Q&A: How can I deal with customer complaints about Media Mail?
QUESTION: I'm concerned and frustrated by what seems to be a growing number of e-mails about Postal Service delivery problems. Some of the complaints are rather hostile, as in "Refund my money or I'll report you!"
I understand this is a hazard to be expected, but it seems as if the number of inquiries is on the upswing lately. I haven't been doing anything different in recent weeks: I use Endicia (with delivery confirmation for all domestic shipments) and ship an average of four to six books daily. Is there something I should be doing to ensure fewer delivery problems (say, use insurance with every shipment) or am I simply at the mercy of the U.S. Postal Service? And has the Postal Service gotten more slack recently in its handling of Media Mail?
It's getting aggravating having to send so much e-mail either reassuring people to hang tight another day or two, or -- in the case of books that somehow haven't left a Post Office along the way more than two weeks after I shipped them -- issuing refunds and telling people to keep the damn book if it ever gets there (I don't put it that way to customers, of course) with my compliments and apologies for the exceedingly slow USPS service. Am I handling this the right way?
ANSWER: Sounds like you're doing OK to me. I wouldn't change anything, we are at the mercy of the Postal Service. The only way around this would be to ship everything First Class/Priority, and that would be giving away too much profit. Insurance is out of the question, I never use it unless the book is worth more than $200.
I've never been able to discern a pattern in the promptness or reliability of the Postal Service. You would assume that the holidays would be worse than other times of the year, but on average, I notice faster delivery in December than, say, August.
I think the main problem with our customers is that people nowadays don't understand Media Mail. Years ago, when it was called "Book Rate" there was more recognition that it was economy-class, slow mail. Today, consumers have no concept of delivery taking a few weeks or so in some cases. I've had several Marketplace customers all but call me a liar when I've said things like "Media Mail delivery can take a few weeks."
Their response is usually something like, "I use the Postal Service all the time, and they always deliver in 3 to 4 days!"
But did they use Media Mail? Of course not!
So I keep a script handy that I send to people when they ask questions like this. In 95 percent of my cases, I've already sent the customer a shipment confirmation e-mail but they didn't read it.
When I respond to their inquiry, I usually give them the tracking info (again) which tends to reassure them that I indeed dropped the package when they ordered it. I also politely inform them or remind them that they had a choice between slow delivery (standard) and fast (expedited) and they chose slow.
The way I put that is: "For future reference, you can obtain two-day delivery from Marketplace sellers by selecting 'expedited' shipping at checkout instead of 'standard.' 'Expedited' costs $2 extra but it pays for airmail and can be well worth it if you're in a hurry to get the book."
For people who seem to be really concerned that they're going to lose their money, I usually add: "In the extremely unlikely event your book doesn't arrive within 30 days of purchase, please let me know and I'll assist you in getting a refund from Amazon." (That means I'll probably give them instructions for filing an A to Z Refund claim.)
Having a script for inquiries like this is a big time-saver, you just tweak your basic script to fit the situation at hand. And if you're already having a bad day, the script helps stop you from sounding too sarcastic when you're replying to yet another bone-headed customer.
As to the hostile customers, treat them like any other. Give them the same reply as you'd give a polite customer. You'll get used to it when your skin gets a little thicker, and learn how not to take it personally. After all, just because they're a jerk doesn't mean it should ruin your day too.
If anyone has another twist on handling this, please chime in with a comment.
I understand this is a hazard to be expected, but it seems as if the number of inquiries is on the upswing lately. I haven't been doing anything different in recent weeks: I use Endicia (with delivery confirmation for all domestic shipments) and ship an average of four to six books daily. Is there something I should be doing to ensure fewer delivery problems (say, use insurance with every shipment) or am I simply at the mercy of the U.S. Postal Service? And has the Postal Service gotten more slack recently in its handling of Media Mail?
It's getting aggravating having to send so much e-mail either reassuring people to hang tight another day or two, or -- in the case of books that somehow haven't left a Post Office along the way more than two weeks after I shipped them -- issuing refunds and telling people to keep the damn book if it ever gets there (I don't put it that way to customers, of course) with my compliments and apologies for the exceedingly slow USPS service. Am I handling this the right way?
