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Channel Consistency
By
Peter DeHaan
May 21, 2008
When there is
inconsistency between different channel promotions -- Website, call center, and
physical store -- everyone suffers: staff, prospects, and customers. The result
is prospects and customers venting to staff, with call center reps often getting
the brunt of this understandable -- and avoidable -- customer angst.
This point was underscored to me
during recent efforts to upgrade my family's cell phones. My daughter served as
the guinea pig, replacing her phone first. As is increasingly common, she did
her research online and then went to their store to complete the purchase. The
$139.99 phone she selected had an instant $99.99 rebate and a $40 mail-in
rebate; her net cost was zero. Everything proceeded as expected and the phone
was procured. We thought nothing of the fact that the Website promotion matched
the in-store price.
Giving her stamp of approval for
the phone, a few weeks later we moved forward to replace three more.
Confidently we returned to the store, but to our dismay the price for that phone
had changed. There was no longer a mail-in rebate and the net cost would be
$29.99 per phone.
Discouraged, we retreated home
and returned to their Website. Online pricing had changed, too, but
differently. The cyberspace deal offered a $139 instant rebate, resulting in a
net cost of 99¢. That was acceptable, so I proceed to place the order, but was
stymied by a popup that told me I couldn't upgrade online; it referred me to a
toll free number. I called. Incredibly, their price was $50. When I mentioned
the online offer, the agent quickly matched it.
A few days later, I called to
order the fifth and final phone. Foolishly, I had not noted the 800 number
given in the popup window online. Instead of repeating a futile pretense of
ordering online just to obtain it, I called the number listed on my bill.
This time I was provided with
still another pricing situation. My net cost would be $40 to obtain the same
phone. I enlightened the agent on the deal offered two days prior. She was
confused, musing about the different options at her disposal to provide a more
attractive price. She knew she could reduce my cost to $29.95, perhaps even $20
-- with manager approval -- but not 99¢.
I mentioned the Website deal and
asked her to match it. She told me she wasn't allowed to do that. "But the
person I talked to on Monday matched it," I implored. Again she was confused.
After additional queries, she was able to clarify the situation. She was in
customer service while the prior person I talked to was in sales. Sales could
match Website offers; customer service could not. Unbelievably she had a sales
quota of two phones per day. Although she remained professional, I could sense
frustration in her voice and words. Giving me the number for sales, she was
diminishing her chances to meet her quota. I called sales and bought the phone
for 99¢.
Incredibly, the store had one
price, the website another, customer service had a third, and sales quoted a
fourth. Customer service had pricing latitude, but sales had more. Is that
anyway to run a business? Is subjecting call center agents to nonsensical
pricing and frustrating policies anyway to treat employees?
What is desperately needed is
channel consistency.
To read other articles written by Peter DeHaan,
go to From
The Publisher or check out his blog at
blog.peterdehaan.com. In addition to publishing Connections Magazine
and AnswerStat magazine (for hospital and medical related call centers), Peter
also publishes several related websites, including
MyArticleArchive.com.
He may
be reached at 616-284-1305, dehaan@connectionsmagazine.com
or www.PeterDeHaan.com.
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