TAKE CARE: IF YOU INTEND TO DELIVER YOUR PRODUCT AT HOME, DO NOT FOLLOW THE EXAMPLE OF LARGE FURNITURE. THE PIZZAS THAT ARE DELIVERED IN 30 MINUTES ARE THE BEST REFERENCE.
I INHERITED A HARDWARE STORE AND I BELIEVE that the most important thing in the business is the customers. To provide a better service, we now deliver water tanks, water heaters and everything that does not fit in a car to your home.
Over a distance, we do it at no cost; in other cases, we charge a fee. But many customers are dissatisfied when we arrive with the products, even if we deliver within the established time range.
For example, we offer to fill the order between 3 and 6 in the afternoon, and although we arrive at 5, they are annoyed with the time. Why are they angry if we keep the promise?
ALEJANDRO RODRÍGUEZ, STATE OF MEXICO
REPLY
It is an excellent idea to have home delivery and I congratulate you on keeping your promises. But I fear that the way you do it is the cause of your customers' dissatisfaction.
Many companies, to comply with the delivery schedule offered, create wider ranges of time and thus avoid being late. But these broad ranges cater to business needs and neglect customer needs.
There are furniture stores and department stores that promise to deliver their orders in very long hours: 'between 8 in the morning and 8 at night', but example. Will the customer be happy if he receives his purchase at 5 in the afternoon? I'm sure not. The company did not respect his time.
Perhaps you have not considered that your client should wait at your home from the beginning of the range offered until your purchase arrives. And if the water tank arrives at 5 in the afternoon, take into account that you have been waiting two hours for it. Who likes to wait two hours for something?
When the order arrives, the client does not think that the time is within the planned time range, but he does remember everything he could have done in that time.
After many surveys, we discovered that most of the clients who receive the promise that a company will deliver their order within a certain time frame, the expectation is created that it will arrive at the beginning of the period. And in your case, I assure you that few clients consider that their water tank will arrive until 5 in the afternoon.
These promises are dangerous for two reasons: they generate in the customer an expectation of time that is almost never fulfilled (and that generates dissatisfaction) and because the employer believes that he has fulfilled the service and does not give importance to the customer's annoyance.
There are companies that promise: 'I will deliver your product to you next week'. What do you think the customer thinks? Monday, Wednesday or Saturday ?; The promises of some companies are full of phrases like 'first thing', 'right away', 'in a moment', 'in the morning', 'in the afternoon', etc. All are promises that are not concrete and that cause the client to formulate an expectation according to their own idea of time or their needs.
It is better to tell your customer that the water tank will arrive at 6 in the afternoon. Better time planning makes it easier to stick to and the buyer will have the correct expectation of the service. And if your truck arrives a little early, I don't think the customer will bother about it.