ANSWER: Sounds like you're doing OK to me. I wouldn't change anything, we are at the mercy of the Postal Service. The only way around this would be to ship everything First Class/Priority, and that would be giving away too much profit. Insurance is out of the question, I never use it unless the book is worth more than $200.
I've never been able to discern a pattern in the promptness or reliability of the Postal Service. You would assume that the holidays would be worse than other times of the year, but on average, I notice faster delivery in December than, say, August.
I think the main problem with our customers is that people nowadays don't understand Media Mail. Years ago, when it was called "Book Rate" there was more recognition that it was economy-class, slow mail. Today, consumers have no concept of delivery taking a few weeks or so in some cases. I've had several Marketplace customers all but call me a liar when I've said things like "Media Mail delivery can take a few weeks."
Their response is usually something like, "I use the Postal Service all the time, and they always deliver in 3 to 4 days!"
But did they use Media Mail? Of course not!
So I keep a script handy that I send to people when they ask questions like this. In 95 percent of my cases, I've already sent the customer a shipment confirmation e-mail but they didn't read it.
When I respond to their inquiry, I usually give them the tracking info (again) which tends to reassure them that I indeed dropped the package when they ordered it. I also politely inform them or remind them that they had a choice between slow delivery (standard) and fast (expedited) and they chose slow.
The way I put that is: "For future reference, you can obtain two-day delivery from Marketplace sellers by selecting 'expedited' shipping at checkout instead of 'standard.' 'Expedited' costs $2 extra but it pays for airmail and can be well worth it if you're in a hurry to get the book."
For people who seem to be really concerned that they're going to lose their money, I usually add: "In the extremely unlikely event your book doesn't arrive within 30 days of purchase, please let me know and I'll assist you in getting a refund from Amazon." (That means I'll probably give them instructions for filing an A to Z Refund claim.)
Having a script for inquiries like this is a big time-saver, you just tweak your basic script to fit the situation at hand. And if you're already having a bad day, the script helps stop you from sounding too sarcastic when you're replying to yet another bone-headed customer.
As to the hostile customers, treat them like any other. Give them the same reply as you'd give a polite customer. You'll get used to it when your skin gets a little thicker, and learn how not to take it personally. After all, just because they're a jerk doesn't mean it should ruin your day too.
If anyone has another twist on handling this, please chime in with a comment.
Labels: customer service, Postal Service, shipping
posted by Steve Weber at 11/28/2006
16 Comments:
I really feel for this seller. I find the Postal Service inconsistent at best.
If you are not bringing your books directly to the Post Office, you may want to start doing that. It may save you an extra day or two in delivery time. As well, if you have a less than honest postman emptying your mailbox who has figured out what you are shipping, he may be getting free reads off of you. Bringing your mail directly to the Post Office will stop that (I have seen several articles regarding Postal workers stealing mail recently).
If you are bringing your packages directly to the post office, see if there is another close by and drop your packages there. Staff may vary from one location to another.
My wife and I use scheduled carrier pickup several times a week now, which saves us a lot of time, especially this time of year. It's free as long as you have at least one priority mail package. The nice thing with that is there's a paper trail--when you schedule the pickup, you tell the post office how many packages there were and what they weighed, and you get a receipt. It's no guarantee but it keeps postmen honest. But we're also on a first-name basis at the local post office with all of the workers there, because we're there so much. We ship out 600-1,000 books a month, and if we lose 4 in a month, it's a bad month. We've only lost one this month, and that one was because some idiot ordered something and then MOVED (I won't get into that). Can't blame that on the postal service.
In our experience, when a package has a good, clear label on it and it's taken straight to the post office, a lot of packages do get there in a few days. Even media mail.
I just finished sending one of several emails to an impatient, untrusting customer who bought a book on ebay that was shipped media mail and then turned to your blog. Boy, I was so pleased to find comforting words of empathy on this situation. Your timing was perfect.
