David Fiske A subtle blend of affiliate marketing and web development

I placed an order with Debenhams on July 6th. Ever since, I've been having trouble. Here's why.
 
Firstly, they have no track and trace facility. So you cannot see your order progress. Not very clever for a website.

RULE Number 1: Always keep your customers informed. Let them check how far their order has progressed.

Next, I have sent them a couple of emails and have not had any reply.

RULE Number 2: If you are accepting email queries, respond within 2 working days wherever possible. At least set up an autoresponder that acknowledges the original email.

The item I ordered was labelled in stock on the site but it turns out it's out of stock.

RULE Number 3: Keep stock levels up to date. There's nothing worse than ordering something that is shown as in stock only to discover it's not.

I was told it was out of stock in a letter I received this morning.

RULE Number 4: Save the environment! If you have my email address, let me know what's going on via email. I don't need a letter.

Incidentally, the item won't be in stock until the end of July / beginning of August.

RULE Number 5: Remember customers are fickle! Out of principle, I have cancelled my order. I was told my order should take 5-7 days to arrive. This ha been extended now to a month. I'm not happy nor am I loyal to Debenhams so I cancelled my order.

The Internet has speeded up the way we buy things. Consumers now expect fast delivery. Fulfil orders quickly and to a high standard and you will generate a loyal customer who will come back. Give them a reason to not come back and you have created a negative customer - one which goes out and tells friends and family about their bad experiences. Kwaichi demonstrated this with a complaint about CityLink and ebuyer.

Morale of the story: It's all well and good have cheap prices or the latest gizmos for sale but if your customer service is poor non-existent, you will lose sales and customers.