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Turning a Holiday Horror into Repurchase and Loyalty

With all the online shopping and daily deal sites, Holiday shopping has become a breeze. Long lines and gift wrapping until 2 am have turned into gift cards and 2 day shipping. That is unless something goes wrong with your order and that special something for that special someone doesn’t arrive. Then the chance to be a Holiday Hero turns into the delinquent dog house.

Here is how One Kings Lane, an online deals retailer, turned a potential gift gaffe and bad customer experience into an expertly handled opportunity to win loyalty, trust, and future business. For their customer centric approach they earn a place as one of the Good Guys in this Blogs’ the Good the Bad, and the Ugly.

Late in November I went onto One Kings Lane to order a gift for a family friend. I found a great price on a daily deal and secured the item with regular shipping to arrive in time for the Holidays. I felt great about finding the right gift at the right price with time to spare.

That great feeling vanished when I got the email from One Kings Lane. The item was understocked and they wouldn’t be able to fulfill my order.

Christmas was ruined.  As my blood began to boil, I read on…

One Kings Lane was extremely sorry for the inconvenience.
They immediately credited my credit card for
the purchase. For my trouble, they gave me a
$20 store credit for my next order. And they
offered me free expedited shipping on my next
order. My typical knee-jerk combative feelings vanished. 

How did they turn me from being a detractor to a promoter?

  1. Apologize: One Kings Lane took responsibility for one of their suppliers not being able to fulfill on a daily deal. Im sure this happens all the time, but they owned up to the problem.
  2. Refund the Purchase, no strings attached: Store credit makes sense in certain situations, but when the merchant messed up I expect them to refund my money so I can take my business elsewhere. If they only offer a store credit, I feel hostage to a company I’ve already lost faith in, making the experience worse.
  3. Give something extra to win me back: One Kings Lane did two things to win me back – a store credit and free shipping. Any other time of year the store credit may have been enough. Close to the Holidays, however, the anxiety of having a gift arrive late might make me take my business elsewhere. By taking ownership of this potential problem and offering me the free shipping they let me know they value my business and recognize the challenge the cancelled order may have caused.
One Kings Lane definitely earned its place as Good retailer. By owning up to an issue on their part, by recognizing me and showing me they value my business they turned a negative experience into a moment of truth and long term customer loyalty.

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