What is it Worth?

An update- I think it's been about 4 weeks since my scooter was picked up for repairs. I have called at least twice a week, but have not been able to get through. At best, I've gotten the receptionist wife once or twice, but she still has never passed on the message to have Tommy call me back. Or maybe he is ignoring me. Or her.

It has definitely gotten to the point where it is just a huge hassle for anyone to deal with anyone else in this situation. It can't be fun for any of us, and it certainly can't be in their business' best interest. After 10 months of nagging, arguing, and physical labor, I estimate that I've taken up probably eighty hours of their lives. at ten dollars an hour, that's 800 dollars! And we're not even done yet.

So while I still don't have the functional scooter that I paid for last August, at least I have the satisfaction of knowing that they're earning a negative margin on this one sale. And not only is this one sale earning a negative return for Scootertronics, but now your future sales will also be affected by negative marketing.

So what is the true cost of having a bad return policy? It's much worse than the alternative of treating a customer with respect. Business is about long term relationships and repeat customers. Even drug dealers know that.

Choose Wisely

Last week I called Scootertronics to try and arrange the most recent pickup to my broken scooter. Tommy wasn't in, according to the woman who answered the phone. I asked her to have him call me- but before she hung up, I told her that it was important, and that Tommy has NEVER called me back when I have left messages, or even when he has promised that he would call.

Now I think that he may have actually called me back once, but that was back in August of 07 when he was still trying to sell me the scooter. But the exaggeration of "NEVER" wasn't really that far off.

Anyway, the woman on the phone sounded slightly embarrassed for Tommy, and told me that she would definitely deliver the message and have him call me. And if you know the theme of this blog, you won't be surprised to know that he of course, never called.

Side note: I recently read that Zappos pays new employees to quit. Basically, Zappos figured out that it is better to pay a small up front amount to weed out prospective emplyees that are not a fit for company's culture than to poison the operations of the entire organization.

Employees need to care enough about what they are doing in order to make your business a success. Their actions directly reflect upon the company- so choose wisely. Their broken promises are the company's broken promises. And if that means not having your wife answer the phones, so be it.

Basic Knowledge

Know your phone number. Give it out accurately. Seriously.

It's not an excuse that you never have to dial your own cell phone number.

I'm not sure which is worse- Not knowing your own phone number, or giving out a fake one. But in terms of customer expectations, the results are the same: Incompetence.

New Scooter, New Business, New Experience

I finally picked up a new scooter. I needed something functional while I sort out the deal on the old one.

The new one is a Yamaha Vino 125 that I bought new from a Motorcycle dealer. The entire experience has been drastically different.

For one thing, the scooter actually works. But more importantly, the entire sales process was smooth and comfortable.

The sales rep more more than courteous, and kept the process very customer focused. Specifically, he kept redoing the math on the total price of the scooter in order to make the deal seem better for me.

I'm sure he was mostly blowing smoke up my tailpipe, but it still felt good to have someone looking out for me.

The point here is really about a customer's perception. The truth rarely matters to most people. It's the perception that counts. Of course, the gap between the two can never be too wide, or customers will see through it.

Red Flag #2- Three Strikes

Strike 1: No one picks up the phone after multiple attempted calls at various times of the day.

Strike 2: The answering machine has a message about being out of the office- on March 14th and 15th even though it's almost May.

Strike 3: The voice mailbox is full!

Aaaaaaaaand you're out!

What could be more important than a potential customer? Oh right- A current customer. And both of them use phones.

Whether you're selling scooters in Maryland, or paper products in Pennsylvania, you can't afford to miss out on conversations.

"I Don't Know"

"I don't know" is an acceptable response- as long as it is followed up with a plan of action.

There's a mechanic at Scootertronics who seems to think that "I don't know" is fine by itself. Well, it isn't. If the management trusts you enough to answer the phones, then you have the responsibility to be useful on the phones.

Next time, try responding with- "I don't know... but I will ask my manager and call you back with a response."

Anyone who interacts with a customer is part of your marketing and brand image. If they suck, then you suck. Period.

Store Policy

It's important to remember that customers always have a choice. If there isn't a direct competitor, there is still the choice to not do business at all. Therefore, it is always a good idea to make sure that your policies have everyone's best interest in mind.

Seth Godin had a recent post touching on this subject. Most policies are designed to protect the business from unfair consumer behavior. And while certain rules will help deter those that would abuse the trust, the problem is that the policy will likely harm most of the honest customers as well.

The policy that is causing me all of these headaches is the Scootertronics Refund Policy. The policy reads:

"All SALES ARE FINAL there are no returns on scooters go carts or ATVs due to shipping expenses."

Run-on sentences aside, this isn't necessarily a terrible policy. It does two good things for potential customers.

1. It sets a customer's expectation. This is useful for deterring excessive and unwarranted returns from customers with simple buyer's remorse, or those who can't decide on a specific model or color.
2. It provides a reason for the policy. Scootertronics is very clear that they cannot accept returns for scooters simply because they pay for the shipping costs.

However, just because they have defined a fairly reasonable policy does not mean that it should be overreaching and non-negotiable. My reason for wanting a refund is not due to a change of heart. I want a functional scooter- that's it. Since this does not seem to be happening, it's in both of our best interests to stop wasting our time and resources and cut our losses.

If the only reason they cannot accept the return is because of the shipping cost, couldn't they refund the other portion of the cost? Since the problem lies with the faulty Vento scooter, shouldn't their issue be with the manufacturer? It seems unfair for the customer to be mistreated in a case like this.

I spent $1460 to buy a scooter, and have spent 9 months of endless struggle to try to get it functional. I can't imagine how much time and money has been spent by Scootertronics to work on picking up/delivering my scooter, as well as ordering replacement parts and actually working on it. Somehow, I doubt it's worth it.