The Guarantee

[drcollie]

I've had two customers cancel orders in process with Hancock and Moore in the past six months (one canceled today, prompting this post) because I would not guarantee something.

The first customer canceled because I would not guarantee the delivery service would not haul away his old sofa (he's in Arizona). I told him to offer the delivery people a handsome tip to haul away the sofa and they most likely would be glad to do so, but since I do not run the delivery service I cannot guarantee it. In my experience, every delivery team will take that old sofa out for a $ 100 tip, but since I was not on the truck I can't say for sure they would.

The second customer canceled today because I would not guarantee the Austin Sofa he ordered would fit through his doorway opening of 32 7/8", though I told him there was a 95% probability that it would. He wanted a 100% guarantee which I was not willing to do since I have never been to his house and see the building egress. 95% to me is pretty good, about the same odds I give myself driving home from my daily commute without having an accident or traffic violation.

I make it a policy to never guarantee things that are to occur in the future or on speculation to make a sale. Things can happen, or there can be conditions that develop which prevent something from occurring as it is supposed to. I believe that its better to maintain one's integrity than to over-reach and make a promise which might be broken.

When The White House ordered 72 pieces of Hancock and Moore from me in the Summer of 2007 they told me they had to have it GUARANTEED by a certain date (and we didn't have a lot of time). After calling both H&M and my transport company it was determined that if H&M put everyone in the plant on the order, and my transport company drove the load straight up without stopping the minute it was ready, we could make their 'drop dead' date which was on a Friday, three weeks away. The White House wanted a guarantee and I told them we had a plan, would execute it and make the date but I would not guarantee it as a matter of principle. And if I won't guarantee a $ 80,000 order from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, than I surely am not going to guarantee a particular sofa will fit in a certain doorway opening. I did get the order, and delivered it ONE DAY EARLY to the secure White House Receiving Warehouse on the Thursday before the drop dead date. There was not a single hitch the whole way and everything was landed damage-free and arrived exactly as ordered. So we actually exceeded the White House buyer's expectations when all was said and one, and they told me as such.

I think most people would rather have an honest answer but maybe I'm just too Old School....

Thoughts???

[artielange]

I absolutely would prefer an honest answer to a salesman telling me what he thinks I want to hear. I also understand that you are unable to guarantee something where you do not have control over 100% of the circumstances. That said, is it possible that your customer just wanted to cancel the Austin sofa and used this as a ploy?

Interesting story about the White House purchase

[soster]

You're old school.

Times have changed. There is risk in so much of what we do, and we've been convinced that we must eliminate risk everywhere. Many people want and expect buying furniture to be like buying a sweater at Macy's. And many people will buy nothing, until they crack and then buy whatever is in front of them.

[McCall]

I absolutely would rather have the truth, than a hopeful lie. When someone makes a promise to get a sale and they cannot keep that promise they have no idea what kind of problems they may be creating for the customer and others. When I was moving to CA and I ordered my B&Y chair and some other furniture 12 weeks ahead. I made it clear I HAD to have it by that certain date. As it turned out it all came in on time. but if it had not then I would have moved to CA and my furniture would remain at the store because I had no other way of getting it out here and I would not pay shipping to CA because the order came in late.
IF they could not meet my deadline then I would have wanted them to say so clearly at the beginning.
It is also clearly rediculous of anyone to ask you to guarantee something will fit through a door or into their house without you being there to see and measure everything yourself.
Sounds like a customer you didn't need anyway.

[ffxjack]

I agree that it's always better to underpromise and over deliver than be caught in an untenable situation later on. Not so sure this way of doing things should be considered old school though...

BTW, what happens to those pieces if they're already partially in production?
Don't worry, I wouldn't even think of canceling my pieces...I can't wait til they arrive.

[puhmuckel]

Being honest and truthful is what matters to me. The "Yes" person that promises everything is usually a liar. You are right in my book.

[simplyjeff]

This is an interesting topic. As a former volunteer with Call For Action, a nationwide consumer help organization, I helped hundreds of consumers settle problems with retailers. In many cases the problem involved guarantees that the customer thought he had received (either correctly or incorrectly). It could be as simple as not receiving phone calls that were promised or as complicated as being unhappy with a heating and air conditioning system that was recommended by a salesperson. (Yes, I was able to get Sears to agree to take back the HVAC system and install a better one at no charge.) Customers rely on guarantees, either explicit or implicit, and they are usually much happier with a salesperson who tells them six weeks and delivers in 5 than the one who tells them 3 weeks and delivers in 4. On the other hand, they don't like to be left hanging. Many customers will cancel a sale rather than risk a 5% chance that the sofa will not fit through the door. It is a real balancing act for the retailer.

My company, Simplicity Sofas, has a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Basically, the guarantee is that if there is any problem we will fix it to the customer's satisfaction or take back the furniture for a 100% refund. (We also guarantee that our furniture will fit through any doorway.)
This is only possible because we are a manufacturer selling directly to the consumer. This means that we have direct control over the product at all points of the sale. Our guarantees are actually proactive, not reactive. This means that we try to exceed the customer's expectations when there is a problem. For example, this week a customer received a sofa and sent us an email stating how wonderful the furniture was and how much she liked it. She also mentioned in passing that the slip cover was a little looser in the back than she thought it should be. She did not ask for us to do anything about the slipcover. Our email response was to suggest that she either send the slip cover back to us for adjustment, or to have it done locally and we would pick up the bill. She was also offered a discount of 50% off on her next slip cover. Another customer was upset because the UPS driver refused to deliver his furniture into his apartment despite the instructions on the delivery ticket. (This was Brooklyn, NY). He suffered a great deal of inconvenience arranging for someone to carry the boxes up the stairs. Although he was very happy with the furniture, he was not at all pleased with the delivery experience. He asked for $100 compensation for the money he had to spend to get his delivery completed. Instead he was sent $200 for the inconvenience he had suffered in addition to the money he had laid out.
Basically, we guarantee that our customers will have a perfect experience -- from the time they order the free catalog until the furniture is seated in their room, and even beyond. (We call our customers after they receive their furniture to ask if everything is alright.) If Simplicity Sofas is unable to live up to that guarantee, we not only correct the problem, but go beyond the customer's expectations to remedy the situation. The idea is to not leave a customer who is merely satisfied , but one who will actively promote our company to family and friends.

[drcollie]

I agree that it's always better to underpromise and over deliver than be caught in an untenable situation later on. Not so sure this way of doing things should be considered old school though...

BTW, what happens to those pieces if they're already partially in production?
Don't worry, I wouldn't even think of canceling my pieces...I can't wait til they arrive.

If pieces are already in production and a customer cancels, the store is obliged to take them. The way the dealer system works is like this:

The Maker's customer is the Dealer.

The Dealer's customer is the End Consumer.

So, when a Dealer orders that piece from a Maker, he's obligated to take it once production has begun.

[artielange]

Duane, I was watching a show last night that toured the White House and I was looking for the H & M furniture. What kind of pieces did you sell them?

[drcollie]

Ah....none are in the Residence. However they did buy 72 pieces of Hancock and Moore for the Executive Office Building which is the gothic-structure on the White House Grounds immediately to the west of the Residence. I'd have to go back and look at the breakdown of items to get a list of pieces that I installed. Many of were chairs to go around conference tables.

Al the chairs in use around the Cabinet table are all H&M as well, but those were not done by me.