Showing posts sorted by relevance for query replacement. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query replacement. Sort by date Show all posts

Monday, April 4, 2016

Replacement Guaranteed!

The recent spate of messaging by the online Retail majors hinges on reassuring the shopper that it is very easy to return or replace what has been purchased.

This is a core shopper expectation which is catered to very efficiently by the stand-alone, neighborhood store.  Interestingly modern retail formats including eTailers  are still struggling to establish trust on this front.  This is a very critical shopper behavior aspect and some of my earlier posts on this topic can be viewed by Clicking HERE

v rajesh, retail expert, shopper behaviour, marketing, customer service

I had a flashback to the late 90s, when the RPG Foodworld chain of supermarkets was trying to redefine the grocery and food shopping behavior. This involved addressing several key mind blocks and shopper resistance aspects; hassle free replacement being one of the most important amongst them.

“Replacement Guarantee” was an initiative to address this important issue and it involved a holistic approach which included messaging, internal processes as well as staff education and training. This had a very positive impact which was reflected in the sales increase as also the basket penetration of several core categories of products.

Coming to the present times the two recent advertisements by Amazon and Flipkart are focusing on the ease of return and replacement. These two advertisements drive home the message effectively.



It is interesting to note some subtle and sublimal messaging in both these advertisements and they do raise two important questions in my mind as a retailer.
  1. Both the advertisements show an elderly person expressing concern about return and replacement. They are both reassured by someone who is much younger. Is easy return/ replacement a concern only for Gen X / older shoppers? The counter point could be that this a concern for the Gen Y and Gen Z but the advertisement is trying to drive home a message that their Gen Y and Gen Z customers do not face this problem. In that context are reference groups such a large influence for these shoppers?
  2. Retail brand building is built on trust which can happen only during the transactional experience.  Even today, the return/ replacement in most modern formats and eTailers are definitely not up to the mark. In that context will messaging alone work? What process changes have these eTailers instituted to ensure that the real experience lives up to the expectations created through the advertisements?

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Consumer Insights; Am I doing the right thing?

“Nice to see, but consider it sold if broken” or “No replacement or return of any items once purchased” used to be standard caveats in many stores a decade ago. I was shocked and surprised to see the ‘no replacement’ warning on the bill recently and started wondering if we have progressed at all with regards to consumer rights and consumerism.

I could not understand the concept of no items can be replaced or returned. This smacks of totalitarian attitude and assumes that the customer is actually more of a “con” sumer.

In that context the kirana store’s attitude used to be and is still a refreshing change. Many a time I have seen products including bags of rice being sent back and the same being replaced.

How does the kirana store owner manage to do it whereas many larger stores are afraid (Yes, afraid!!) to extend this basic customer service?

Simply because the he is a far more astute businessman completely tuned into the basic psyche of a consumer. Almost everyone has experienced the phenomenon called post purchase dissonance. Which basically translates into concern/ worry/ dissatisfaction with regard to the choices made and the product(s) purchased.

The Kirana guy eliminates this by giving the customers a psychological comfort which over a period of time grows into the foundation of his business - the trust of the customer - and therefore a habit to purchase from that store.

Most Corporate Retailers have taken this lesson, but whether it is to heart or is it lip service is something that I leave you to think about. The reason for my ambivalence is, although most of them have a replacement or returns policy, the on-the-ground experience for a customer who wishes to avail this is still not a very pleasant experience.

The usual culprits - internal policies, procedures and paper work ensures that the staff are apprehensive in extending this without any questions asked and in the process make the entire consumer experience most painful.

Lastly, if I don’t have the confidence that the retailer would support me in my moment of post purchase dissonance or even a genuine quality problem, would my loyalty be with that retailer?
Very doubtful.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Indian Retail: Are you walking the talk of customer service

Customer Satisfaction is the most overused and abused term. There is a whole universe of business opportunity that revolves around these two words. Over the years this has morphed into variations like customer delight, customer wow, etc.

All this is great to hear and quite profitable too if one were to be offering a training program or consulting inputs built around these two words.

Alas, as customers this talk never does reach down to us on an operating level. Let me share this interesting anecdote about a chain store.

A friend of mine recently happened to purchase a lot of products from a leading lifestyle chain and went home hoping to surprise her family members. As in the case of any surprise gifts, some were welcomed while a few were not. So, she planned to return to the store to either exchange these or return the same. My friend set off confidently for this task as she remembered seeing a large sign about replacement being guaranteed and had read through the conditions mentioned regarding the same.

