Laura Ashley Fail to See THe Big Picture

I must say that it never fails to surprise me how even the larger and you would think, smarter and more established businesses fail to see the big picture when it comes to customer satisfaction, lifetime value of the customer and ultimately brand promise and reputation.

In yet another staggeringly poor example of customer service I found myself wanting to return an item to Laura Ashley on the basis that after only one brief use for literally 5 minutes, I could see that on the basis of its design the sides of the foot rest were pulling across the top and sides of the unit and this puckering could only worsen over time.

Realising that this simply was not the design required, we called back the store and speaking to the 2IC were told to bring the unit in, in person because she (the 2IC) would need to see the unit in person to make a decision and this could not be done by the other staff in the store.

At the first available opportunity I brought the unit in to the store  and explained the situation to the same 2IC who then proceeded to tell me she did not have the authority to make the decision so I would need to come back in 20 or 30 minutes when the manager returned from her lunch.

Accordingly I returned later and presented her with the same facts and the unit fully in tact as I had purchased it.  I would have imagined that a simple exchange would have occurred at this stage and that would have been that but no the plot was about to thicken.

At this point I was told a number of other things including the fact that they did not think anything was wrong with the unit and there was nothing there. Later on this changed to yes there was some puckering but all units have this type of pulling at the top, which was interesting given that initially they had said there was nothing there.

And of course the third thing was that the manager said that she would have exchanged the unit had we come within two weeks of the sale with a voluntary exchange but after a little over three weeks, this could no longer be an option despite the fact that we had called and registered the issue within two weeks and were told by the assistant manager to bring it in at our earliest convenience which we did.

As you read this description of the proverbial changing of the goal posts, you may be able to relate to it personally where you have been in this type of position with this or some other leading brand. I am staggered of course because after years of buying from them, their attitude is seemingly not to protect the goodwill established but rather to protect the sale. Surely the integrity of the sales process and the all-important customer relationship are much more valuable to the business than the one sale.

For the record the footrest was valued around $140. I put this number up against what has already been spent in years to this point and what may yet be spent in years to come and I can only wonder why for the good of the particular store, the brand and the profitability of the company, these managers are not more focused on the need for customer service, managerial discretion, the integrity of the product being sold and above all, lifetime value of the customer.

To finish this anecdote I have just heard that after great deliberation They will in fact refund my money. I'm grateful and pleased about this of course but it should not have been such a great ordeal. 

In closing I am reminded of one of the most powerful lines I have ever read from Robert Bolt's incomparable play 'A Man for All Seasons' where Thomas More says:
“Why Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world...but for Wales."
And certainly not for $140.

So until next time, good luck and good marketing.
Regards,
Daniele.