Walmart: Amateurs? Compared to Apple, Yes
I know, I know, Walmart and Apple are two different beasts.
But these two big brands, along with every business and entrepreneur out there, have in common one very important service.
CUSTOMER SERVICE.
And if my recent interaction with these two brands is any indication of their everyday customer service, I can tell you this:
Walmart can stand to learn several lessons from Apple when it comes to policies concerning customer relations.
Especially in a world where social media exists.
Before I go on to share my tale of a big brand’s customer service gone wrong and it’s amateur use of social media, it’s only fair that I mention that a few weeks before this incident I bought the Teens a refurbished PC from Walmart.com and their tech support was amazing.
Now that I’ve been fair, let me be real…
And take this to heart my fellow entrepreneurs…
No matter how great your services are or how well you “usually’ attend to your customers, one screw up will get you bitch slapped across the web.
My MacMini is a Beautiful Machine.
It’s also beautifully old by technology standards. I bought it over 4 years ago while 7 months pregnant with Damian and lugged it home from Manhattan the day I realized I’d need to get serious about moonlighting. Third kid on the way, I needed to generate some extra income, after bedtime. 
My Mac, of course, is out of warranty because being the “fix-it girl” and working with Macs for almost 10 years, what the hell do I need extended Apple Care for? There is no warranty that’s going to cover my kids sticking pennies in the dvd drive, and btw, if you pick up the mac it rattles like a piggy bank.
So by the grace of God and the brain bestowed upon me and the fact that Macs just rock, my Mac is still running. Pretty damn well too. Until earlier this month when it started running pretty slow. Now I’ve dealt with this before. I have an arsenal of apps to help. But it takes hours and then I remembered an App in the iTunes store that promises a quicker turnaround. With a project due that day (really the next day but I like to push myself for a day or 2 before), this App would be perfect.
Now Paypal is my payment option of choice. Secure, password protected, and I can keep track of my purchases without having to sift through all my emails.
Apple doesn’t accept PayPal.
Walmart does and sells iTunes gift cards.
iTunes gift cards that are delivered to your inbox within 30 minutes, according to the item description on Walmart.com.
Two hours late, no gift card.
Check my order status on Walmart.com to find that my purchase is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow.
What?
What? Really?
So I call customer service, on a Sunday, to get the recording run around and then cut off.
I then contact Walmart’s customer service via email and of course get the standard automated response.
Two more hours go by.
Well, knowing me, guess where I went next…
HELLO @Walmart!
@vanitacyril We’re sorry that it’s taking longer, Vanita. Please tell us more at twsprt@wal-mart.com so we can help you.
— Walmart (@Walmart) July 16, 2012
And I did exactly that.
What I got was an automated email in response.
Thumbs up to Walmart’s crew on Twitter for catching my tweet and trying to help.
Publicly.
But saving face on Social Media platforms via quick, helpful responses, will only get you so far.
Ya’ need to follow through.
@vanitacyril We’re very sorry to hear about the trouble with your order. Please contact us at twsprt@wal-mart.com with details.
— Walmart (@Walmart) July 16, 2012
I also received a similar response from Walmart’s Facebook Support. They had me email and then had me “file my complaint” at a link that had other complaints.
Though it’s 15 hours later, it’s also the next day. A business day. So I call customer service again.
I finally get through to a real person.
The conversation pretty much goes like this:
I explain my issue.
And the rep says “According to our records, your item will be delivered today.”
“Yes, I saw that on the order status page, but this isn’t something that needs to be physically delivered, and I have a project that was due yesterday, my Mac is buggy and I could really use an app from Apple’s store, but they don’t accept Paypal and I was relying on the 30 minute “delivery” option listed in the item description on the Walmart ordering page.”
“Ma’am, according to our records, your item will be delivered today.”
“According to your item description I should have had my purchase yesterday. It’s just a code, isn’t there anyway you can help me?”
“Ma’am, according to our records, your item will be delivered today.”
Now I could be pissy right now and use a few choice words.
But I can’t blame the rep.
I blame Walmart and their customer service policies.
This is how their customer service reps are trained to handle these calls.
I gave up. Started running the apps I had on hand.
I was pissed though. Super pissed.
So…
It’s been 26hrs since i placed my order w/ @Walmart for my iTunes GC that advertised being emailed within 30 mins of purchase #Disappointed
— Vanita (@VanitaCyril) July 16, 2012
Fifteen minutes later I get a call from Walmart Customer Service.
After introductions…
The rep says “I’m calling to verify recent activity on your Walmart account.”
“Reeeally…”
“Yes ma’am, can you tell me what your recent purchase was.”
“An iTunes $50 gift card.”
“Thank you ma’am. You’ll receive your gift card code within 30 minutes.”
“Thank you.”
Click.
Soooo…though I signed in to Walmart with my username and password and THEN had to sign in to PayPal with my username and password, to make the purchase, more verification was needed? Really?
No one called me to verify my $300 purchase 2 weeks earlier when I bought the teens their PC.
Really Walmart? That move, was not only funny, but labeled you an Amateur.
Moving on.
Oooh! Mac’s fixed and I’ve got $50 to use in Apple’s App Store.
There’s an app I wanted for a bit and I decided I could splurge a bit.
I purchased my app from Apple’s App store easy peasy, it was downloaded and working fine.
I get a pop up box from the app mentioning the benefits of registering the app with the developers.
I head over to their site and turns out I need my Apple Store Order Number.
I check through my email…no receipt from the App Store.
I check through my account history, nothing.
I contact iTunes Support.
Auto response email right away.
And then…
Fifteen minutes late…
Hi Vanita,
My name is Cylor, and I am an iTunes/Mac App Store advisor. Your request was escalated to my desk. I understand that you didn’t receive your receipt for your purchased app. Don’t worry, Vanita. I assure you that I will do everything I can to help you get this resolved.
