Bushwalk Australia

I recently was in the market for a pair of hiking boots, when I came across a really pair of Solomon, with a great price.
So I placed my order, but the page seemed to freeze on me, and I never received a confirmation email. The order page was sitting idle, with the status at "picking" And the price was all of a sudden more than double.

I panicked and checked my bank account, no funds were removed, so I relaxed. A couple of days later the order status was still the same, so I sent an email to see what was going on. A few days later, and no reply, so I sent a second email from a different address.

A couple more days later, and still no change, no email reply, and no missing funds from my account.

I was disappointed as I really liked the shoes, and the price. But I gave up and went into town and got my self a pair of Keen boots.

Just now the postie dropped of a parcel, and inside was a pair of Solomon boots.

I have no idea what has happened, but these boots are awesome so no complaints, and I can't figure out where I have made the payment lol.

It's just a pity I didn't get some reply to save myself getting the Keen boots locally.

So a free pair of Salomons you say? Nice.

The funds were definitely not deducted from/charged to your account? Bizarre, but sounds like you got lucky

My bad, I just checked again. The web site was au, but they were shipped from the UK under a different company name, I must have missed that transaction, or it was taken later. I am still confused as I checked several times.

Any way I am still happy, Salomon quest 4d 2 gtx, for $160 including shipping is pretty good I think. Poor customer communication though

Get out!! That is obscenely cheap! Which website?

My pair of the first version Quests are still going strong, but I am half tempted to get a second pair for when they eventually die.

It was through Active instinct, but came through Milletsports UK. I paid about the same for the Keen boots, but they don't seem to be nearly as good.

Yeah from my own experience I can say that Quests are brilliant boots, and really well made, you have made a good score for that price. Locally they're around $350 or more. This Brexit business has been very good for buying top quality gear from UK outlets

cosmics are teh all nylon version of quests and are $500 in NZ, best price i got was $100 off when my explorers failed and i swapped them for the cosmics...

Imagine if you hadn't been charged. You email them, "Hey guys. I have something of yours. You haven't charged me?" I'm sure they'd be quicker to reply then.

Back in February I was in the market for some bike accessories. Initially I was going to use Wiggle and/or Chain Reaction (both are UK based) but didn't allow myself enough time. So I did a bit of research into Australian online bike shops. My phone had died so I really had no way of calling the stores - apart from at work, which I prefer not to do - so resorted to good ol' email. I emailed several stores that had the product I was after asking them whether they would be able to get the product to me in time. Not a single one responded within less than 48 hours, and I never received a response from most of them. I sent a few Facebook messages, as businesses tend to be a bit more responsive there. A few replied. Most didn't. How crappy is that?

Having worked in the eCommerce / retail space, in a marketing capacity, for a few years now, these are my unfortunate take homes:

1. Email is not classed as a legitimate means of communication by far too many businesses;
2. Businesses are often slow to dispatch goods that are bought online; and
3. Businesses focus disproportionately on their in store business, despite the fact their online business is essentially 24/7 access to a larger market!

What they should do (this is what we live by here at Snowys, at least):

1. Respond to emails the same business day or the first half of the next;
2. Same or next day dispatch is vital, unless you have a robust excuse (sometimes you're run off your feet, but a bit of customer service can smooth this over - pick up the phone / email and let them know); and
3. Echo the in store experience online and vice versa - it's not that hard!

Amazon is on its way to Australia, and we already have access to plenty of cheaper, fast-delivering online businesses overseas (read: Wiggle). If Australian retailers want to stay relevant they ought to get the proverbial together.

/rant

Problem with email is, too many people use it as a chat service and use it send out half baked questions and requests. It would cost a business a bomb to support those queries when the volume is considered. So not surprised at all.

It is awesome that you can say that Paul, especially as you are employed by an online retailer competing with overseas competition. I've had enough of the Gerry Harvey's of Australia whining about the decline of their business because of things like 'no GST on overseas purchases, boohoo!' and the like, when really the problem rests with them.

Having bought a sleeping bag from Snowys (at a very good price) I can attest to you backing up what you say with how you conduct your business. That bag was sent to my house real fast

GPSGuided wrote:Problem with email is, too many people use it as a chat service and use it send out half baked questions and requests. It would cost a business a bomb to support those queries when the volume is considered. So not surprised at all.

