I’m a bit of a fan of French clothing website La Redoute, and was relieved to see recently that they also deliver in the UK. I placed an order earlier this week, and because I’m an impatient person, checked their site this morning to see when my parcel might arrive. The site said it had already been delivered – to the wrong address. Uh-oh.
I spoke to La Redoute’s customer services, who told me they would email me when the parcel was sent out (I didn’t and still haven’t received any email).
“But the website says it was delivered on 11th August,” I said. “Not to me it wasn’t.”
“No,” said the lady from La Redoute, “it was passed to our couriers this morning. You’ll get it either today or tomorrow.”
“So let me get this right. When your website says, ‘delivered on 11th August’, what that actually means is ‘passed to the couriers on 13th August’?”
“I don’t know what the website says. But it’s out for delivery today.”
“And where are you delivering it?”
She read back half my home address (without the flat number that would tell the driver which doorbell to ring).
“But that’s my home address. I’m at work. That’s why I asked for delivery to my work address.”
“Yes, but for your first order, we have to deliver it to your home address, to make sure it’s really you ordering.”
“But your website doesn’t tell me that.”
“We would have told you that if you’d phoned up.”
“But I didn’t phone up, I placed the order on your website…”
At that, I gave it up as a bad job, and was just relieved to have been carded by my Hermes driver today. But as an online trader, I have a few takeaways from my experience:
- Make sure your website is giving out accurate information.
- Make sure the information on your website matches what you’re giving out through other means.
- If you’ll only deliver to a particular address or under particular circumstances, don’t allow your customers to order unless they match your criteria.
- Make sure your staff understand how your website works!
18 Responses
Also slightly amused to see Google ads throw up La Redoute now on this page 😉
And, I’am seeing a Channel Advisor Sell More Amazon Ad. Even tho I’m in Germany at the moment (but to tell the truth running a poxy thru the states). Looks like it’s working.
TomH: the CA ad on the side is there for everyone.
On a pro-La Redoute line, they are doing very clever stuff with their Google content ads: while I was placing this order, the ads showed up stuff that was already in my shopping cart, I’m assuming with the intention of making me come back and pay for it. V. cunning.
If anyone wants an update, my order’s now arrived – but it’s the wrong order. Will NOT be ordering again.
Shame, coz I’d bought quite a bit in France and it was all fabulous.
They sound ideal as an Ebay Outlet.
Have they managed to get their TS&CS totally illegal – I believe that’s a mandatory requirement?
Well, that should make them BSS, so I guess they will be having a run of Daily Deals.
What I really don’t understand, all joking aside (and god knows ebay makes it easy), is why ebay can’t see how damaging the poor outlets are to their image.
Yes, Sue, I remember that article, and agree with most of it.
Interesting that the first few comments are about Debenhams, who seem to have given up on ebay.