People definitely do not understand what media mail is, even when you explain delivery times over and over. I guess priority mail has spoiled them, plus the emphasis on instant gratification in our culture. But they certainly like the lesser price of media mail.
Keep up the good work. You certainly put a better spin on my day.
I use carrier pick up 99% of the time, my media mail average is 6.9 days. I ship 400 - 600 pacakages monthly.
The "refund my money or I'll report you," Is usually from those who wish to scam,a s most people who are missing a book, are concerned about actually getting the book, and will ask for you to send another copy, etc.
Also, there is an Ebay Spoof Email that says, "refund my money or I will reprot you," and if you click on the link in the e-mail, it will not be taking you to Ebay.
Since I use DC on every package, I do not get the scammers too much anymore, maybe once or twice a year.
And I am that rare seller that actually sends the tracking info to the buyer when I ship the book, along with delivery estimates--this saves me a ton of time, as I do not get very many inquiry e-mails now.
Also, on Ebay I state clearly that Medai Mail averages 4- 14 days, but can take upt to 21 days in rare instances.
In the end there will always be some people who will not be happy,and those that try to get a book for free.
First off, I think it does no one any good to call customers names in this blog; "idiot" and "bonehead" say more to me about the seller than the buyer. That said, I have gone round and round and round with the PO on delivery.
Here are some facts you all should know.
2-3 day delivery by the PO for Priority Mail is an estimate. If you call the PO about a "late" Priority delivery, you will be told that if you want to file a "claim/complaint" (that they won't do anything about) you have to wait 16 business days for Priority just like you do for First Class. Priority Mail is not guaranteed to be delivered in 2-3 days, it's an estimated average time over the life of the service. If you don't believe me, call the 800 and ask.
For a while in San Francisco we were having a problem with Media Mail delivery to wit: I never received two packages, 1 package mailed to me in late July arrived at my house in late November (in pristeen condition I might add, like it had be sitting on someone's desk the whole time), 3 packages from a reputable company took over 1 month each. Finally fed up with this, I contacted various levels of the PO and found that the San Francisco sorting facility was short-staffed and Media Mail was just being ignored for the most part. After few months of complaining and writing to my Congress people, the problem seemed to clear up.
About Amazon Expedited Shipping. Read the NOT SO FINE PRINT at Amazon. Even with expedited shipping, the seller has a great big window for the getting the package in the mail for for the PO to deliver a package. I had a buyer complain to me about paying for expedited shipping and not having the package in her hands within 2 days. She actually had it in her hands in 3 days. I talked to Amazon seller support (about whom I have nothing but wonderful things to say) about the delivery time and was told I had completely met my obligation. Again, if you read the fine print, for Amazon, expedited can mean shipping First Class instead of Media Mail because First Class can get to its destination as fast as Priority Mail.
Since I sell CDs, it is cheaper to ship them First Class than it is to ship them Media Mail. But I always find First Class to take the same amount of time as Priority Mail. I sell on another site where the buyer can specifically choose First Class or Priority and I always encourage them to pick First Class (until it becomes cheaper to pick Priority because of weight) because shipping a CD First Class cost $1.25 with DC and shipping it Priority is $4.05 and both package get the same level of handling by the Post Office as far as my domestic shipping experience has shown me and sppeaking with the PO has informed me.
And by the way, I had a customer in Australia give me her old home address to ship a package to but I did not consider her either an idiot or a bonehead, she made a mistake like all humans are capable of doing.
Just to be clear, "bonehead" refers to an internal thought process, not a practice of insulting customers.
If you're a regular reader, you'll know I advocate being exceedingly polite to customers at all times, even when they act like a bonehead.
Actually being a bonehead does not call for rude treatment or bad service, in my humble opinion.
I had an unusual high volume of negative feedbacks regarding "slow" delivery times last month. It's basically three times my monthly average. Got none of them removed, although I proved to people that I shipped their stuff THE SAME DAY, not next day, not next week.
I have become used to expect this kind of feedback for December when the Post Office goes into overkill and Media Mail takes forever. When people are impatient. December is always bad feedback month and it's 100% to blame on the USPS.