Upon reaching the store, she went to the customer service desk near the billing counters and requested their help to exchange the few products she had purchased. To her surprise she was asked to go to another counter on another floor where replacements and exchanges were handled. After locating this special counter she repeated her request and the staff said that she would be given a note for the value of products purchased and she can show this note at the billing counter towards payment of the products she has selected now. In industry terms, this is a credit note.

Now came the twist in the tale. After she had selected the new products and got the same billed, she found that the bill value was less than the credit note value. However, the staff refused to refund her the money as that was not allowed as per policy. When questioned about the replacement and exchange promise mentioned in the large sign, it was pointed out that no cash refund was also mentioned in that sign, although as fine print!

In effect this customer had to end up paying more for a product just because she had to get it exchanged.

When I mention walking the talk, it refers to enabling the customers to experience the exact same thing which has been promised and not about the various disclaimers in small print. There are two components to this.

One is about setting the right expectations. Quite often the customer expectations are raised to such impossible levels through a mix of hyperbole and fancy words. Whether intentionally or not, customers end up interpreting these statements in their own way and expectations are set. On the contrary Retailers set in strict systems and policies to maintain control and discipline as also avoid any mischief at the store level.

Unfortunately, most of these systems and processes are in direct contradiction of the stated customer policies and other claims which have created expectations in the minds of a customer.

Customer service issues and complaints are a natural outcome and quite often these are ignored because there is nothing that can be done. “It is against our policy” is the standard excuse.

When said by the store staff, I can give them the benefit of doubt and maybe even pity them for having been put in a difficult place by the Retailer. However, one often tends to hear this phrase even from managerial people across levels. This is completely unacceptable and will not help any Retailer in the long run.

Very simply put, think carefully before you talk to your customer and create expectations - either directly or indirectly through signage, advertisements, etc. However, once you have created an expectation walk the talk that has defined this expectation and do not back down from the same.

I recall a store launch where a very good offer on cooking oil was given. It so happened that the price of cooking oil, which is a commodity, increased significantly a day or two before the launch. The easy way out was to withdraw the offer and tell the customer that it was not there. 

However the team decided to walk the talk.

They went ahead with the offer and managed the customer expectation by limiting the quantity to two packets. Although there were some complaints the majority of the customers appreciated the fact that we had continued with the offer and had not cancelled the same.

Taking off on the tagline of a famous brand, “keep walking”, whatever you talk about.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Customers are predominantly honest!

In continuation of one of my previous post about shrinkage and in defense of customers, I would like to share this interesting incident.

Going back to my favorite period of reminisces, the early days of Foodworld, we were constantly trying to figure out why customers still preferred the neighborhood kirana store as compared to the air conditioned and more convenient supermarkets. After talking functional issues like pricing, the preferred quality of groceries, home delivery, etc., we were still unearthing some interesting insights.

One such insight was the comfort level that the housewife has in being able to send back stuff she is not happy with. In one of my earlier articles, I have mentioned how shopping is a habit, especially given the fact that we do not have adequate inputs for making truly rational purchases. In that context, the comfort that the store would take back/ replace something is a significant cushion for the housewife. I can’t say that the same holds true of today’s consumers. But that is another story.

A program was initiated to popularize the replacement policy, wherein anything excepting razors n similar personal items could be replaced/ returned with a defined number of days. No questions asked.

Surprisingly, the resistance to the program came internally from the store team. At the briefing meeting they were vehement in their protest and the biggest argument was how this would be grossly misused by customers. And so a pitched battle ensued between marketing and operations.

Finally the then head of Foodworld stepped in and mandated that the program should be given a chance. But, to be fair to the operating team we would meet again in a month and review.
The program was rolled out. Lots of banners all over the place, posters at the store, shelf edge material, etc. Basically, no customer could miss that message.

A month went by quickly and we were reviewing this initiative. I had not heard of any major incident of the program having been misused. But, I had also not heard any positive feedback of acceptance from the store team and was looking forward to what would be mentioned.
Finally when we discussed this program, it was a bit of an anticlimax. If I remember correctly there had been a few cases of misuse including a lady who brought back a half eaten can of cheese with fungus on it!

When compared to the total number of customers, the percentage of such instances was miniscule and the benefits of creating this kind of trust far outweighed the few cases.
Having said that, in most countries where retail is mature customers also evolve. Or rather people who want to misuse the systems and processes also evolve and therein lies the challenge for a retailer today.

To trust or not to trust!

