 Bad online shopping experiences - what not to do...
There have been two bad experiences when shopping online that we would like to tell you about so that you can avoid making the same mistakes. These are tales of "what not to do" with you ecommerce site...
The first story is a tale of woe that I personally experienced when trying to buy some eco products online. I won't reveal the company involved, but suffice it to say that "being green" was a big feature of their site. However, in my innocence I assumed this referred to their products, not to their inability to run an online store! My experience goes as follows:
- 31 May - I placed the order online and fortunately I printed a copy of the order during the checkout process, since I received neither an online receipt nor an email receipt which is a clear breach of the Ecommerce Directive.
- 7 June - After waiting for the number of days that their website said to allow for delivery, I chased the order using the site's online enquiry form, but received no response at all.
- 10 June - I emailed customer services, but their response was not sent within the 48 hours they promised in their terms & conditions.
- 13 June - I finally received a reply to my email after 6 pm on a Friday, saying that there had been a "temporary problem" with the online contact form and that the order had indeed been received, but that there was a problem with my credit card details. I was instructed to call customer services between 8:30 and 17:30, Mon - Fri.
- 16 June - I called customer services at the earliest opportunity and the person I spoke to explained that there were problems with their website and that there was no problem with my card details. Apparently they had not received notification of the order from their ecommerce system until 6 June - one week after I initially placed the order online. However, the card transaction had timed out by the time they came to confirm it through their system. Quite why nobody thought to contact me remains a mystery, but I dutifully provided my card details again over the 'phone. Payment and the order were confirmed on the spot and I was assured that all items would be "rushed through" and be delivered within 7 days!
- 19 June - I should have known better! Despite having been assured three days earlier that all items were in stock, I received an email explaining that one of the items I had ordered had been discontinued and that they could no longer supply it.
- 20 June - I sent them an email formally complaining about the handling of my order and pointing out that several other suppliers were offering the same item online. By accepting my payment and confirming to me that the items would be delivered, they had entered into a binding contract to supply the goods and so I suggested that they might like to pop down to Argos to buy one so that they could complete my order.
I am still waiting for their response, so I'll have to let you know the outcome next month!
The second bad experience was more widely publicised. Over the last few days Sainsbury's has been forced to shut down their online grocery shop due to major problems. Problems began last Tuesday and apparently an estimated 10,000 customers have been left waiting for deliveries which will never arrive, while potential customers were turned away. Normally about 90,000 customers use the site every week and it is estimated that the company will lose £1 million worth of sales for every day the system is unavailable! It is not currently know when their site will come back up. All of their major competitors rushed to take advantage of their misfortune - putting on extra deliveries and offering discounts to "help out" disappointed shoppers - and potentially luring away customers from Sainsbury in the process.
We can offer robust ecommerce solutions built using Actinic which are fully compliant with the latest regulations, avoiding the pitfalls described above - see our website at http://www.wise.co.uk/solutions/ecommerce/.
If you have any questions or would like some more information or advice please contact us.
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 Promoting your online presence
- a new opportunity
In cooperation with Archant, we are introducing a new service for local companies that want to promote their online presence throughout the Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire area.
Archant is the biggest publisher of local newspapers in the area and the scheme works by combining targeted online advertising with printed advertising campaigns in selected newspapers. There is also an online directory. For those of you already running advertising campaigns in the local press, this could be a great way of driving traffic to your website. It would ideally suit local taxi companies, tradesmen or shopkeepers trying to expand their businesses online.
A range of standard plans are available to meet differing needs and budgets, while bespoke campaigns can also be put together.
for more information about these plans and costs please contact us.
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Contact us if you would like any further information about the items in this newsletter.
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to see covered in future issues by sending an
email to sales@wise.co.uk.
 Best regards,
Tim Weaver
Weaver Information Services (Europe) Limited trading as WISE.CO.UK,
Telephone +44 (0) 1438 453013. Email info@wise.co.uk
Registered office 11 Watton Road, Knebworth SG3 6AH.
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