From C-Sat to Dis-Sat(isfaction)
I love Decathlon. I’ve recently bought a new bike there. It was great value and I’m very pleased with it. I’ve been in twice since to buy more accessories.
So, why am I starting to feel dissatisfied?
The reason, oddly, is that Decathlon has tried to get my feedback on my experience in store. You might think I’d be all for the sort of thing, but here’s why it’s not working out for either of us.
I love Decathlon. I’ve recently bought a new bike there. It was great value and I’m very pleased with it. I’ve been in twice since to buy more accessories.
So, why am I starting to feel dissatisfied?
The reason, oddly, is that Decathlon has tried to get my feedback on my experience in store. You might think I’d be all for the sort of thing, but here’s why it’s not working out for either of us.
A couple of days after purchasing my bike and signing up for the loyalty scheme I received this
reassuringly telling me “Your Opinion Counts”.
According to www.customerthermometer.com the typical customer survey response rate is “less than 2%”. So, the fact that I opened, read and clicked through is exceptional enough. So, it was more than a little disappointing to be faced with a 404 error message.
Then I did what I’m sure a lot less than 2% of people do and emailed Decathlon back to say that the link was broken
They didn’t reply.
But they did send me another “Your Opinion Counts” email 12 days later, prompted by my purchase of a pair of cycling gloves (it’s cold out there!).
And the link took me straight to the same 404 error message.
In the midst of this frustration, I met Maurice Flynn of Altaire (www.altaire.com). They are helping retailers generate customer email with real-time personalisation – while my much-loved retailer repeatedly sends a pointless generic email, doesn’t react to replies and presumably has no interest in whether their customer survey emails yield any results. Real-time personalisation is really impressive, but just now I’d settle for my retailer of choice occasionally testing links and checking their inbox…
As a happy but increasingly dissatisfied customer the least I can do for Decathlon is suggest a couple of home truths:
1. Surveying customers’ satisfaction (or Net Promotor or Effort – or whatever) levels is not an end in itself. If you’re not sufficiently engaged to test the customer journey, or read your customers’ responses, then best not ask for them.
2. Better to be a silo’d retailer – good online or in-store – than one whose omni-channel efforts just serve to undermine the overall experience. And lead to (reluctant) customer dissatisfaction.
