TALES FROM THE FRONT

Bauer gives us a break

A Catalog Age staffer — coupon in hand — went to Eddie Bauer's Website to place an order. The site was experiencing a glitch in which it would not register the selected size of an item the staffer wanted, so it would not let her put it in her cart. The staffer called the cataloger to see what was going on. While the telephone service rep could not help with the problem online, he did take the staffer's Web order over the phone. But in all the excitement, the staffer forgot to give the rep her coupon code for a discount based on the amount of the order. Since the staffer had intentionally bulked up her order to be able to use the coupon, she figured it was worth a shot to call the company back the next day and explain the situation. It was worth it: Though the order by then had already been processed and was on its way to the customer, Eddie Bauer graciously agreed to credit her account the amount of the coupon discount.

Not a favorable impression

A friend of Catalog Age placed a Web order with archival products marketer Light Impressions in early December. A shopping cart confirmation screen assured the shopper that the order had been successfully submitted, but the products never arrived. When the customer called the company three weeks later, a telephone rep said that the order had been for items “no longer being sold” and therefore had been canceled. Aside from the obvious question of why Light Impressions had been offering discontinued items on its site, why didn't the company notify the customer that the products weren't available? The rep insisted that it had sent an e-mail on Dec. 16, though the customer does not recall receiving one. Even so, that's a full week after the order was placed — and confirmed. Worse yet, the company blamed its online ordering glitches on the fact that its Website is not “live.” We assume Light Impressions was confusing live with real-time; if not, it should be aware that a phantom site is apparently taking orders on its behalf.

DO YOU HAVE A “TALE FROM THE FRONT”? CONTACT US…

E-mail: mweinstein@primediabusiness.com
Phone: 203-358-9900 Fax: 203-358-5823
Letter: 11 River Bend Drive South, Stamford, CT 06907
or visit us on the Web at www.CatalogAgemag.com