Customer Service Is Alive and Well at Dick Smith

dr_ rusko on 07/02/2012 - 23:05

I thought this story was worthy of a discussion topic of its own rather than just a comment on this deal.
http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/62825

The focus of this post is more about the customer service aspect of my experience and how to navigate in this retail market.

Over the past few years I have lamented over how customer loyalty and good will have gone out the window - as consumers we increasingly care less about good service and just want the best price, and retailers care less about us as consumers/people and providing a good service and just want to make a sale.

I was rather bitter that I had spent an hour on the computer trying to secure one of those canon 550d's.
I wrote a polite and constructive email explaining my frustration and offered them some advice on how better to market their deals - sometimes great deals can do more harm than good for your PR (eg COTD at times).
As well as taking the criticism to heart I was hoping they would take pity on me (and show some appreciation for constructive feedback) and offer me something close to the deal I had missed - as a way of keeping me as a customer happy and creating good PR for themselves.

the emailing went back and forth and was rather generic…
so I sent them this…

"I think sending a generic email which makes no reference to anything I said is worse than sending no response at all…
Why not include 1 sentence about the unexpected high volume of customers trying to get the camera…
Do you want me as a customer in the future?
Businesses complain that customers are no longer loyal… I would argue that businesses aren't looking after their customers.
Hypothetical… You sympathise with me that I missed out and wasted an hour of my time, and you appreciate that I took the time to provide constructive polite feedback, so you offer me the deal I missed (or as close as you can - shops do deals all the time). I end up thrilled that you have taken the time / effort to look after me so I go onto a bunch of online forums an tell my story…and in the future I come back to you for more..
Those who want cheap grey imports with no customer service… Well there's probably nothing you can do to win them over… But ppl like me are waiting for Australian companies to put there hand up and look after us in return for our loyalty…
In any event… I think I'm going to stick to a franchised bricks and mortar store if this is the sort of response I get when I try to make an effort.
Nothing against you personally … Just disappointed that even to local companies I am disposable as a customer"

Their response was swift and to the point - we'll give you the deal you missed.

Will I go back to DSE?? - absolutely - even if I had to pay a few dollars more - I am looking for a company who I can create a relationship with - and I would certainly try and push through any red tape to continue dealing with the same person who I dealt with over the last couple of days.. though this can be tough in a big online shop with many employees and a high turnover rate..

I think shops have lost faith in us as consumers - they know we are more fickle than ever and will consider moving our business wherever the best deal is on any particular day… but I think if we push (in a polite way) and try and encourage businesses to have a little more faith in us as consumers then we can actually try and reclaim some lost territory.

It also illustrates the point "if you don't ask, you don't get!

General Discussion

Related Stores

Dick Smith / Kogan
Dick Smith / Kogan
Marketplace

Comments

  • Car-la-la on 07/02/2012 - 23:29
    -8

    BORING!

    • dr_ rusko on 07/02/2012 - 23:50

      Ignore the philosophical rant and focus on the part which empowers you to get a good deal… Surely that is relevant / practical for ozbargain ?? (And possibly worth 30 seconds of your life$

  • Davo1111 on 07/02/2012 - 23:31

    It probably goes to show if you keep pushing you eventually get the deal you missed. It looks like they didn't care until you escalated the issue

    • dr_ rusko on 07/02/2012 - 23:43

      I guess you could call it escalation… I had nothing on them so to speak, I had no authority to complain to…
      Could you ever see COTD doing for me what DSE did?

  • AntMan76 on 07/02/2012 - 23:36
    +1

    You got the work experience kid opening your last email :p

    • dr_ rusko on 07/02/2012 - 23:57

      Nope they were sent to a particular person… Same one the whole time… Can't tell you how senior / junior she was… Nice to talk on the phone though :)

  • scotty on 07/02/2012 - 23:48
    +2

    Hehe. Not sure why all these negative comments on DickSmith. People whinge all the time here and it's great to see someone posting positive experience with a local retailer. Indeed, sometimes you do need to push a little bit, but in a polite way.

