Ecommerce is the hottest topic these days in Indian inc. Every body you talk to in business domain is connected to ecommerce either directly or indirectly.
This post is about a most important aspect of an Ecommerce company. I am talking about the Customer Service. Most importantly in a country like India, where people are yet trust online companies, it’s the Service that can make or break an online company. I don’t really have to tell the readers why Service is such an important part of an Ecommerce company, as a matter of fact, any company. Let me now come to the point.
I am sure, you have heard about Yebhi.com. It’s the same company that’s offering EMIs on almost anything you buy and 100 days money back guarantee.
Now let me tell you the truth behind this 100 days money back policy. It’s nothing but a ponzy scheme to lure customers.
If you will drill down a bit more, you’ll find the truth behind the policy. Check the screenshots below.
So basically, They want the entire packaging to be intact , however they send the products to you in a tamper proof packing. So what they really mean is that you should not have opened the packet before you initiate a return. I mean, are you crazy? You want consumers to not to open the package for 100 days to return it ? Why would I return the package without even opening it and why would I wait for 100 days to open the package?
Case Study : I purchased a Pack of 5 pair of socks and 1 pair of socks separately from Yebhi.com on 29th Jan, 2013. I received the products on 31st Jan, 2013. I opened the package, and I found one of the socks from the pack of 5 to be really filthy, it was loosing out colors, and was in really bad/dirty condition. Another pair of socks from the same pack of 5 was also made of really cheap material. I did try to click the pics of the socks, I am not sure if it’ll show up in the image, but if you check the toes and the ankle part, it’s shows the color loosing out. Since, I have been associated with an Ecommerce company myself, I thought, it’s okay, I will return the pack. Anyway, I had a 100 days return policy in my mind ( typical Indian mentality ). I was going out on a family vacation and I kind of ignored and thought of returning it after coming from the vacation.
On 15th Feb, 2013 I created a return order and cancelled both the orders. Next day someone came to collect the package. I handed over the package to the person. Showed the pairs to the guy and informed him the reason of return. I had also mentioned the reason while creating the return order. Everything was going normal but the problem started after I received an email.
The email said, We are sorry, since the item returned is used and in dirty condition, we cannot take it return and we are sending it back to you !!
Excuse me ! Are you kidding me.. This is what I wrote in the refund reasons, and you are telling me that I used your cheap socks and am trying to return a used pair?? I was really disappointed and angry. I called up their customer service and the response I got was, “Can you tell me what took you so long to create a return when you had received the item on 31st?” “I am sorry, we will ask our CRO team to call you within 48 working hours, you can explain them that why did you created a return late”. I wrote an email to their support desk and the response I got was “Your Ticket has been logged and we will respond to you within 48 hrs”.
Within 48 hrs I did receive a copy pasted response from the email team that since the product was in the used condition we cannot take it back and in fact we have already sent it back to you.
I have a few questions to ask Mr. Manmohan Aggarwal.
1) In an era where you deliver your products within 24 hrs, Why does your support team needs 48 hrs to response? Why can’t you hire champions in the service desk as well ?
2) I agree that a No Call process is important for customer service, but that doesn’t mean it should be NO READ as well ?
3) You mention in your emailers, that you have a 100 days return , No questions asked policy. But your customer service rep asks silly questions like what took you 2 weeks to create a return?
4) I am sure you and your team have not heard about NPS, cos, it seems you are ready to take a hit on your customer service rather than taking a cheap socks back which in fact you sent across.
Finally, Yebhi has lost a customer for life and not only me, I will make sure I pass this on to each and everyone I come across !!
What hurts me the most is that the Indian business community still thinks taking a return or refunding the money does the trick. What they don’t understand is that with every purchase there are emotions, time,requirement and other subtle things are also involved. Not just money but these things also matter.
Originally posted here