But October? I don't know what's going on at the USPS, but something surely is different.
Interesting to read that others have noticed that, too....
So great to hear I am not alone. I have spent precious time on these types of "where's my package inquiries." Thanks for the idea of a script, duh, you think I could have thought of that!! I even have one paypal complaint that an international buyer opened against me because she opted for economy (I always state 4-6 weeks) and she didn't get it within a week....
Misery loves company, keep up the great forum Steve!!
I'm a small-time operator... perhaps 50-75 books per month, but was experiencing VERY slow delivery using the closest PO to my home. And, I was bringing the books to the PO, so I knew that books had arrived at the PO.
My husband tried a different PO, one that was in a very small city outside the metropolitan area. He drops the packages in their outside box in the wee hours of the morning, and those packages are in the system and on their way by lunchtime the same day.
Find a good PO in a small city or suburb and I'll bet that you too will eliminate a majority of your delivery issues.
Thanks to everyone for their insight and ideas on this. One thing I might add in addition to shipping information sent out at the time an order is received and stamps.com shipping notification with tracking number, I also keep a log of all books sent out with their expected arrival times. If a book is slow in arriving, I send the customer an e-mail reminding them of the shipping information ( date, tracking number, etc. ). In that e-mail, I try to let the customer know that I am concerned about the delivery status and am monitoring delivery.
I do this mostly to try to be proactive in situations where there may be a problem brewing. I just feel better letting the customer know that I am still paying attention to them and their books. Granted, we don't ship hundreds of books a day, but it is one step, as a small store, that we can take to help people feel remembered.
As for scammers . . . I would welcome more insight into current tactics people are using. How do people protect against scammers, or at least spot warning signs that someone is trying to take advantage of your online store?
Thanks to all.
One thing that came to mind in reading these blogs is the importance of finding a good post office. We live rural, and the folks at the post office know me and have me "tagged" as a frequent customer who sends media mail. This allows me to put books under 1 lb in the mail slot, without worrying that they will be lost or "reclaimed". I would drive a long way to find a good rural post office and get to know the employees by name. They have become an integral part of my bookselling business.
Anyone have any thoughts on good methods for cleaning and/or repairing books?
Post Office staff are very different at different offices. I regularly used 3, until at one the clerk practically told me they were going to let my media mail sit for a while before getting around to it. Now I use 2.
As for whether some customers are "boneheaded", explain this 1 of 5 feedback: "They sent me what I ordered but it wasn't what I wanted!"
And for cleaning/repairing books: Practice! That's what the crappy books at the thrift store are for.
Just for your Info. First class mail and priority mail are the same thing. First Class mail is 13 oz or less. Priority is over 13oz. Also, I don't offer expediated mail, I'm wondering if I should. I do send books out Priority for free on books over $50.00. But the 6.00-7.00 books it seems I'd be losing money since heavy books cost a lot more than 5 bucks to send expediate mail.
If your total package weighs 6 oz. or less, you should ship it First Class mail. It will get there faster and you may actually end up saving money on shipping. Poetry books fall into this category much of the time. Uline bubble mailers size 2 or less weigh under an ounce and are durable and reliable.
As well, I am in New York, if I have a package that weighs 8 oz or less that needs to go out west, I will ship it first class. An 8 oz package cost $2.21 first class. As opposed to the $1.73 media mail rate. It costs me an extra 48 cents.
However, this has resulted in quite a few 5 star feedbacks, fewer time consuming "where's my package?" emails that I have to answer, and over all piece of mind. So, it is well worth it to me.
A lot of people mention December as a slow delivery time of year due to Christmas. As a carrier, I can tell you the Christmas season starts the day after Labor Day at the latest. I find November to be twice the pain of December. Catologs are a lot heavier than envelopes.
As far as taking your mail to smaller office, the mail will most likely just then be sent to the same GMF (General Mail Facility) for processing.
As for the guy who thinks his carrier is reading his books, while I suppose it is statistically possible, I doubt many would risk their career over such a small item. A few complaints and a postal inspector could get involved.
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