The Lesson
It happened twice.
Within 12 hours, it happened TWICE!
I sent an email to a business.
👏 They responded promptly.
😡 They responded asking me to call, instead.
I'm leaving for Australia tomorrow (big presentation at MDRT Global in Sydney). I want to get a ride to/from airport because after a 14-hour time change, on the way back I'll have the mental acuity of an overripe banana.
The airport car pickup office is closed on Sunday. But, I'm cutting it very close on their 48-hour notice window. So, I send them an email describing when I need to get picked up, so they can process it first thing Monday morning.
To my surprise, I received an email back Sunday night. Not, however, confirming my reservation, but with this:
"Thank you however the office is closed you will need to call during business hours to try to make reservations. The office is open Monday - Friday 8:30am
- 5pm"
Thanks. For nothing.
Round 2
Later Sunday night, I put in an inquiry to a car dealer.
My lease is up in a couple months, and since cars are suddenly scarce and expensive like uranium deposits, I want to get a jump on the process.
On the dealer website, I find the exact vehicle I want, and submit a "get a quote" inquiry.
On their form, it asks whether you'd like to use email, phone, or text to communicate with the dealer.
I select email, because I travel so much it's hard to pin me down for a call.
This morning, I get an email from them:
We would love to talk to you about all the options we currently have for you to get into
one! What day/time works the best for you?
Also, if you prefer to communicate by text message, please text "YES" to 317-449-0093 to opt-in!
🎲 In neither
case did I roll a die to randomly determine which contact mechanism to use.
"Let's see. Give it a roll....hey, it's a 4! That means I'll use a chat bot!"
I CHOSE email because it worked better for me in these specific scenarios.
And in both situations, the business refused to respect that choice.
Instead they diverted me to the contact mechanism that THEY prefer, like I'm a mouse in a maze where all avenues lead to a telephone.
It's called "Channel-Shifting" and businesses do it at their peril.
My new
research report "The Time to Win" will be out soon. In it, my research found....
42% of customers are disappointed when a business channel
shift.
26% of customers are less likely to spend money when a business channel shifts.
If you're going to answer customers in any channel, you need to be able to handle ALL the questions and inquiries in that channel.
Otherwise, you're not actually providing an opportunity for customer contact, but rather just a customer con.
The data show it's not just me that is annoyed by channel shifts. But what do you think?
I'd love it if you'd reply to this email and give me your thoughts and experiences. Most intriguing answer wins a bottle of tequila. (all replies go to me directly)