Will leave you with this experience of mine at Makro, UK. While at the customer service desk I was aghast to see the lady staff accept a supposedly defective hand drill for return/ replacement. When I pointed out that the drill could be working, the lady drawled in her Manchester accent, “It could be working, luv. But if I were to check and got a shock the company would pay far more than what the drill costs. Also luv, why would anyone want to return a working drill”!! Is it any wonder that we get to read how some people purchase a nice dress on Friday and return it on Monday, after the weekend party!

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Do organisations really want Happy Customers?!

I saw a cartoon in a leading national daily and was struck by the irony in this illustration. Although it is prima facie humorous, it is also a reflection of the reality and holds a very strong message to organizations, especially Retailers.

customer delight, customer service, service, retail, etail, online shopping, service delivery

It raises the following questions which I will address.
  • Do Retailers expect any customer to be happy, satisfied or delighted at all?
  • Are organizations serious about making customers happy, satisfied or delighted?
  • If there is no breed called happy customers, whose fault is it?


Forget Retailers, most organizations do not expect their customers to be even satisfied forget about being delighted. The rationale behind this statement is the fact that I am yet to come across anyone having a system or process to handle happy or satisfied customers. Let me illustrate this with an example from two service sectors. In most stores there are loyal customers who are happy and often give positive feedback and express their satisfaction with the store and staff members. Unfortunately these customers are often ignored while unhappy customers who complain get a lot of attention. In most of my programs I have advocated customer interaction forums where such loyal and happy customers are invited and that recognition alone would be a first level of reward for these shoppers. The second example is with regard to a leading airline. I had praised the way their staff had handled a situation and had messaged them. Imagine my surprise when I got a template reply thanking me for my patronage and feedback. Obviously their service staff has no idea about handling a happy customer.

Of course, it can be argued that organizations expect all their customers to be happy and that unhappy customers need to be handled as they are the exception. This is totally wrong. Even if satisfied customers are the norm they need to be recognized in order to motivate them to continue sharing this satisfaction and happiness.  Apart from reproducing a few appreciative letters or comments, most organizations do not even acknowledge satisfied customers.

This situation is largely because most organizations espouse customer service and delight while their actions on the ground are directly opposite to that. A very common example is the promise of a hassle free replacement while making the actual process for this painful enough to dissuade the shopper. Every shopper of physical or online retail must have experienced the sheer frustration of trying to resolve an issue wherein the customer service person responds like a robot with template responses which in most cases are completely irrelevant. In the case of such a reality it is highly questionable if organizations especially retailers are really serious about customer satisfaction or are they focused only on managing dissatisfied customers.

This is again a problem with regard to the service delivery design and the management’s orientation towards customers and shoppers. Although the stated intent of the organization is great service and satisfied customers, almost every system and process in place focuses on controlling and constraining the front line staff. This means that they are rarely empowered to deliver customer satisfaction. Obviously such staff have no clue about handling happy customers simply because they are not empowered to make the customer or shopper happy!

Lastly is the point about whose fault is it. Although organizations are at fault, the customer and shoppers must share some of the blame with regard to this situation. The majority of shoppers are eager to complain and make a noise when they are not satisfied. Unfortunately they rarely take the trouble to even mention situations and interactions which make them satisfied or happy.

The old saying that “the squeaky wheel gets the grease” is very apt in this context. Unhappy and dissatisfied customers make a noise and so organizations take the trouble to think of ways to handle them and manage such people. Happy and satisfied customers keep quiet and so the organization in most cases is not even aware that they exist. It is no wonder that most staff members do not know how to handle happy customers and their appreciation.

This cartoon is actually a reflection of reality and for this to change the customers and shoppers need to speak up when they are happy and satisfied. Organizations on their part should start recognizing happy customers instead of only managing the unhappy ones. 

Cartoon courtesy - The Hindu

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Guest post by Mr. Ganesh Chella on the Anniversary

Mr. Chella in his comment, has expressed the keen nostalgia which runs as a common thread right through. A part of the founding team of Indian Corporate Retail - his comments for you as a Guest post.

-------------------------------------

Dear Rajesh

This is a great initiative and my best compliments for doing this!

I continue to get nostalgic every time I think about my days at RPG Retail. Hiring all you guys at 30% less pay than what you last earned which was in any case very low, seeing the excitement with which all of you worked because you were creating history and not because you wanted to make money, working in the store, solving the innumerable problems for which we had to write rules every day and creating new knowledge which to date remains the only knowledge in organised retailing. We may not have become the biggest and in any case those things seem irrelevant today. But we created a legacy, a great bunch of Retail professionals who knew what they were doing and were deeply passionate about it and who remain the only blue blood retailers to date.

