Ben Sherman bums me out

Dear Ben Sherman,

I'm pretty disappointed that I can't exchange a jacket I bought my husband for Christmas. It's his size; it just never fit quite right. It seemed a little short in length. I was assured by the floor staff that my husband could exchange the jacket if necessary, and I never bothered to read the admittedly not-so-fine print on the receipt. My bad.

But my bad is your bad. That's because even a well-posted return policy doesn't make a customer happy if the policy is...well, not so great. I had assumed a standard 30 day window. You had a short two-week return window that began from the date of purchase, which was, of course, before Christmas, leaving little time after Christmas to make an exchange.

You're not a cheap shop so I expect a little more for the money, not only in product quality and style but also customer experience. A premium store affords premium customer experience, and that continues after the customer has left the store. Once a purchase is made, customer service transforms into pride, word of mouth, or simply the pleasure of giving the product as a present and knowing the recipient will find value in it.

Unfortunately, I wrongly had this pleasure. My bad. Now I see that ill-fitting jacket hanging in our closet, and it always gives me a bummed out feeling. I don't think, I now know the policy and won't make that mistake twice. Instead, I am reminded to never buy a gift from your store again.

This experience made me realize that return policies are what we designers call "affordances." They suggest to people how to use the product. Your return policy suggests that your clothes should not be given as gifts--and certainly not Christmas gifts.

It's hard not to compare your return policy to others. There's Target's policy, which enables blissful spending and I suspect uses a return as a way to make an additional sale. After all, the customer has walked back into the store, and each visit is a sale, whether it's an actual purchase or another opportunity to serve the "kool-aid," so to speak.

There's also REI's generous policy. Incidentally, I had to return a pair of snow pants to REI after Christmas. I dragged my feet in search of the receipt. After my fateful encounter with you, I called REI to ask about their return policy. Guess what? No rush, and I didn't even need a receipt. Sure, my love for REI is an open secret, but that's because they have a culture (including a return policy) that affords it.

A return policy should not be about bottom lines. Rather, it's about your commitment to a future relationship.

-joanie

Design Within Reach made a believer out of me

Design Within Reach,

Thank you for the email acknowledging that my recent transaction was less than ideal. And thank you for the card that quite insightfully quoted Charles Eames to say "The details are not details. They make the product." How true.

It means a lot for a company to recognize criticism and respond to it. And it means even more for customers to feel that they are being heard. Lending an ear can go a long way. I believe your gesture to openly recognize and respond to negative feedback is the difference between a good company and a great one.

Don't get me wrong. A flawless customer experience is ideal, but things don't always go as planned. Each customer comes with a unique set of expectations. Each is a potential landmine of disappointment. I imagine delivering great customer experience can seem like a perpetual uphill battle, particularly when there's a breakdown for whatever reason.

It's easy to be a great company when it's all smooth sailing, but true character is revealed in rough waters. It's tough work to turn a negative experience into a positive one. Troubleshooting requires time, insight, and will. You have to empower your people to attend to the unique needs of each individual customer and then do something about it.

The upside to a bad situation is that when it is righted, customer loyalty can be stronger than if the situation had been seamless from end to end. If the customer invests time and energy by contacting customer service, then antagonism has the potential to become give-and-take, which in turn can be the foundation for a relationship that is actively forged rather than passively assumed. That's powerful.

You demonstrated that fallibility need not deter a positive customer experience in the end. In fact, fallibility can provide the opportunity to exceed expectations.

-joanie