That email continued with some steps I did know and a few I didn’t.
As he mentioned in his 2nd email, when the order closed out, I did receive my receipt.
Cylor has sent me a total of 10 emails since since I also requested help with another issue.
Now, regular readers and friends know I’ve been super busy lately. Not only is this the first post in over a week, but I haven’t had time to be social much less answer all my emails. As soon as this post is done, I need to email Cylor, because I haven’t responded to his last 3 emails.
His last email…
Hello again,
I just wanted to check any additional questions or concerns regarding your issue. Resolving your issue is important to us and if there’s anything else you need, just let us know.
Thank you for being part of the iTunes Store family.
Sincerely,
Cylor
iTunes/Mac App Store Customer Support
Cylor is bloody awesome.
Apple is bloody awesome.
And Walmart can learn a thing or two about customer service from Apple.
The Takeaway For My Fellow Entrepreneurs
Saving face on social media will get you no where.
Your customers are the reason you exist.
Serve them.
Notice how both my purchases were $50?
Notice how two different big brands cared for my small purchase which could be deemed low priority compared to possible big ticket purchases from other customers.
Big or small, your customers have a voice online.
They can climb up on their soap box and trash your ass.
Be a Pro. Be an Apple.
Make every interaction count.
Oh my gah, Walmart. Tsk tsk. Shame on you. I don’t understand why a virtual purchase would take over a day, WTF? And the non-response response? Gah. This sounds like bloody Malaysia!
And go Apple!
Alison recently posted..A Force of His Own
exactly! it’s a bloody code. 10 minutes after they “verified” it was in my email. geez.
love Apple girl.
OMG, all that? Geeze, I got angry just reading your post. Bunch of ding dongs I tell ya. smh Shame on you Walmart!
Brenda recently posted..I Just Want to Feel Pretty
i really did expect them to have better customer service policies in place. when i called, why didn’t the rep tell me the order was waiting to be verified. the funds were gone from my paypal. instead she tells me the same thing i see on the order status. what’s the point of calling.
verification my behind.
Ah, that repeated line from the brand no matter what you say just pisses me off, too. And what’s more, they’ll keep asking “is there anything I can help you with?” Tell them and they’re like “Sorry you have been inconvenienced and all that shit. They keep on apologizing and nothing else. Ugh, I just got a call from my credit card company about some nonsense i didn’t need…then I remembered I had a query, since I spent the better part of an hour this morning with their interactive effing service with no results. So I ask this guy – and he says oh, you must call customer care for that. I said I did (totally sidetracked the call)…and the guy just stupidly asks if he can have two minutes of my valuable time now to verify some stuff. I told him to buzz off and hung up. Yeah, rude. I know. But I never said I was an angel.
I know how you felt. We feel it here all the time with the big brands. Most don’t even care to reply.
Yes, I’ve missed you.
Hugs!
Vidya Sury recently posted..Fifty Shades Of Life
and sadly, when pissed, i use to take it out on the rep. but i’ve learned girl. they’re following company protocol. so it’s the brand that needs blaming.
Vanita Cyril recently posted..Walmart: Amateurs? Compared to Apple, Yes
Ha! I only step foot in Walmart nowadays if I want to torture myself. How much of your time is wasted for ever and ever because of that? Ack- it makes my blood boil just reading about your experience. That’s a great comparison of customer service experiences.
Artchoo! recently posted..Let Me Introduce You to Anchal
My boyfriend works for Walmart as a truck unloader and from the horror stories I’ve heard, it just seems like Walmart needs a social ‘facelift’ in all manners, employees AND customers alike! It just amazes me how some companies think they can pull this kind of stuff; the customers are what MAKE them successful. They should do well to remember that!
Kayla recently posted..Aloha Friday #64
girl i can say the circumstances of the job and the working environment can absolutely change people. and i can tell you, when people arent happy with their jobs, it shows, customers pick up on it and tend to take it personally. especially when they are rushing around a big tore with kids then standing in line for a half hour just to face a cashier who’s broadcasting through attitude and body language that the customer is a burden.
i treated the kids to burger king one day. i stood in line 20 minutes and patiently repeated my order to the cashier 3 times. when i asked him to read me back the order he just told me the total. okay, fine. i paid. he didn’t give me a receipt, he just wrote my order number on a slip of paper and gave it to me. when the order was filled by another server, i was missing one of the kid’s order. so i said to the guy i’m missing the number 8. he pulled out his copy of the receipt and said to me i didn’t pay for a #8. I told him i ordered it and i have no problem paying for it. he told me to get back in line. i of course got pissy. i told him i ordered it already and i’m not getting back in line. i’ll pay him for it. he again told me it’s not on the receipt that i didn’t order it. so i said to him “your guy didn’t repeat back my order nor did he give me a receipt otherwise i would have corrected the problem then. I don’t need your attitude and i’m not getting back on line nor am i going to my table with food for 3 out of 4 kids. you need to fill my order NOW.” he gave me the order for free. i didn’t want it for free. i just wanted my order. and noticed the first thing he said was i didn’t pay for it. because this is how the employees are trained to deal with these matters. i know. i worked in fast food restaurants as a teenager and nothing has changed.
I’m not surprised that Apple rocks compared to Walmart. Have you seen a Walmart store in terms of merchandising versus Apple? It’s amazing that Apple can keep the consistency down to every interaction of customer service. That is seriously good training and culture. LOVE Apple!
PragmaticMom recently posted..Kids Caught in the Act … of READING THIS SUMMER!
Cylor is just awesome. too cool and i love that Apple has policies in place to hire people who care and to implement policies that will make each customer feel cared for