Could anything have been done more effectively?

Consider this Case Customer Retention Done Right? Sherry is an active online shopper. She and her husband Web sites. She got very good at ferreting out quality prod- recently moved into a new home and most of the new ucts at bargain process. One of her purchases was a lamp furnishings came from her skillful searching of various for the living room. It looked exactly right on the WebChapter 9 . Recover the Potentially Lost Customer 159 site and arrived quickly. The brushed metal lamp had The retailer, however, felt differently about cus- a globe shaped like a Champaign flute which made the tomer retention. Her email told Sherry that there had, lamp unobtrusive and a perfect look for the living room. indeed, been a misstatement on the Web site's product Some minor assembly was required, but when description. They further said that they had corrected Sherry turned on the lamp she discovered that it did not the Web site and offered to take back the lamp (and pay have a dimmer switch, just an off-on switch. Sherry was for all shipping) or to give Sherry a $50 refund so that sure she had read the product description carefully (she she could either purchase a dimmer switch at a hardware always did) and that it was to have a dimmer. She con- store or use the lamp as is, perhaps with a smaller bulb. tacted the retailer and expressed her disappointment in The retailer again apologized and expressed its desire to no uncertain terms including the phrase "this product is keep doing business with Sherry. misrepresented on your Web site." The response from the retailer was immediate. An Probes employee emailed back that she was sorry the product did 1. How would you be likely to feel if you were not fully satisfy and said that she had contacted the manu- Sherry? facturer and would get some additional information soon. 2. How does the contrast between the manufacturer's Within an hour the retailer sends another email saying inflexibility and unwillingness to accept responsi- that the manufacturer refused to replace the switch saying bility contrast with the retailer? Which is likely to that the lamp has always had an off-on switch. The man- build customer loyalty? ufacturer further said they didn't feel a need to replace the 3. What does this short case say about company product, implying that the customer was too fussy. attitudes toward customer retention? Building a Customer Service Strategy: Your Ongoing Case Let's go back to the ongoing case you selected. This will be either statement with: "We at [name of your organization] believe