I would have to wait
- no alert on delivery problems - would not have known issue if I hadn’t gone to the carrier website
Unless they change their antiquated ways, they will probaly be out of business soon.
Company two - in business about 55 years
Anticipating we would have a very cold winter this season I looked for a new winter coat. After looking for coats in several stores I couldn’t find one that I like. As I needed a ‘Chicago winter’ coat, I decided to try shopping online.
Since I am slightly vertically challenged, and very selective on color and fitting I had to order several coats from the online store. In total I ordered 8 coats to try on. They shipped right to my home and offered 3 days free shipping. The couple of times I chatted with them I had a very good experience. Unfortunately I ended up returning all the coats as they didn’t seem warm enough.
What made my shopping experience so great:
Professional and Proficient:
- website - easy to use and fast loading
- chat - friendly and helpful
Consistent:
- received email confirmation after order place and then when shipped
- each coat received was wrapped
- each shipment included a receipt and catalog
Delight and Surprise
- received earlier than anticipated
- returns at store were happy to receive my return ~ made me feel guilty
Too bad they are a subsidy of a chain going out of business. Hope they survive.