  • freemoneyhunter on 08/02/2012 - 00:03

    Well when Commonwealth bank was offering $100 credit if you signed up to one of their creditcards, I was so pissed that they declined me that I told 5 of my friends what a bunch of arseholes CBA are and not to ever use them. CBA crossed the wrong guy, I get back at them where it hurts by steering potential customers away from them.

    If you are pissed at Dick Smith, slander them to your friends and warn them never to shop with them. I prefer to do that than write groveling letters attempting to compel them to give you a special price.

    • dr_ rusko on 08/02/2012 - 00:31

      I hear your POV… And when a business has done the wrong thing by me ( and more importantly chosen not to fix it) then I'll make it known.
      But in this case…
      1. I want to build a relationship with the company and in particular the person I was dealing with.
      2. I really wanted the camera
      3. DSE had not really done anything wrong per se, so slurring them would be a bit unfair
      4. Writing a few emails is not an imposition on my life… I would not have gone into a shop to peruse this.

  • edxter on 08/02/2012 - 10:09

    Who cares about customer service. they sell a lot of stuff anyway. I was at DS Sydney CBD yesterday and I'm not lying to you but within 30 min they sold 2 macs and 3 ipads with applecare and the lot…..

    • scrimshaw on 08/02/2012 - 13:27
      +1

      If there was no need for customer sevice, MSY would have 100+ branches and there'd be no need for DSE or JB Hifi.

      The concept of service is what helps to sell a product. Service adds value to the product and also builds customer loyalty. It's how you get customers to stay with you and buy from you in the future.

      • dr_ rusko on 08/02/2012 - 15:45

        exactly my point - what I was trying to show with this post is that there are retailers out their who are still interested in developing and supporting loyal customers…
        so if thats what you would like to be (or i guess if you want to get a quick deal you missed) - there are ways of getting retailers to notice you, rather than fob you off…

    • Davo1111 on 08/02/2012 - 14:10

      they make barely any money with the macs and ipads as the markup is pretty crappy. Applecare would have made them a bit though.

  • ATD on 08/02/2012 - 14:46

    You could have saved yourself a lot of "back and forth" by being up front with what you wanted/expected from them in your first email/telephone contact.

    If you are expending that much effort in trying to spend your money with them, I would walk away and wait for the next deal to come along. Retailers should be chasing you to spend your money with them, not the other way around.

    • dr_ rusko on 08/02/2012 - 15:43

      a very interesting point you raise… do you start off general or get straight to the pt
      - I think i wanted to convey to them that I was sincere in wanting to find an address to place my loyalty - not just a drop in customer trying to snag a quick/good deal (which is true)

      re the issue of chasing after them - if you look at the deal I was trying to get my hands on you would see that it makes sense that I was the one doing the chasing.

      • ATD on 08/02/2012 - 16:31

        In your case, get to the point as you weren't asking for anything 'extra' off for the inconvenience.

        I'm aware of the deal…its a given that there will be another or similar deal around the corner. I got the D5100 twin kit deal in November I think…had I missed that I would have likely gone for this one.

        • dr_ rusko on 08/02/2012 - 16:39

          how many retailers do you know that you could walk in and say "you know that deal I missed - can you do it for me anyway??"
          - especially online "1 hr" deals

          plus you miss out on the "opportunity" to communicate with them and develop a relationship…some may turn around and say - so what??
          But the relationship is what I am looking for.

  • pandaroll on 08/02/2012 - 20:11

    I feel that it can really be a hit and a miss. I've had some terrible experiences at some Dick Smith stores where they told me their store didn't price match even though I later had a social media rep tell me that the price matching policy should encompass all stores. The rep then offered to do the price match, which was great but I didn't need the product anymore. It's kind of sad when the brick & mortar stores offer worse customer service than the online store.

    • dr_ rusko on 09/02/2012 - 23:43

      Indeed it is rather sad…. At least you now know if you want the job done, get on the met and speak to the "right" person .

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