The Internet is supposed to make shopping easier, not harder. But clicking through a zillion pages, or waiting eons for delivery, can make driving to the store seem a lot more attractive.
Fortunately, some sites get it right. Last week, the E-tailing Group Inc., a Chicago consultancy, released a study in which 100 online merchants were put through their paces to see which had stellar customer service.
Testers looked at 10 criteria, including how easily the site could be found with a keyword search, how quickly e-mailed questions were answered (and whether the response was a specific answer rather than an automated message), whether a shipping confirmation was sent and, of course, how soon the item arrived.
The top 10 shopping sites were (drumroll, please):
Blue Nile
Brooks Brothers
Coach
Crutchfield
Green Mountain
MoMa (Museum of Modern Art)
Lands’ End
REI
Saks Fifth Avenue
Zappos
Subscribe to ShopSmart today!
hmm
01:02:53 AM on Thu Jan 28 2010
I am surprised Amazon is not on the list! I have ordered 100's of books from Amazon.com and I have always had superb service, and my shipment was usually always received well before the date indicated.
Lauren Freedman
04:37:52 PM on Thu Jan 28 2010
It's about a complete experience. Amazon didn't answer the e-mailed question we sent and also we found that they did not provide customer service information on the order confirmation.
It's not just about fast delivery and free shipping, but also about accessible customer service across the board.