How not to run an online business or Schoolbooks.ie FAIL

At the end of August I ordered just over €100 worth of schoolbooks from Schoolbooks.ie (I know, I know, I should have ordered them last JANUARY right?!)

The nippers started back in school on 30th August and no sign of the books. I couldn’t tell from the Schoolbooks.ie website whether they were to arrive imminently or not. Around this time I realised that I wasn’t the only customer whose books were missing but I took them at their word (to the media, mind, not me) that the books would arrive shortly. However at this time our (truly wonderful and sorely missed) childminder finished up with us so there was no one at home to receive our parcel. So I emailed them at orders@schoolbooks.ie and asked them could they deliver to my city centre office. 2 working days later I was worried about the lack of confirmation about this action.

Upon investigation online I realised that the situation was far worse than I initially thought. I also realised that I was dealing with people who were being a little loose with the truth claiming, for example, that they had contacted every single customer that was affected by what seems to be some sort of technical issue. Apparently I didn’t count as I have never received a single word of communication in any format from Schoolbooks.ie. as I’m trying to be nice I will refer to this as “not best practice” especially as we are repeat customers.

I continued trying to get through by phone and tweeting about the issue in the extremely vain hope that someone might respond.

At this point I emailed to cancel my order. I still have no idea whether they read or acted upon that email. I thought that the books may still arrive.

By the end of the first full week (9 days of school) we decided we couldn’t possibly send the kids back to school the following Monday without books. I legged it to Reads of Nassau st one lunchtime and despite the assistance of a really helpful staff member Reads didn’t have a single one of the books (please note I was looking for Irish language books only for my Gaelscoláirí).

En route back to the office I rang the National Consumer Agency who made all the right noises in a non-committal sort of way. They sent contact details to me but there was nothing I hadn’t already gleaned from the Schoolbooks.ie website. I asked the NCA whether they would be investigating the issue further but the very nice chap I spoke with couldn’t say at that point. He also reminded me of our rights as online consumers which I was very familiar with thanks to my last job. One point he made was that should the books arrive AFTER I had bought them elsewhere I could refuse delivery and Schoolbooks.ie would be obliged to refund. Good luck with that, Rosie!

Since then I have written to the Visa Chargebacks department in the hope that my money might be refunded. I finally received a complete refund on October 8th.

Bodil Mimi Krogh Schmidt-Nielsen (b. 1918) with her childrenOn September 21st I spoke about this during my usual monthly technology slot on Splanc, Newstalk’s Irish language radio show. Obviously I’m dismayed that I’ve been badly treated, annoyed that I was out of pocket but what bugged me the most is that with the application of a little cop and some cheap or free technology a lot of this could have been fixed. If they wanted to be old fashioned about it a few grand to a half decent PR company could have saved their business. What galls me the most however is that the MD’s attitude to his customers has at the least cost him business and at most cost him his business. While I have as little care for him as he obviously has for me, I think in these recessionary times (sorry) it is practically criminal to play so fast and loose with his staff’s livelihoods and other people’s money. When I got home that evening, lo! the books had arrived and are still sitting on our sideboard in their packaging.

So what you might say? Well I think that Schoolbooks.ie are in fact a perfect anti-case study. I would generally avoid using negative examples but Schoolbooks.ie tick all the boxes.

It’s easier to keep old customers than find new ones (or as the grown ups call it Retention vs Acquisition). We have bought our books from Schoolbooks.ie for the last 4 years, spending at least €50 every year. Schoolbooks.ie have always been poor at maintaining contact, not reminding us at crucial points in the year about themselves in order to ensure our repeated custom.

Join the conversation or they will bitch about you and not even behind your back! I already knew that Schoolbooks.ie were poor communicators, having not received much by way of correspondence from them over the last four years; a blessing you might say in these times of bulging inboxes. It’s possible that Mr. John Cunningham, MD of Schoolbooks.ie, thinks that he is being stoical by refusing to engage with customers on Faceboolk Twitter, Boards.ie and blogs like this. He may be of the mind that it will all blow over but Gawd help the poor sucker who has to manage their SEO in the future. Considering the company is unlikely to exist in the future

Social media is all media. A storm in a tweecup can quickly become national news because you can no longer presume that the busy bodies on social media are not influencing the busy bodies in national media. This story quickly became a running theme for back to school week on Joe Duffy’s phone in radio show. Schoolbooks.ie became synonymous with bad customer service and it will be some time before the market will forget. What a waste of a perfect URL.

 

Éist le Giolcadh na nÉan

This is my contribution for September to the online Irish language magazine Beo. I write about Twitter, the information that can be found there, the types of people using it and how I’ve been using it.

Bhí sionnach cathrach taobh amuigh d’fhuinneog oifig Shane. Bhí Abigail idir dhá chomhairle faoi chupán tae eile a bheith aici. D’inis Frank dom faoi fhís ina ndearna Seth & Tom plé ar an mblagadóireacht. Chuala mé go raibh comórtas ar siúl ar leathanach Facebook Puddleducks ar son mála scoile nua.