A business has two options in this case: (1) work with the customer and their behaviours or (2) get upset and provide a substandard level of customer service via this channel. Every shop has customers that come in, waste their time, or act in less than ideal ways. It's up to the staff to manage these situations. Email is a legitimate form of communication, either do it properly or not at all. If email is too much of a hassle, then a business should not publish their email address - that will well and truly send a message to those people that prefer to use it.

We use various tools to help us respond to customers. For example, our emails go through Zendesk. It allows us to very easily track and interact with staggered conversations. We love Facebook Messenger too, because of the conversational nature of interactions there.

benjabimon wrote:It is awesome that you can say that Paul, especially as you are employed by an online retailer competing with overseas competition. I've had enough of the Gerry Harvey's of Australia whining about the decline of their business because of things like 'no GST on overseas purchases, boohoo!' and the like, when really the problem rests with them.

Can't beat 'em, join 'em. There are plenty of things we can offer that that offshore behemoth can't. We like to play to our strengths and enjoy being kept in check by the competition. I was reading an article the other day on marketing news site, Mumbrella, that was talking aboutgetting back to customer experience in lieu of 'brand story'. Getting back to basics is what will see Aussie businesses thrive again, in my humble. The pie hasn't shrunk as much as people think - it's just more businesses are having a piece of it.

It's true in the hospitality sector. It's a sector in which growth is several points higher than any other in Australia, and largely what is driving this is well-executed, targeted offerings that provide a whole customer experience. I'm one of these guys that likes visiting small bars, and Adelaide has erupted with them in recent years. And, pretty much each and every one of them is operating on the basics of customer experience. Those that neglect this swiftly close.

benjabimon wrote:Having bought a sleeping bag from Snowys (at a very good price) I can attest to you backing up what you say with how you conduct your business. That bag was sent to my house real fast.

I'm so glad to hear it! That fastness simply comes down to a great relationship with our couriers and super fast dispatch. 99% of the time if your order is in by 1pm it'll be dispatched that day (we then have customers in Melbourne receiving it the next day, but don't count on that. ). This is only not the case if we have a particularly crazy busy day, say on the lead up to Easter, Christmas, Father's Day, and some of the other holidays. Or if there has been an issue with the courier. As they say, stuff happens.

paul_gee wrote:A business has two options in this case: (1) work with the customer and their behaviours or...

Yes, I strongly suspect some 'deliberately' delay the response as a mode of behaviour shaping. Of course, doing email the right way is best if the business can do it.

I agree with the earlier comment on speed of shipping. For online purchasers and in competition with walk-in instant gratification, speed matters. It also alleviates the common online anxiety of being conned in the purchase. Australian businesses need to learn and a good job guys!

Yep, I think I receive it the day after ordering, so I was pretty impressed Was not expecting it, but goes without saying that it is always good to be pleasantly surprised. Oh crap, I just said it....

It must blow a lot of peoples' minds to realise that they are better off focusing on the basics of making the shopping experience as good as possible, despite all the marketing bollocks that is probably being taught to them at cut rate business seminars.

I was going to call them, but after checking over their website, it turns out they don't have a contact number. It's either email or twitter.
It's lucky I didn't notice a payment made, or I would have panicked after getting no reply, or no confirmation email, then finding out they don't have a contact number.

Apart from the total lack of communication, I must say the postage was fast considering it was from the UK, and the price was great. I couldn't have got a more perfect fit either, half a size bigger than I normally wear was spot on.

I would like to give a big thumbs up to Torpedo7 for their customer service. I made an order through them, and one of the products I ordered was already sold out. They were very quick to inform me, and accommodate some changes I requested.

My updated order was a couple $ short of my original order, so they offered to refund the difference. I asked them to just make it up with some fishing hooks, 90% off hooks lol, I ended up with 12 packs of hooks at 19c a pack. I now have enough fishing hooks to last a long time.
Beats that anaconda place, every time I have been there, I have ended up having to look for a sales person for assistance, drives me crazy.
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