I cannot forget my first day at the R A Puram store. We ran out of sugar and atta by 11.00 am. Raghunandan and I went to our distribution centre (sorry, warehouse, sorry, godown) to pick up some replacement supplies and rush back in our car!!!I cannot forget all the great one liners - "bay watching", "gave Rs 10 for 9" (description in a petty cash voucher) and all the other hilarious events that unfolded every day.I cannot forget all the training programs we conducted in premises amidst construction, I of course cannot forget RIRM, the institution which created the finest front-line staff that India has ever seen.

Let us celebrate this spirit and be proud of what we created!

Ganesh Chella

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

So, you want to become an Omni Channel Retailer!

The latest buzz word that I am asked about in various forums is Omni Channel and how a retailer can become one. In many cases the understanding of what Omni Channel Retailing is very hazy. In a few cases this is considered to represent a seamless shopper experience across the physical, online and mobile access points of any retailer.

Some of the successful examples of Omni Channel retailing being showcased is more about such a seamless experience. For example, Apple has linked their mobile app to their store and vice versa. The app can be used to book service appointments, order products, etc., and the integration helps the shopper get alerts when they are near a store, receive targeted messages, etc. Carrefour has simplified this by enabling the shoppers to place online orders by voice or scan. Once the order is complete, the same can be delivered or picked up from a store. Several other retailers are experimenting with technology such as electronic tags, Near Field Communication (NFC), etc.

However I feel that all these are more about a superior multi channel approach to retailing. Multi channel retailing is when both online and offline options can be accessed by the shoppers and there is some extent of integration between the two. Omni Channel would ideally be the next step forward where such integration between offline and online access becomes seamless. 

omni channel, online shopping, e tailing, multi channel, bafara, v rajesh retail, shopping, shopper
The key word in this context is - seamless and that cannot be limited to only the information gathering/ sharing or shopper interface. Shopping is after all about purchasing physical products and unless the physical dimension of shopping becomes seamlessly integrated across physical, online and mobile.

Omni channel retail should be defined by the acronym BAFARA. This stands for Buy Anywhere, Fulfill Anywhere and Return/ Replace Anywhere.

Most of the current examples tend to focus on the “BAFA” part whereas this is an incomplete value proposition from a shopper’s perceptive. One point of view is that the extensive analytics and shopper profiling that is done would enable retailers to deliver the exact requirements of any shopper. The logic is that, therefore the need for return or replacement would not exist. Hence the focus on “BAFA” is good enough for creating a Omni Channel offering. 

As someone who understands shopper behavior and expectations I do not think that this would be acceptable to shoppers. Whether they actually return or replace any product purchased or not, they would like to have that option available to them at any given time.

An ideal Omni Channel experience offering BAFARA would play out somewhat like this;

I am leaving office and suddenly remember that I was supposed to purchase a few items as guests are expected at home in the evening. Thankful for having remembered I place an order for these items on the mobile app and select the option for a store pick up. Since I have paid for the same, these are available for immediate pick up and I don’t even have to park my car. I reach home with the purchases only to find that a few products need to be returned. Since I am logged into my home computer, I access my shopping history online and place a request for the return of these products. Since I am travelling the next day, I select the pickup from home option for the return. 

I bought the items on my mobile, picked it up from the store and would be returning it from my home. BAFARA essentially means the convenience of being able to shop in this manner with various permutation and combinations. That would truly be Omni Channel retail.

Sounds simple enough but it is not so and the challenges start mounting if one were to truly deliver the BAFARA value proposition. 

The primary challenge and to some extent becomes a constraint is with regard to the organizational structure and management mindset. In a scenario where offline and online channels are treated as separate business units with independent deliverables as also responsibilities, they become competitors. This is a significant bottleneck in the journey to becoming an Omni Channel retailer.

There are several other strategic as also operational challenges which have constrained most of the Omni Channel initiatives to remain restricted to BAFA instead of offering BAFARA. I shall detail the key challenge with some ideas with regard to the same in another post.

In summary all I would say is that Omni Channel is not about technology and data alone. It is equally about physical products and owning the shopper experience, end to end. This holistic experience cannot be restricted to BAFA and must encompass BAFARA. Till that is clearly and very well defined as also executed, experiments in the Omni Channel space would remain just experiments.