MONEY SHOP


T


his month I would like to chat about customer complaints and manufacturers' responses in the age of instant communication through


social media. The quality of the shoes we sell is excellent and it is rare when things go


wrong. I reckon generally in an average year we get less than 30 complaints a year on product failure.


When it does go wrong, however, the response to the customer has got


to be instant. The decision has got to be made whether to repair, replace or refund.


A situation arose where on a couple of pairs of boots the lace eyelets


came away from the body of the shoe as the stitching was not caught tightly enough. In my opinion this is very simple. We took it to our local repairer who is excellent and he has stitched the boots and they are now back to the original condition. In many ways this is a bit like a button falling off a shirt, a minor problem. Yet it needs dealing with quickly. Although this boot has been on our shelf


for 3 winter seasons, this has nothing to do with the fact the stitching had not been done correctly.


Imagine my surprise when I spoke to the manufacturer and said this is what I had done and asked would they credit the 2 x£4 for the repair? The response was “Our terms and conditions state that you must return any faulty shoe/boot to us for inspection.” This does not make sense on several levels. To post a shoe to a manufacturer cost been £4 and £10 depending the level of speed and insurance you need. The customer is then inconvenienced as they are without their purchase for a minimum of a week, rather than 24 or a maximum of 48 hours in a case of something as simple as this.


More important, we have two contracts one with the customer and one with the supplier.


We cannot in the age of social media fob off the customer and say we


have to wait for a manufacturer’s decision the customer relation impact on the business does not bear thinking about.


Most manufacturers understand this and realise that they have to trust


the retailer to do the right thing by the customer and then speak to them, of course, would speak to the supplier if the repair was going to be more than 25% of the original price of the shoe.


The other flaw in sending the product back is it makes it much more likely that the customer is going to ask for a refund and you may well lose the customer to another retailer. Although the manufacturer will credit the shoe, that does not account for the loss of profit or the good will between us and the customer. Any retailer will tell you once a customer has complained to


14 • FOOTWEAR TODAY • MARCH/APRIL 2018


you there is immediately a 50/50 chance they will not buy a product off you again anyway. If you compound this by not making a quick decision you can say “Good bye” to the customer.


It is incumbent on the retailer to protect the manufacturer and send the


receipt for the repair to the manufacturer, but surely it is a duty not to waste money. Most manufacturers are grateful to pay £4 for a local repair than have to credit over £30 for the cost of the shoe plus postage for the return and, if the customer wants it, a replacement.


The damage it could do to the brand if the customer decides to vent on


social media will certainly cost a lot more than the £4 repair. In 30 years of retailing only one supplier has ever recalled a product


because they thought a line was faulty, a moral decision which had me amazed. The line in question had a couple of complaints around the UK. We had had no problems with the shoe. It is a stark contrast of attitude to their retailers and their end users than what I have just experienced.


My father always said “Rules are there for the observance of wise people.” You can tell a lot about the way a business is run by the way they handle


problems. On this I think the company who I have to say are very successful are about 15 years behind where they should be.


We are living in an age where people want quick solutions and the


customer has more power than they have ever had. Not only because the law is weighted in their favour, but they just need to post on social media and it can be round the world in minutes.


My philosophy on every complaint is, what would I expect if it happened to


me? I also say to my team “Get it sorted!” I will never get annoyed if they do something that I may not have done,


provided they have sorted and helped the customer if it is a justified complaint. Fortunately, complaints are rare, but how they are solved they can make or break a business!


If you would like David to look at your business costs, he promises that if he cannot save you any money you pay him nothing. But for every pound he saves, you pay him 15 pence.


If you want to learn more, email David on david@fdickinsonfootwear


.co.uk,


call 01229 580654, or visit www.fdickinsonfootwear


.co.uk


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