Making Customers Work Too Hard Can Wreck The Buying Experience

Tell us about your visit? Seriously? What would I say? “I needed gas. I scanned my card and pumped it myself. I put the nozzle back in the pump and drove away.” How would that be helpful to anyone?

At least this retailer is not holding up my purchase waiting for me to respond to the survey. Other times we’re not so lucky.

Sometimes companies put in place a process for some good purpose, but it ends up making customers work too hard and spoils the buying experience for the people you’ve worked so hard to attract. You’ll recognize most of these examples. See whether they help you identify something similar that might be happening in your own operation:

“Press 1 to participate in a short survey after the call.”

You’re in a jam. You can’t use their product or service. You have a time deadline. You call the Help Line. You’re steamed about having to wait and wait for a Customer Service Rep to pick up your call. And they’re asking you to participate in their market research program?!! You wonder whether pressing 1 will move you up in the queue. Will declining move you down?

Companies used to hold focus groups when they wanted information from customers. People who agreed were paid for their time and effort, and were often served a meal. Since when did it become ok to tack on to a customer’s SOS call for help a pressure tactic for a mini customer research project? (And why is it ok for employees of research companies and their client companies to get paid, while the customer gets a token gift or nothing at all?)

“I’m gonna need that table in an hour and 15 minutes. Is that ok?”

You want to reply “Uh, I feel your pain, but no, it’s not ok.” The host, hostess, dining room captain or maitre d’ has a tough job, particularly in the beginning of the evening — between 5 and 6:15. They have to make judgment calls about guests coming in during those hours: Will they finish in time to seat guests with reservations later on in the evening? (In restaurant-ese, will they be able to “turn the table?”) It’s a hard call. But it IS part of the job, and it’s inappropriate to push it off on customers — the early-evening dining guests — ruining their meal with that kind of pressure.

“May I have your name, email address and phone number?”

You’ve found something you want to buy and you’re ready to become a paying customer. So why do they need all this information before you pay? Because their company is compiling a customer list they can use to send offers, and to sell that list to other companies. But what gives them the idea it’s ok to hold you and your purchase hostage while they extract valuable marketing data from you?

“Are you a member of our Rewards Club? No? Ok, well if you’d like to join, it only takes a few minutes.”

The idea for loyalty programs has been around long enough for retailers to have figured out how to make the customer’s role in them relatively painless. But some sellers seem not to know that. It sure does detract from the buying experience when they ask — every single time — whether you’re in their program or want to join up. Why ruin every transaction with extra talk and paperwork roadblocks?

You’re checking out and 3 feet of coupons roll out of the machine, most of which expire in a few days and apply to items exactly like the ones you just bought. And this one: “I’m sorry. You can’t use these coupons with those other coupons.”

These are so annoying they need almost no explanation or commentary. It’s really a case of “we’re giving you something of value, but we’re going to make it nearly impossible for you to use it.” Pretty nasty.

You’re working with a salesperson when another customer approaches and asks a question. The salesperson abandons you and starts helping the new person.

It’s tempting for the salesperson to move to a new customer, hoping her request might be more easily dispatched — “just for a minute” to “take care of this person really quickly.” The intentions are good, but there’s no justification for taking people out of order. The salesperson could just say to the newcomer “I’ll be with you as soon as I’m finished helping this customer.” You’re put in the uncomfortable position of saying, “Uh, can we please finish up here first?” or just gritting your teeth.

The self-checkout machine keeps saying “Please remove the item from the scanner and wait for assistance.”

The reason people use these machines is to move quickly through the checkout process by scanning and bagging the items themselves. It defeats the purpose when you’ve done your part but the machine breaks down and you have to wait for an attendant to come to your rescue. With regular checkout, you may have to wait awhile in line but once you get up there at least you have the checker’s undivided attention. To be fair, these machines work pretty well most of the time but when they break down, you pay the price. The least the store should do is appropriately staff the self-check-out so they can resolve glitches quickly.

It’s hard to watch. Companies work hard to attract customers with quality products and services, and induce them to make buying decisions. Then they wreck the whole experience with while-we’re-at-it, self-serving hoops the customer has to jump through. Nobody actually intends to insult or annoy customers. But it’s important to look closely at well-meaning processes and procedures to check for negative unintended consequences that may be happening without your realizing it.

Also see our previous article about other unintended negative consequences.