Sashank RavindranathDelivery issues are inevitable and particularly more frequent during the holiday season. But we can’t blame the shipping carriers for it. This is because the huge incoming volume of shipments really puts a strain on their capacity to deliver orders properly.
However, that doesn’t mean we let them get away with delivery issues because an angry customer doesn’t delve deep into the reasons behind the issue. They just want their orders intact and on time.
Being an e-commerce merchant, you may be accustomed to delays but for customers, they are always difficult to process, which may result in a burst of emotions. But we also can’t blame them for it.
As your customers’ shopping experience is completely virtual, they have gotten accustomed to getting relief only when a physical parcel shows up on their doorstep. Until then, they are constantly anxious. Even a minor inconvenience in their delivery waiting period will lead to your business paying a heavy price in terms of angry customer rants and poor online reviews.
Here’s the thing about these rants:
- In most cases, they are directed towards you, the retailer, rather than the shipping carrier as customers hold the business they purchased from accountable rather than the carrier.
- They have the power to demotivate potential customers who might be looking forward to shopping with the business by damaging the brand’s online reputation.
So, if you’re wondering what it is that you can do when facing such situations, this post is for you.
The reason for this post’s existence is: to let you know of the consequences of angry customer rants on social media, particularly the fan-favorite Twitter, and resolve them, to avoid them from becoming a headache.
Common Issues That an Angry Customer Takes to Social Media
While there are a long list errors that a package can face while making its way from the e-commerce store, there are just 5 major issues that an angry customer often takes to social media.
- Where Is My Order? (WISMO)
- My Order is Late
- My Package is Lost
- I have received a damaged package
- I’m Not Satisfied with the Given Response
Let’s take a closer look at how angry customers expressed their ire over these issues on Twitter and what your business can do to prevent or handle such situations.
1. Where Is My Order? (WISMO)
Customers expect to be kept in the know of the whereabouts of their parcels as they eagerly await their delivery. When they are unable to see regular shipping event updates on the shipping carrier’s tracking page, they feel aggrieved and helpless. This in turn leads to repeated WISMO inquiries that consume all of your support reps’ time.
Now, imagine a scenario where there is a lack of response from support teams to such queries. In such cases, these anxious customers don’t hesitate to quickly take the issue to Twitter, where they simply call out the brand and get the attention of others, just like this.
@marksandspencer hi marks where is my order, as you have stolen my money and where is it???
— simon james (@simonja45479401) November 12, 2022
To the modern consumer, it feels unnatural NOT to receive real-time updates on the status of their packages which in turn forces them to bombard your support teams with WISMO calls to alleviate their anxiety.
You can handle such situations by being proactive in engaging your customers with timely order updates even before they request one. You can also take this a notch further and make order tracking self-service so that your customers get their hands on all the details they are looking for and thus, don’t expect your support reps’ help.
2. My Order is Late
Let’s say your customers easily track their parcels and are aware of the status at all times. While their anxiety is eased a bit, it is still not yet fully resolved — thanks to the inevitable occurrence of order delays during times like the holiday season.
Delays are bad, sure. But what makes it worse is the situation when your angry customer informs you about them instead of the other way around.
Unattended delays lead to bad delivery experiences. And 78% of customers won’t shop with a brand after just one instance of a bad delivery experience.
What the hell is up with @amazon delivery? Package was supposed to be here today with the next day delivery. Now it says running late and it will be 15-17th for delivery. It’s not even the holiday season yet🤬
— 🔮ℂ𝕒𝕣𝕝𝕒 𝔸™🔮🌜✨ ♑ (@techsavvy68) November 15, 2022
Gain complete visibility into your shipments in transit and send out a quick replacement via an expedited shipping option if you notice one of your customers’ parcels getting delayed. Additionally, you could provide affected customers with a coupon code offering a discount for their next purchase.
Not all delays are due to shipping carrier errors, there can be uncommon cases such as
- The package facing a standstill because of bad weather, customs delays, roadblocks, etc
- The package getting delivered late simply because there was no one at the location to collect it
In such cases, keep your customers informed if their parcels might be delayed. This way, your customers will be impressed with your commitment to provide them with a great delivery experience, and thus will give you another chance despite facing a delay.
3. My Package is Lost
Lost packages are worse than late deliveries and for obvious reasons, make your customers more infuriated. This is because, unlike delayed packages, the odds of lost packages finding their way back to the customer are very slim and statistically unlikely.
Sure, the customer gets refunded in such cases. But think about the frustrations they faced. It’s going to leave a scar on their delivery experience and makes things next to impossible to retain them.
