Will's Web Watch: Computer says 'no'

Will Sturgeon explains why companies must realise switching on their website, sending automated emails and embracing e-tail doesn't abdicate their offline responsibility...

One of the greatest mistakes any business can make is assuming once they've flicked the big switch marked 'technology' that they can put their feet up and relax.

Nowhere is this more true than with retailers. The automation of much of the retail process - through the switch to ecommerce - is a major bonus for consumers but that doesn't mean a human being shouldn't be able to step in at any time to resolve a problem in those rare moments when technology backfires.

Yet the computer says 'no' effect, when customer service falls in the gap between an over-reliance on computers and the operator's failure to intervene, still exists. (And if you're not familiar with said computer says 'no' culture, you should check out this clip from BBC comedy show Little Britain.)

Just yesterday morning, when I should have been taking delivery of a Nintendo Wii, I received an email from UK retail giant John Lewis telling me my order had been cancelled.

Understandably I phoned up and asked why. And after being put on hold for some minutes, in order for a meeting of minds between colleagues, I was informed "the computer said 'no'", or words to that effect. In essence, a computer glitch, I was told, had cancelled my order for no reason - and now John Lewis Direct was once again fresh out of Nintendo Wii consoles (and ideas as to how it should resolve the problem).

It was then suggested I might like to get myself up to Brent Cross shopping centre where they have one left in stock.

The failure to understand why the computer had cancelled my order was one thing but coupled with the suggestion that my best bet would be shopping offline, it doesn't paint a picture of a company that understands how ecommerce should be run effectively.

As I pointed out in an email to the company: "Mistakes happen - that's why customer service teams exist - but handling them effectively is what makes the difference. Blaming computers and hiding behind automated emails is not a defence, it simply suggests John Lewis doesn't manage its e-tail division effectively."

If frontline staff don't understand the computer system, can't sufficiently explain what's gone wrong and aren't empowered to use common sense to make amends when the system fouls up, then the process is fundamentally flawed and needs to be rethought.

Retailers take note: saying 'it's a problem with the computer system' doesn't mean you can wash your hands of the problem. It's your computer system and therefore your problem.

It seems anathema to me that the customer service rep didn't think to - or have the mandate to - contact Brent Cross herself and arrange for the one remaining Nintendo Wii to be delivered in place of the cancelled online order. Being able to find an offline solution to an online problem is a far less retrograde step than seeing a technical glitch as an immovable obstruction. If anything it would show some joined-up thinking.

I'm put in mind of another recent experience where this disconnect occurred. My other half, ahead of a recent trip to Mexico, phoned HSBC to tell them we were off to Central America and to ask them not to put a block on any credit or debit cards they saw being used there during the coming fortnight. This was a request born from bad experiences in the past.

Of course we'd be annoyed if banks sat by and let our cards be used fraudulently, so phoning ahead of time with such a request seems a very reasonable compromise.

So imagine our surprise (as the saying goes) when we found in Mexico that said cards were blocked as soon as we tried to use them.

Cue a conversation, upon our return, which ran along these lines:

"Sorry, the computer seems to have overruled the request and put the blocks in place... "
"But why?"
"It just does sometimes... "

Thank you for clearing that up.