How to lose friends and alienate customers

My friend called me last Saturday morning to say she and her husband and kids were traveling to her hometown in another state. Her mother was being taken off of a ventilator and they were going to say goodbye.

I told her I wanted to send some Lebanese pastries for the family to serve to visitors. She said it wasn't necessary, but I insisted she give me her sister's address and phone number for the delivery info. I went to the bakery's website, ordered the large tray, and chose the delivery option of delivery in two business days. My friend's mom was expected to pass away on Sunday (and did), so I figured that if it shipped on Monday and got there in two business days, it would arrive on Wednesday. "Thinking of you with love and prayers at this time," said the card.

Arrangements were made, with visitation on Wednesday and the funeral on Thursday. I was so glad I had sent the pastries, so that my friend would know I was thinking of her although I couldn't be there.

You know where this is going, right?

I was out shoveling snow, so the call from the bakery today, Friday, went to my answering machine: please call back, do I still want my order? Huh?

I called, and got a recorded message in the middle of the business day. But it included a phone number for the corporate office. I called that.

A woman answered, and I began to explain why I was calling as pleasantly as I could, figuring I would get more help if I was nice than if I was nasty. "You have to call the bakery," she said curtly, interrupting me. "But I tried that, and I got a recorded message," I explained. "Well, they're busy," she retorted. "You have to keep trying." Her tone was such that it was obvious that she wanted to include "dumbass" at the end of that sentence. (But the recorded message hadn't said to try back, and I thought maybe they were closed because of the snow--why would I keep trying a closed business?)

But I did call the bakery back, and this time someone answered. I explained again why I was calling. I was put on hold for some minutes. When someone finally got back to me, I said I was returning their call.

"Do you still want your order?" she said.

I asked her if she had seen the message that was to go out with the order. At first she said no, but when I repeated it, she remembered. "What do you suppose 'thinking of you with love and prayers at this time' might have referred to?" She didn't know.

"It was for a funeral," I said. "One that took place yesterday. These pastries were intended to feed the mourners at that funeral. Which is now over." "Oh," she said, "I thought it could be for a funeral."

Uh huh.

I went on, very calmly, I might add, considering how furious I was. I had told my friend, above her protestations that it wasn't necessary, that I was sending pastries. I had pressed her for her sister's address. I asked the worker at the bakery, "Don't you think I kind of look like a liar now?"

I asked her to confirm that I had ordered on Saturday. I reminded her that I chose the two-day delivery option. "That was two business days," she responded, and you ordered on a Saturday, which is not a business day." She said the pastries would not have gone out until Tuesday, which was the second business day from when I ordered. 

I told her that the website indicated that I was paying $10.80 for delivery in two business days. That means: two business days from when the order is received, it gets delivered. Let's assume, that because Saturday is not a business day, the order is processed on Monday. It still should have been there by Wednesday--in time for the funeral, if not the visitation. 

"Well, we've been very busy with holiday orders," the worker shot back. "I understand that," I told her. "And yet...I don't care. Because your website didn't say anything about orders possibly being delayed. It said my order was going to be delivered in two business days. And I relied on that."

"Furthermore," I continued, "even if my order was supposed to go out in two business days, as opposed to being delivered in two business days, that means that on Tuesday, Wednesday at the latest, you knew my order was not going out at what you're telling me is 'on time.' And if you had called me, even Wednesday, to ask if I still wanted my order, I could have said no and ordered flowers from a local florist instead. But now I don't have that option. Because now the funeral is over, and my friend thinks I didn't care enough to keep my promise to send pastries, or anything at all."

She apologized, and said she would call to apologize to my friend. I gave her the name and number, told her that she would get an answering machine because my friend was still traveling, and thanked her.

And she hung up on me.

And that is how you lose friends and alienate customers.

Comments

[northern girl]

Oh. Man. I would have crawled through the phone line and strangled her with it. Where you find composure in those situations, I'll never know.

[julie]

Wow, that sucks. I'm sure your friend will understand, but Lordy, I'd be furious, too.

[Missie]

Wow. That really stinks.

My husband and I have long lamented the death of Customer Service in our society. Gone are the days of the customer always being right, for now, the customer is just a pain in salespeople's butts that take them away from the Internet or texting their friends.

That bakery should have been apologizing all over themselves for messing this up.

So totally not on this level, but in the ball park of no service, is my recent experience with the day spa. I have that on my blog if you want to read about it. My offer still stands for me to go sit on someone for ya.

[Headless Mom]

Is this a national company? Because I certainly wouldn't order from them either!

[alyssa]

executive email carpet bomb

[Crystal]

Oh God Becki, I was ENRAGED just reading that! I wish that hadn't happened....I am going to call that bakery and order a HUGE order and NOT pick it up and when they call i'll just say "Oh, I didn't still want that"

[Hoo]

That's awful! I'm sure your friend will understand. But you will still feel bad. That's what the Better Business Bureau is for. Go to www.bbb.org, follow links to the local bbb's site, and file a complaint. If the bakery isn't listed, they will be now. BBB will send a letter to the bakery and follow up on the response. Then they will post if the bakery resolved the matter to your (the consumer's) satisfaction, or not, or if they chose to not respond at all. It will be noted on the internet for all to see. People like me check bbb.org all the time and it's stopped me from using a particular vendor, as well as using others with confidence.
And not for nothin' but most businesses WISH they were overwhelmed right now!

[ButrflyGarden]

Can you just believe some people sometimes? You're a bakery - you don't expect to be busy around the holidays!? Is it your first year?! No common sense?!

Gah. I am so frustrated for you something like three weeks later.

I hope she really did call your friend. And I'm sure your friend will understand. But a big BOOO to that bakery.

Are they internet-only or are they a shop? You might want to leave a little review on something like yahoo local or the like. That's always my best revenge for bad service is a professionally written bad review. ;)

[Generic Viagra]

That's really AWFUL!!