I hate poor customer service

Lordco is a local automotive supply store. It's an alternative to the national Canadian Tire chain. Lordco has quite a few locations around British Columbia and they are able to order a lot of different things. However, I'm thinking they're working in a different time scale than the rest of us....

My saga began six months ago in December 2005, shortly after I purchased our Subaru Impreza WRX STI. I wanted to get a new set of all-weather mats because although the ones I bought at Costco provided adequate coverage for the front, they were very ineffective in the back. Husky Liners have a good reputation and are sold in pairs with the front and back separately. I went to Lordco to order a set for the rear. They don't stock an item like that so it was back-ordered and the ETA was 6 weeks.

Through to the end of January, I still had not heard from Lordco. When I talked to one of the sales guys he could find no record of my order. So he said he would place the order right then. Unfortunately, it was back-ordered so it wouldn't be for another 6 weeks or so.

Fast forward seven weeks to March 22, 2006 when I finally got a call from Lordco and went to pick up the mats. Unfortunately, the second guy had ordered front mats, when I wanted the rears. No problem, I said. Let me just see how they fit in comparison to what I have right now. I gave him my cell to keep while I took the mats out to the STI. They fit great so I bought them. But I said, I still want a set for the rears. No problem, the guy says. I'll order them for you. Oh, they're back-ordered. It will take another 6 weeks....

Fast forward another seven weeks to today. I go back to Lordco. A girl helps me. She checks on the computer and can't find any record of the order. Who did I order it from? she asks. That guy standing there at the end of the counter, I say. How long ago was that? More than a month ago--it was back-ordered. Oh, she says. She makes a call to someone to check the back-order paperwork. Nothing. So what does she do next? She calls the guy I ordered it from--yes, on the phone, she calls the guy not doing anything at the end of the counter who's standing no more than 30 ft away from us! She asks him in a really low voice if he remembers ordering some Husky mats for me. She whispers, "for a Subaru." It's so comical that I can't help but pretend that I can't hear what she's saying. I look over at the guy and he's looking at me and he starts to flip through the parts catalogue on the counter. They're both talking as if I can't really hear what they're saying! The girl hangs up and says to me, "Yeah, it's back-ordered. He'll call you when it comes in."

Uh, yeah. As I walk away I see the guy madly flipping pages in the catalogue. WTF? He's ordering it now? What are the odds that he's going to order the right part? I'm not crossing my fingers. In fact, I think I'm going to give up on Lordco. Wait for my update in another 2 months....

I'm all for supporting local businesses like Lordco, but isn't waiting more than half a year for a set of floor mats a bit unreasonable in the age of Web 2.0? This sort of business practice exhibited by Lordco is so sad, it's laughable. I wanted to spend my money there, but they're definitely not making it easy!

Comments

  1. In all my dealings with Lordco, I've always been polite and patient. I'm not one to cause a fuss.

    But I think maybe some of the higher-ups need to be aware of what's happening at their front counters. I'm going to be contacting them through snail mail (which seems more appropriate for them) about my particular situation. Not to complain, mind you. I truly don't think it's their intention to do business like this. But if a local company is going to compete succesfully in today's market, they need to be as efficient as possible.

    If you could show your support by making a link to this blog entry about Lordco, I would appreciate it very much.

    Thanks for your help.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, I probably would have given up and ordered it from someplace else, by now. Hmm, this is the first time I tried that linking button--neat!

    ReplyDelete
  3. That is awful--Lordco has personnel with such attitudes. I would have written a letter to General Manger or their head office.

    ReplyDelete

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