I finally broke down and recently decided to upgrade for my iPhone. Side note, a few years ago, when the newest generation of iPhone was available it was treated like Christmas morning by some of us Apple fans. Some of us would literally wait online until the magic hour when you could pre-order the new version. Today, it is a non event. I will upgrade when I get to it, type event. For me, I finally broke down and upgraded after seeing the new phone at the Apple store, demonstrates the importance of a brick and mortar presence! Granted that pushed me to action, but I wasn’t as excited about it as in the past. But this post isn’t about the changes in behavior with getting a new iPhone. What this latest saga of upgrading my phone has provided an example of trying to bring greater experience to the fulfillment process. And how much we still have to learn.
Let’s set up the situation. My carrier is AT&T, I went through their portal to upgrade my phone. I went through the configuration – I went with the Pacific Blue option with 256 GB of memory. I selected my payment plan and then was told item could be delivered later in the week. Perfect. At least I thought. What happened next is a good effort by AT&T…but falls a little short. I was told that a customer representative would show up between 2-4 on Thursday, and spend 30 minutes with me. Hmmmm. Their tag line “we are bringing the store to you.” Makes perfect sense. I have been preaching the importance of making fulfillment a key part of the experience. Looking to replicate the in store experience at the last mile is a great example of this. However when it comes to the execution there remains much to be desired. While I appreciated the service, all I wanted was for the phone to be delivered to my address. I did not need to have a 30 minute tutorial on how to switch my phone. I realize I am not a millennial or a Gen Zer, but I can still switch my phone on my own, thank you very much. Additionally, I was told I would have to show ID and credit card…really? Are they delivering the Excelsior diamond to me? Finally they showed up, I was in the middle of all day meetings, couldn’t reach me and didn’t deliver the phone (mind you there is a perfectly safe location where packages are delivered every day). This started a cacophony of emails and messages from AT&T and their delivery service to try and reschedule the delivery. I also called AT&T customer service (the chatbot wasn’t working). Through all this communications gymnastics, I still don’t know when the phone will be delivered.
So what are some lessons from this awkward dance I am having with AT&T?
- Figure out how to bring added value to fulfillment: Clearly AT&T is trying to add value to the last mile fulfillment. But it is not one size fits all experience – some customers might want to be walked through the process of switching phones, others, like me, do not require this service. Make it an option. What about other value added services such as taking an old phone and recycling it? Could AT&T even offer to take back other small electronics for recycling or refurbishing? Headphones, chargers, tablets or even laptops that have accumulated in our homes. I appreciate the effort to add value added services to the delivery, but you must make sure that each customer truly desires and sees value in what you are offering. It cannot be a one size fits all.
- Communication is crucial: Like with many things in life, being able to communicate clearly is paramount. I appreciate AT&T and their efforts to communicate, however it has been disjointed and confusing. Between text messages from the delivery service, emails from AT&T, emails from the third party and a telegraph from Alexander Graham Bell, it has been clear as mud with regards to what next steps are. Even on the web site there is no clarity as to when delivery will be made. Have one central location to communicate – a centralized web location – so customers have a visual source of the truth. Any email or text message can always refer back to the location. If Fedex and UPS can do this, why can’t AT&T?
- Provide customers options…at the point of commerce: I realize that the goal is to simplify and reduce friction at the point of sale, so suggesting you ask for more decisions to be made might be counter intuitive. However, when it comes to decisions on delivery times and value added services at delivery, these are crucial variables that consumers will see value in. More importantly they impact the overall experience and need to be properly offered and accepted by the retailer before the “buy” button is pressed. I had no idea that I was getting a 30 minute session with delivery. I also did not realize having this service impacted delivery times. These need to be clearly explained and offered before the purchase is made. I am all for providing value added services tied to fulfillment, but you need to make sure your customer is aware of the offering, understands the value and is allowed to make a choice as to whether or not to leverage these options.
So I will see when this Pacific Blue iPhone arrives. Maybe 5 years ago I would have been more worked up about the delay and not having my new toy….errrrr…device as soon as possible. Today I just focus on the break down in the delivery and the effort by AT&T to make this a more valued experience. A for effort, no grade yet for execution.
The Thinking Frog 