Below is a copy of my original letter to Borders.com informing them of my experience while shopping online. Below that is their response, and finally, my response to them. I have removed personal information such as my username & membership number. It is ironic that I even told them in my initial letter that I would post their response publicly. One would think this would have told them to be careful in their response, perhaps read the letter and think about the content of my reason for contacting them. Consider that I had spent at least 30 minutes online with their website, then called their support line, then spent the time to write them of the experience. Please enjoy their ignorance.
Sent: Monday, Jan 17 12:25: 49:000AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: "Website Maintenance" or putting the 'ice' in 'service'? Borders Support [Incident: 212070]
I have tried THREE times to place my order:
The 1st time, after I entered all my payment information, I was sent
to a BLANK screen that then told me the service was unavailable. I had
to wait 10 minutes before your site was available.
The 2nd & 3rd times I tried to make my purchase, again after entering
in all the payment information, I was then sent back to your main
storefront page with NO CONFIRMATION of my purchase, and my purchases
remained in my shopping cart.
When I checked my order history, the "page is unavailable."
I am VERY FRUSTRATED with your website. If I didn't have these gift
cards, I would not even have bothered with trying to shop here. Your
website is NOT cooperating with my attempt to redeem my cards — money
which you already have & I cannot access.
When I tried to use the 'contact us' form, it wants to know which
store: ONLINE is not an option. Submitting the form returned a
"service unavailable error." This is intolerable.
I then called 800.770.7811 and spoke with a woman that explained that
the 'site is undergoing maintenance.' Wouldn't it be nice to have
posted that tidbit of information ON THE WEBSITE?!?! That would have
saved me 30 minutes of excruciating frustration. She did not offer
any form of assistance beyond an apology for my frustration. Is that
how you put the 'us' in "customer service?" It sounds more like you
put the 'ice' into "service" to me.
Do some damage control ASAP and make me a happy shopper. You have my
money already — remember those damned gift cards? So, you've got my
money, you're in control of the situation, but I can still post this
experience at several high profile blogs that will definitely help me
rate your service.
Username: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Borders Rewards Card number xxxxxxxxxxx
Timothy Kender.
Date Tue, Jan 18 at 1:17 AM
subject "Website Maintenance" or putting the 'ice' in 'service'? Borders Support [Incident: 212070] 1:17 AM (6 hours ago)
Dear Timothy,
Thank you for contacting Borders regarding with your inquiry.
We're sorry to hear you that you are experiencing difficulties while shopping at Borders.com. You may experience technical difficulty during peak online volume. Please try again at a later time.
When placing your order just follow the steps below to place an order:
1. Locate the items you wish to purchase and add them to your shopping cart. If you would like to continue adding items to your order or exploring our site, click "continue shopping."
2. Review the items you have in your shopping cart and make any adjustments before you proceed to checkout. If you signed into your account and have added items to your shopping cart but decide not to complete the order, these items will remain in your cart indefinitely.
3. After clicking "Checkout" you will be directed to a sign-in page. You may log into your Borders.com account or checkout as a guest.
4. Next is the address page where you will be required to provide and confirm your current e-mail address so that we can provide updates on your order status. You also have the option of either shipping to a personal address or shipping to a Borders Store.
5. For your convenience, you can create a "Quick Checkout" profile for your current and future purchases if you find that you ship to a particular location with most purchases. 6. Next, you will be asked to choose your preferred shipping method.
7. At this point in the checkout process you may return to your shopping cart to add more items by clicking "back", or "next" to continue checking out.
8. Click "next" on the Shipping Page and you will proceed to the Payment Method page. This is where you will enter your payment information as well as gift cards, coupons, or promotional codes you may have. Make sure your Borders Rewards card number has been added so you can get credit for your qualifying purchases!
9. The last step to placing your order is confirming the information contained on the Order Summary page. Click on "Order Now" to place the order. Please note that once an order is placed Borders is unable to cancel or modify it in any way.
10. Once the order is placed, you will see an order confirmation. This will verify the order information and let you know that your items were successfully ordered. You will also receive a confirmation email with the details of the order. You will also be notified by email when your order ships.
Thank you again for your interest in Borders. If we can be of any further assistance, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
Jaime
Borders Customer Care
www.Borders.com
Wow! It never ceases to amaze me how ignorant people can be in customer service these days! I did not write you folks to ask HOW TO buy products from your website. I wrote to complain about my experience trying to do those steps. Your email just treated me like I was a total moron incapable of performing these steps without having an email to guide me through them! This is not my first day on the internet. I have been using the internet since 1989.
I guess your email confirms what I suspected all along: you folks have no clue how to perform customer service. What a disappointment. Well, thank you. I will now post your ignorant response to one or more of the many website blogs out there that discuss customer service quality.
By the way, here's what I was expecting to hear from you:
Dear Timothy,
We're sorry you had a problem using our website during a peak usage time (Sunday morning 9:00), we will strive to improve our server responses in the future. We hope you'll come back soon. Please enjoy this single-use five dollar coupon for your next purchase.
Sincerely Borders.
That is called customer service — where you put the customer first, where you want the customer to have an enjoyable experience, and make the customer feel valued — not making the customer feel like an idiot who does not know how to click on a link to buy your products.
I hope you have a pleasant day and pleasant experience from your superiors who will eventually read this email.
Timothy Kender.
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