Why You Should Admit Your Mistakes: The Case of the Missing Gift Basket
By Cecilia Sepp, CAE, ACNP
On Thursday of this week, I had a very frustrating online chat with a representative of 1800flowers. I have used their service for a number of years and generally have not had any issues – until this week.
Last week, a friend of mine that lives in the Pacific Northwest was having some health issues so I decided to send her a gift basket to cheer her up. I don’t like to send her food because she is vigilant about her diet; I found her a great gift basket with products to help you relax. I ordered it on November 1 and paid the extra fee so it would arrive on November 5.
I received an order confirmation with the delivery date of November 5, but then I heard nothing else. No delivery confirmation. No “thank you” text (which I’ll admit made me think that my friend took a turn for the worse!). Just as I was getting ready to check on my friend, I got a text from her so I knew she was okay. Whew!
But this was November 6, so I asked her if she got the gift. She said, “not yet.” That’s when I got online and checked the order at the 1800flowers website. It still showed a November 5 delivery date and had a FedEx tracking number but . . . nothing else.
So, I got online using the chat option so I could contact customer service. I asked why it wasn’t delivered and where was it? I was seeking an updated delivery date. The very polite customer service person replied, “it was just sent today and will be delivered November 12.” A full week later than I expected.
Here are some excerpts from the chat transcript:
4:19:03 PM ET}Agent: Thank you for waiting, Delivery date is on 11/12.
4:19:19 PM ET}customer: Why is it so late? I paid an extra fee so it will arrive this week. And is it the same tracking number?
4:20:15 PM ET}Agent: yes.
4:20:40 PM ET}customer: Okay -- what happened that it was not delivered when it was supposed to be?
4:21:17 PM ET}Agent: If ever it does not arrive on the date reach out to us we can refund you back the full amount.
4:21:35 PM ET}customer: Well it was supposed to arrive Yesterday. I am asking why it was not delivered. I paid the extra $10 to have it delivered this week. Why wasn't it sent? All my confirmations -- and the date I picked for delivery -- was YESTERDAY. Why wasn't it sent?
4:24:41 PM ET}Agent: The item availability date is 11/12. One moment let me check if I can change it on an earlier date.
4:25:15 PM ET}customer: Okay thanks. Why didn't I get any updates about a delayed shipment if it's not available?
4:25:34 PM ET}Agent: On the information of the order delivery date is 11/12.
The chat went back and forth for over 36 minutes. It took me stating that they made a mistake and should just admit before I got an apology. The representative kept saying I received “misinformation” because when they typed in the zip code of the recipient the first date that comes up is November 12.
If that is case, then why on November 1 did it offer November 5 as an option if I paid an additional fee?
I received no updates from the company. FedEx showed the order as “waiting for the package” which means 1800flowers never sent it to them. But they wouldn’t admit it. And they never answered my questions as to why it wasn’t sent and why they offered a delivery date that was not an option.
It seems that they screwed up, didn’t send it, and are now trying to hide the mistake. After taking way too much time to deal with this issue, the representative finally offered to give me a $10 refund for the delivery fee and a $15 savings pass. This offer was made after I told them I would not be using their company in the future.
That’s how fast you can lose a long-time customer or member. And that’s why you should just admit your mistake up front and do something immediately to fix it. There are many options in the world for shopping and association membership. Make sure yours is one that people keep coming back to because you do the right thing when things go wrong.
