A couple of weeks ago, I ordered my husband a new chair for his office for Father’s Day. At time of payment, the company was very transparent in that it may take up to two weeks just to process and ship my order. I thought, well, no biggie, as I appreciated their candidness.
But, just 5 days later, it showed up on my front porch. No email notification. No tracking info. Nothing. But, there it was. (And, don’t even get me started on how I almost had to have my husband carry in his own Father’s Day gift because it was that heavy).
Nearly 24 hours after the chair expectantly arrived early, the company sent me an email, saying something along the lines of, hope you enjoyed the order and apologies for not notifying me sooner of the shipment. Turns out, they were able to plop it on a truck that just so happened to be in my area.
This whole process floored me. Normally, there aren’t enough trucks, or drivers for that matter. And, here we are, with a truck that was available and my house was on its route.
I mean, we talk about shipping woes all the time on L.I.N.K. Live, but from the standpoint of, where’s my shipment, why did my items come broken, what’s with all the extra packaging and more. Never is it, hey, my shipment arrived early AND the company sent a very nice email about it.
I’d like to believe that the bottlenecks and disruptions plaguing the supply chain industry are beginning to work themselves out, that they’re unraveling enough to get back on track. I’d like to believe that this particular incident wasn’t just a fluke, but instead a sign of good things to come ahead.
It’s understandable why some companies can’t meet the same-day or even 1- or 2-day shipping needs. But, what I enjoyed the most about this particular company was it’s ability to be transparent enough to make it okay.
So, for those companies embracing the Bullwhip Effect and enforcing honesty to your customers, keep up the great work. Shipping woes happen, but great customer services goes a long way.