Pet circle love to not deliver your stuff then when you email them they’re like “we are so sowwy 😿 what is your kitties name? 🥺 we lost ur package again ~does ur kitty love a snuggle?” And I’m like “I will never shop here again! Yes pixie loves snuggles”
— kelsie (@randyshart) November 15, 2022
A lost package can come in as a shock for a customer. Thus, the process to handle it must be done step by step.
- Like all post-purchase issues, initiate the communication instead of expecting them to find out eventually or waiting for them to come up with a WISMO inquiry
- Start by sending a “suspected lost package” notification as soon as you find a package going haywire while live tracking all your shipments
- Have a support rep stay in touch with and periodically update the angry customer to placate them. Additionally, make sure to send a free replacement for the lost product by expedited shipping.
This way, you can demonstrate your commitment to the customer and possibly impress them enough to retain them moving forward.
4. I have received a damaged package
Just like getting lost, packages are delivered to customers in a damaged state more often than you might expect. The numbers are particularly high during the holiday season as parcel handlers are confronted with huge volumes and must work fast to clear them.
When an expensive order is found to be damaged, it causes a dent in your profit margin. But far greater is the resulting negative impact it has on the customer’s perception of your brand.
Remember that the now angry customer is likely to voice their ire on social media and deter others from shopping with you.
Hey @amazon that package I ordered arrived almost a month late and was completely destroyed. It is soaked through. I left a note asking the delivery driver to leave it inside the screen door. This was ignored. I would have fit fine as per photo 4. You really messed up here. pic.twitter.com/1FVF86lqAK
— Joe (@WorthASandwich) November 13, 2022
As a first step, make sure to package right. Your parcel will likely undergo significant stress during handling and your packaging should be sufficient to protect the parcel.
As the next step, provide labels for return shipping within your parcel so that your customer can return-ship it back to you if required. Make sure to absorb the cost of this return shipping. Provide a replacement or a refund to the customer at the earliest.
5. I’m Not Satisfied with the Given Response
As we mentioned, delivery issues are common and inevitable. However, lackluster customer support from your end while handling these issues can be more damaging to your reputation than the issue itself.
61% of the customers will stop doing business with you after one bad customer service experience.
Even the other four issues can be contained with proper customer support but the lack of an effective support team can cause even frequent customers to shun your brand.
Hi Simon, thanks for your tweet. Would you be able to confirm your order number, email address, and postcode in a PM? Once we have that information, we'd be happy to look into this for you. Take care, Tonayah. https://t.co/FqaAto1Kxs
— M&S (@marksandspencer) November 12, 2022
Keep in mind that a “Thanks for your tweet” might not be the response to an angry customer ranting about a delivery issue with their package. Such a response can really infuriate the customer further, who would immediately get the notion of shopping with an insensitive brand. This would further lead to angry customers continuing their rants and tarnishing your brand’s reputation online.
Make sure your customer support team is thoroughly trained to handle a variety of post-purchase customer queries ranging from late deliveries to damaged parcels and is always available to deal with issues when required.
Negligence or not fulfilling a customer’s expectations will be seen as bad customer service.
Empower your support reps to easily spot shipments that may require attention and work proactively to address delivery issues before being asked to by customers.
Additionally, if a customer has taken their issue to social media, take an empathetic approach and provide redressal at the earliest.
You can take it up a notch and try to make the customer post a satisfied feedback in their social media profiles. This can help in creating a positive opinion of your brand among prospective customers. You might even get a testimonial this way.
How LateShipment.com’s DEM Platform Can Help You
Angry customer rants due to issues like these can heavily damage your online reputation and lead your potential customers into believing that the post-purchase experience you offer is indeed flawed and deters them from shopping with you.
On the other hand, getting your customer’s delivery experience right is crucial to building a loyal customer base. This is because repeat customers spend 67% more than new customers. And if you’re planning on simply replacing one lost customer with another, keep in mind that acquiring new customers is 5 times more expensive than retaining existing customers.
This is all the more reason to not overlook the post-purchase experience you offer and the need to take control of it to drive success.
These tweets are just the tip of the iceberg. You might face a gazillion more issues during the holiday season.
If you’re looking for a way to easily resolve all these issues, here it is.
The best way to handle post-purchase issues like these tweets is to put maximum effort to make sure that such a situation never arises.
A post-purchase automation platform like LateShipment.com can help you do just that by enabling you to provide superior CX throughout delivery & returns and make sure you drive customer delight. Also, LateShipment.com can help you effortlessly recover refunds for more than 50 shipping errors by carriers.
Thus, without further ado, get set up for post-purchase success this holiday season and beyond.
