I would like to share two recent experiences of mine which are interesting.
Experience 1: When I went to the neighborhood supermarket two weeks ago, a young volunteer approached me from a well-known personal health care brand. This brand has its own chain of skin clinics across the country. I was requested for my name and contact details and was told that I am being offered a voucher worth Rs. 2900/- for a “Free” skin and hair analysis.
I don’t usually participate in such promos, as they invariably harass you with smses and calls. But in this case, I was interested because I had been planning to visit this clinic and didn’t want to miss the opportunity when it presented itself. That too with a “Free Offer” worth nearly Rs. 3000. I asked the volunteer, if there was any hidden clause and she promised that there were none and it was absolutely free. With the condition that my number should not be used for anything except contacting me for appointment, I filled the details.
Two days later, I got a call from the company and a young male voice told me that he was calling me to fix an appointment with their dermatologist. I once again checked about the hidden clause and was reassured that there were none. Satisfied, I fixed an appointment for the very next day at 10 am. I was called once again after three hours and this time it was a girl from the clinic closer to my residence. She reconfirmed my appointment, gave me directions and requested me to be there at 9.55 am for registration.
Impressed by their efficiency, I reached the clinic the next morning at 9.55 am. The front office executive was polite and courteous. I was offered a seat and was handed over an application form to fill. I was told that the dermatologist, who would be doing my skin analysis was on her way and was expected any moment.
I waited for ten minutes and then requested the girl to do my hair analysis, while we waited for the dermatologist. I was told that it was not part of the free offer. Luckily, I was carrying the promo leaflet given to me, which read that I was eligible for a free hair analysis worth Rs. 1000/- and I showed it to her . She requested me to wait for a minute and went inside to consult with her colleagues. She came back after five minutes and told me apologetically that the machine was kaput and I could get it done at another outlet if I wanted to.
Being an argumentative Indian, I told her that I wanted them to do the hair analysis , not because I want it, but because it is promised to me as part of the free offer. She went inside once again for a discussion and came back and told me that she would give me the telephone number of another clinic and I should call them directly and fix an appointment for hair analysis.
It was 10.30 am and still there was no sign of the dermatologist. Since she was not able to reach the dermatologist, the executive quietly disappeared to the back office to chat with her colleagues. After waiting for 40 minutes, I left the clinic requesting them to call me later and re-fix the appointment for another day.
And I am yet to hear from them!
Experience 2: We received a gift voucher from a well-known movie rental service, which was launched a few months ago. It was an offer, which allowed us to “Watch unlimited movies over the next three months”. To start watching movies we had to register online, which was very easy. We had to create an account, enter our gift coupon voucher code and wow, we were on.
This website allowed us to choose our favourite movies, list them and the movies would be delivered to us the very next day. We could send them a message online to collect the dvd/vcd once we watchedthe movie and another movie from our favourite list would be delivered to us, when they come to collect the dvd/vcd.
Being movie buffs and excited at the prospect of being able to watch unlimited number movies free of cost for the next three months, both me and my husband spent an hour chosing around 65 movies from their list.
We clicked the CD request button and my husband immediately got an SMS that the first movie was going to be delivered the very next morning. This was followed up with a call from the service provider. We were very thrilled, when the movie was delivered promptly the next day as promised. Being a weekend, we watched the movie, the same day and we went online and sent a request to collect the dvd. We got a call and were told that the dvd would be collected and a new movie would be delivered on Monday. But we didn’t hear from the service provider till Wednesday.
So I went online and sent the request once again on Thursday. And the second movie was delivered on Friday. This lapse in pick up and delivery continued another three times and I finally lost interest and gave up.
A few days later, when we casually mentioned this to another friend who had also received a free offer from this service provider, we found that he had faced similar problems. In his case he was calling the service provider and told us that they had lost interest in delivering movies for him after four times.
In these difficult times all companies are fighting to get the customer and retain the customer. It becomes the responsibility of the Marketing team to come up with unique ideas, promos and offers to lure the customer and make him spend.
But when a promo is launched, it is important for everyone in the company, who interfaces with the customer to understand the objective of the promo and clearly know what their delivery responsibilities are. The promise that is being made, has to be delivered to the prospect or the customer without any compromise.Because first experience always creates a lasting impression.
It was my first interaction with those brands in both cases and my impressions are
Skin Clinic:
• The employees were not well informed about the offer (Hair and Skin Analysis).
• The employees were not trained to deal with a difficult customer. When I insisted on getting the hair analysis done, they washed their hands-off by asking me to call another clinic and fix the appointment myself.
• As a customer, I felt let-down. I went with certain expectations based on the promises made to me and it was not full-filled.
• As a customer, they don’t respect me. I had fixed an appointment and they made me wait.
• And lastly… they don’t need me as a customer. Because they have never called me again to re-fix the appointment.
Movie Rental Service:
* They are not serious about their offer .
* By delaying pick-ups and deliveries, they don’t want me to see the movies free.
* Their service standards are poor.
There was a chance that I may have visited the Skin Clinic and used their services and my husband would have become a paid member of the movie rental service, if we had not received these “Free Offers” from them. But this experience has put us both off and we do not want to deal with these two brands again in the near future.
“Free Offer” is a double-edged sword. The impressions it creates, be it positive or negative, lasts very long.
