citizenbay

How Big Business can learn from Small Business: Apple v Total Wargamer

Snow caused havoc this Christmas in the UK. Trains stopped, roads became chaotic, while airports failed to have enough de-icer fluid to function properly. (Nope, the UK is not very prepared for such weather).

Meanwhile, Christmas shoppers faced a challenge to do their shopping, and retailers struggled to open.

With more people in the UK shifting to online retailers for their seasonal shopping, the big question was whether the deliveries would get through.

Many companies, big and small, had to deal with shoppers concerned whether the gifts would arrive in time for Christmas day.

Two such companies were Apple (big) and Total Wargamer (not quite so big).

I had bought stuff from both companies before Xmas, both for the first time and both of whom had guaranteed delivery before Xmas.

As the big day loomed, Total Wargamer, a small business that sells Warhammer stuff, assured me that the parcel would arrive. When there was only four days to go, I chased a second time. Their response was phenomenal:

I am worried it hasn't turned up yet as it should have done by now. I will re send today by Parcel Force 24 hour courier and hope that you receive the resend or the original package in time. If you do receive both of them, please let us know and post one back. We will of course refund you for the cost of postage.

I hope you are happy with this, hopefully you will receive one or the other in time.

That response gave me the assurance that someone was really concerned about customer care, and that the company were going to do everything they could to make sure I got the package.

The package arrived in time, and my perception of Total Wargamer rose.

This small company was ready to take action to help me out. The outcome is that they have won a big fan and a customer who will come back again (Thanks to Vicky and Paul).

And Apple?

Well, I bought the photo album from them. On the site, they guaranteed delivery for Xmas if ordered by a certain date. My son and I took time to select the photos and did the layout together. I ordered (to find only then that VAT and shipping was on top of the advertised price - nice touch Apple). I then waited.

Needless to say, it didn't arrive. I chased a few days before the 25th. The customer service representative sent me nicely crafted responses with phrases such as:

It was a pleasure to assist you with this. Take care and have a wonderful day.

Take care, and please know we wish you only the best.

whilst pointedly failing to answer my concerns. 

They pointed me to the UPS site to track it - it was their fault apparently. Her hands were tied. Oh and the day before xmas, they blamed it on the weather.

They offered to refund the money, which is fine but my issues about delivering on promises were not addressed, and I am still waiting.

So two companies.

Both facing the same challenges at Christmas.

One company showed a willingness to take action to help a customer. One company shared platitudes and little else.

Apple, please go have a word with Total Wargamer. You might learn a thing or two about customer service.

 

 

Helping SMEs with the Daily Telegraph and T-Mobile: Original Travel Case Study

As some of you know, I have been helping out the Daily Telegraph and T-Mobile with their great project (called Business Sense) to support SMEs with their pressing business challenges.

I was lucky to be placed alongside two top drawer experts. Helping the SMEs on their talent issues was Peter Done, co-founder of Betfred, and boss of Peninsular Business Services and a man with a wealth of experience in helping SMEs.

For financial issues, Mark Taylor (of M Taylor Consultancy) was on hand to help the selected SMEs and provided pertinent advice to both companies (more on that in a following post)

Next Thursday 16th September, T-Mobile and Daily Telegraph will be hosting the Fresh Thinking Forum in London. I will be therealong with Peter and Mark, plus Tim Campbell (winner of The Apprentice) and Mike Shirley (Head of Small Business, T-Mobile).

As we lead up to that event, I thought it of interest to share a bit more of how citizenbay has contributed so far. Let us start with the first company I visited.

Case Study: Original Travel

The first company I was asked to help was Original Travel, a company that provides top-notch bespoke holiday experiences for people who are looking for luxurious adventure.

The Challenge: Not what it first seemed

A critical issue for him was the lack of return on the investment they made into SEM (Search Engine Marketing). Their goal was to rise up the rankings of Google to increase their chances of getting noticed by online, but the investment didn't pay off at all. Alistair was looking to improve the value from this investment.

However, having spent a little time with the company, it was plain to see that company has success because of the trust that is built between the potential holidaymakers and the team who advise them. Alistair was rightly proud of the company's desire to deliver exceptional customer service and the personal touch. The knowledgable & customer friendly staff themselves are a powerful marketing tool for Original Travel. This helps customer retention and drives positive word of mouth.

So a focus on SEM seemed to be going against the philosophy of the business and the core strengths too...

Furthermore, this deep knowledge about the countries on offer could further help the marketing of the company via a more networked digital strategy to sharing this knowledge.

Given the company is based in an area of London that sits closely to wealthy areas of London, I suggested that a little more focus on a localised strategy could pay dividends too, especially if this was shaped as a concierge type service to individuals.

Learnings for other SMEs

I shared my thoughts on what other SMEs could pick up from my visit to Original Travel on a short video pulled together by the Daily Telegraph and T-Mobile. You will find the link here.