Sin agaibh ceithre phíosa eolais a bhailigh mé ó Twitter inné, cuid de gur cuma ann nó as é, ach cuid eile de gur cuidiú mór agam é. Éireannaigh iad ar fad a bhí ag roinnt eolais de gach sort in 140 carachtar nó níos lú. Tá roinnt den eolas go hiomlán indiúscartha, ach tá roinnt an-úsáideach. Bhain mise eolas as an bhfís faoi bhlagadóireacht chun blagmhír a scríobh. Gach seans go mbeadh spiairí ag Irish Wildlife Trust in ann teacht ar eolas Shane faoin sionnach. Agus creid é nó ná chreid, tá ‘bot’ cruthaithe ar Twitter, Tea_robot, a bhailíonn gach giolc faoin deoch tae agus bí cinnte de go mbíonn lucht spiaireachta ag na comhlachtaí tae ag faire is ag saibhseáil a leithéide.

Munar ‘giolchairí’ thú (an focal a chum mé ocht mhí dhéag ó shin do ‘Tweeter’, duine a bhíonn ag úsáid Twitter, nó ‘giolcadh’, agus ag ‘giolcaireacht’) gach seans go mbeidh tú ag rá leat féin gur chur amú ama scannalach atá anseo. Ach tá fíuntas ann, fiú leis na ‘bots’. Is sampla craiceáilte an Tea_robot. Ach breathnaigh suas www.twitter.com/giolchairithe. Seo bot a chruthaigh mise a bhailíonn giolc ar bith a luann gael, gaeilge, gaeil, irish language, agus mar sin. Is bealach é chun Giolchairithe, nó lucht giolctha más maith leat, nó Tweeters le Gaeilge, nó le speis sa Ghaeilge, a tharraingt le chéile i bpobal mór domhanda. Ní forbróir greasáin mé. Bhain mé úsáid as oscailteacht Twitter chun an uirlis seo a chruthú.

Tionchar ar an bPobal

Is dócha gur chuala tú faoi Twitter faoin am seo. B’fhéidir gur léigh tú faoina thábhacht i bhfeachtas Obama nó i dtoghchán Iran, nó i bplean margaíochta Oprah.

B’fhéidir gur chuala tú faoi ghiolc Lance Armstrong a tharraing míle go leith go Páirc an Fhionnuisce chun turas rothair a dhéanamh leis. Cé a cheapfadh go bhfuil a oiread sin den lucht rothair ag éisteacht le giolcadh sa tír, gan chaint ar Bhaile Átha Cliath!

De réir Irishblogs.ie, a bhailíonn eolas faoi nósanna blagadóireachta agus faoi mhicreabhlagadóireachta mhuintir na hÉireann, tá 7,939 Éireannach imithe le Twitter. Admhaíonn Irishblogs nach bhfuil a modh taighde foirfe, rud a bhaineann leis an mbealach a bhailíonn, nó nach mbailíonn, Twitter féin an t-eolas. Ach úsáideann said an modh céanna i gcónaí agus, mar sin, is féidir brath ar na treochtaí a léiríonn siad. Tá na treochtaí sin ag gabháil in airde go suntasach faoi láthair.

An Líonra

Tá an-chuid comhlachtaí, fir agus mná gnó ag baint úsáid as Twitter. Tá comhlachtaí neamhbhrabúis, comhlachtaí earraí tomhaltais, comhlachtaí earcaíochta, siopaí speisialtóireachta arlíne, lucht eolas fíona, eolaithe teicneolaíochta, ealaíontóirí, ceoltóirí agus eagraíochtaí Gaeilge (!!!) ag plé is ag roinnt is ag líonrú ar Twitter chuile lá.

Tá seirbhísí nuachta ann, roinntear táirgí speisialta, nodanna oibre, teicneolaíochta, garraíodóireachta, cócaireachta agus taistil ann. Is féidir rudaí spéisiúla a roinnt le do leantóirí ann le brú cnaipe ar na mílte suíomh greasáin. Sea, tugtar leantóirí orthu siúd a ghlacann síntiús le do shruth giolcanna. Mar sin, ar mullach na mbuntáistí eile ar fad, braitheann tú cosúil le dia beag a bhfuil creideamh domhanda aige!

Go pearsanta is go proifisiúnta, tá fiúntas sóisialta agus gnó bainte agam as Twitter. Tá cairde déanta agam agus tá baill earcaithe don IIA, agus uaireanta is ionann an dá rud! Tá eolas scaipthe agus bailithe agam. Tá cabhair agus tacaíocht faighte agus, tá súil agam, tugtha agam. Tá nasc láidir cruthaithe agam le pobal, náisiúnta is idirnáisiúnta araon. Fuair mé iPhone ar iompú na boise, gan mhoill dá laghad, agus tá uachtar reoite faighte in aisce agam dá bharr. Tá an-taitneamh bainte agam as Twitter. Abair “’dé mar?” le @enormous an chéad uair eile a bheas tú ann tú féin!