This is a cautionary tale of what poor customer service can lead to.
I first bought a pair of 34 Heritage jeans from a men's clothing boutique in Portland, ME. The jeans were dressy and fit well. I loved them. They became my favorite jeans brand. Since then, I have purchased a couple more pair of jeans from the same men's clothing store via telephone orders. After that, I began purchasing them directly from 34 Heritage. Recently, I purchased two different pair of navy dress jeans. When they arrived, one pair was correct but the other pair was a washed out light blue casual pair of jeans, something that I would not wear. I immediately wrote 34 Heritage to make them aware of their shipping error. We exchanged email messages for about a week but ultimately, they would not exchange the jeans because I had cut the tags off the jeans, something in retrospect I would have been wise not to have done. I understand that 34 Heritage might have a process that guards against potentially fraudulent exchanges, however it was clear that the customer service representative thought I was lying throughout the customer service process. That was apparent in her written responses, which were curt, unfriendly and even sarcastic.
I can understand that not every company lives by the motto "the customer is always right." But not to accommodate me in any way and to mistreat me in writing when I was only trying to politely report a shipping error is inexcusable. I would have been a lifetime customer, but my patronage of their brand has now ended. If they had accepted the return they would have seen that the light blue jeans had never been worn and they would not have been out any money at all (well, except for shipping and restocking, but that would have been a result of their error). And, most importantly, they would have kept me as a satisfied customer.
The lifetime value of any satisfied customer can add up to a significant amount. And, in my case, because I have a substantial online presence and audience, this story could have a multiplier effect on lost revenues for them. It is a shame that 34 Heritage did not handle this differently. But these types of customer service experiences happen all too often with so many different brands. One failed touch point can have more of a negative effect than one might imagine. I personally believe that every brand's operating philosophy should be "the customer is always right." And customers and potential customers should always be treated with great respect. This helps build a strong brand franchise. Ultimately, the emotional connection to brands results from the quality of interaction at each point of customer contact with those brands. And when errors are made, quick and satisfying recoveries are essential.
Other blog posts on customer service:
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