Sometimes, as a consumer, I visit a website and am amazed at how difficult the company makes it for me to buy something. I wonder, have the people responsible ever actually sat on the outside and tried being a normal customer, undertaking a normal journey like purchasing a stocked product?
I ran out of my favourite snack this week, nuts from by a boutique supplier in the UK but usually quick to deliver so I would survive that one day. I went to the website, filled the basket and clicked checkout. I had to login or register, there isn’t the choice to purchase anonymously. I gave my email address and most likely password but it was wrong. Tried another and to re-register but couldn’t as that email is already a customer (me). Asked to be sent a new password and on submitting that, it still didn’t work. So I went and searched Amazon which is sometimes an option but none were available. Went back to the website and filled in a form (out of hours) explaining the reset password didn’t work. Went back to my email later and discovered I’d been sent 5 (FIVE!) reset passwords, the last of which I also tried and still didn’t work. I got a reply to my email best part of a day later resetting my password more memorably, so I did manage to place my order and it arrived next day. That really tested me and I wonder if they’ve sat on the outside and looked in. Why should I have to register, I have to pay anyway and they get my details then. They’re lucky I really like those nuts.
On a related note, I filled in a form to download an analyst information paper for work earlier, from a technology competitor’s site. They sell customer experience management software too. Just as I was getting to the submit button, a chat box popped up, covering the submit button asking if I wanted help. Not really, though it did make me smile. Poor timing and unnecessary given the ‘journey’ I was undertaking, ironically to read on the subject of customer experience excellence. Ah well, I wonder how often we practice what we preach?