‘Tis the season for some folly.
Millions of people are engaging in that post-Christmas ritual of returns. They are being met with huge incentives to spend their refund and more on huge discounts, leading the National Retail Federation to predict that sales will grow by close to four percent this year.
The Strand Book store, a famed local bookstore in NY that sells new, used and rare books announced that their pre-Christmas sales were the best ever in their 86-year history.
And, while Santa fixed his distribution problem innovatively with a red-nosed reindeer, UPS came up short this Christmas. Thousands of packages ordered online did not make their destination, a debacle that enormously disappointed and outraged customers and retailers alike.
People waiting for food parcels may yet get their spoiled goods — UPS is on overdrive to deliver quickly — but this is bound to leave a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. The retailers and the shippers are all pointing fingers, but it is doubtful that customers will be nuancing whether packages were ready for UPS on time, or UPS bit off more than they could chew.
Needless to say, the people are venting on social media and everyone is scrambling to make amends. UPS is promising refunds on shipping costs, Amazon is offering gift cards and Kohl’s may go so far as to pay for delayed orders.
All of which brings me back to: Digital is everything, but not everything is digital. Great to order last-minute online, but if the package never makes it to its destination, then you have, well, the rampant customer dissatisfaction we’re seeing right now.
At the end of the day, the customer is what matters most. The lesson’s been there for anyone who has been a student of the 100 years plus of the catalog business. But this is as good a wake-up call as any.
