AmericanWinery.com

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When it comes to online sales and direct shipping, it is an unfortunate fact that from time to time, things are going to go awry. There are so many elements that are outside of your control, from fulfillment houses to courier services to inclement weather.

In my role as customer relations manager here at AmericanWinery.com, I have been run through the gamut of direct-shipping disasters. Over the Christmas holiday, we were met with many these uncontrollable factors, from frozen wine to lost packages and a few curve balls, too. Each incoming call or email was like a punch in the stomach, as nobody likes to be the bearer of bad news. You know what they say about shooting the messenger? I was in front of the firing squad.

This story can’t be going anywhere good, right? Well, I’m writing this, so I didn’t get executed over Christmas break. We are a customer-focused company, and we are fortunate to be working with the most customer-focused wineries in the United States, and I’m proud to say so.

Replacement wines were shipped out to the owners of exploded bottles and to expectant customers whose wine shipments had been lost by the courier. Occasionally, American Winery covered additional costs to ship wines 2-day air to customers who were dangerously close to the Christmas deadline. With willing-to-help winery partners, I was freed up to call FedEx and UPS in efforts to track down missing packages. I got to spend some time on the phone with some very lovely customers as well.

In the end, everybody got their wine. It was a Christmas miracle.

The point of the story? Going above and beyond to solve a customer’s problem makes a vast impact on the customer. A “recovered” customer can be a more loyal customer and better advocate for your brand than a customer whose experience with your brand has been completely flawless. At AmericanWinery.com, it is my job to get the customer the perfect bottle of wine, whether that means placing an order with a customer over the phone,  tracking down a missing package, or just playing the mediator between customer and courier – I possess keen “wait-on-hold” skills. Even when the problem is outside of your control (I don’t know about you, but I do not have the ability to control the weather), your willingness to do whatever you can to minimize the impact of the issue on the customer will leave a positive impression on the customer.

Here’s another cheesy Starbucks-ism I learned in my days of sporting a green apron – when it comes to service recovery, Starbucks knows their beans (ha, pun intended). From now on, the word “latte” will mean so much more to you than steamed milk and espresso…

L – Listen to the customer’s problem

A – Acknowledge the customer’s concern – a little empathy goes a long way

T – Take action to solve the customer’s problem

T – Thank the customer for bringing the issue to your attention

E – Encourage their feedback in the future and encourage them to use your service again

So the next time you get hit with disastrous (or just mildly inconvenient) factors outside of your control, listen to the customer and do whatever is in your power to help them navigate the situation. If you get butterflies in your stomach and need a pep talk, give me a call. I moonlight as a motivational speaker.

I enjoy shopping for clothing online from time to time and a few weeks ago placed an order from an unnamed online retailer for a few additions to my summer wardrobe. The most exciting piece of my new outfit was a cute little sun dress in my favorite color, turquoise. When the order arrived a few days later, I was dismayed to open the package and find that they had shipped me the dress in black – a far cry from my perfect summer ensemble, now I look like I’m heading to a funeral. I called the retailer to investigate and was told that, unfortunately, the turquoise was sold out and that they had taken the liberty to ship me the black. When I informed the customer service representative that I didn’t want the black dress, she simply said, “Ship it back to us and we’ll refund your money.”

So now I have to repackage this unwanted item, haul myself to the UPS store and pay to ship this bane of my existence back to the retailer and then wait for days to see my hard earned money get refunded to me. I was entirely sold on the turquoise, and while the black dress was very cute, the fact that the retailer had shipped me this unwanted product without even CONSULTING me first was very frustrating.

Wine lovers are as committed to their vintages as I was to my turquoise dress. When a wine enthusiast places an order for a 2004 Syrah, it is because they have their heart set on the 2004. Maybe they’ve had it before and loved it, or maybe 2004 is a special year to them for some other sentimental reason, or maybe they had heard some great buzz about this vintage of wine and wanted to try for themselves. Imagine their frustration and disappointment to receive the 2005 vintage instead. If they don’t want to hassle with shipping the unwanted vintage back to the winery, they are stuck with a wine they will more than likely be disappointed with because it wasn’t what they’d ordered.

There may be some cases when the next vintage is better than the vintage they’d ordered. They may fall in love with a new favorite. That black sundress might have become a beloved staple in my wardrobe if someone had first contacted me to say, “Hey sorry, the turquoise is sold out, but this black one is very cute, and we’d be happy to offer you a 10% discount on this item since it wasn’t what you originally ordered.”

Even if I’d said no to the discounted dress, I would have had a better opinion of the retailer and would probably have shopped there again. Unfortunately for the retailer, none of that damage control was done and the little black dress was promptly sent back to the retailer – on their dime, not mine! They lost a customer, a sale, and a few bucks on shipping.