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Search and Destroy
By Charles Martin | January 23, 2009
[I already got the gizzmo boiling at this entity. Yeah Hothead! -- see below]
I was shopping for a few new pieces in a line of German ski clothing I like. I like their streetwear; don’t need their $900 jackets. Yeah… kjus. You know it.
Anyway, here are the mundane steps that I had to take to find what I wanted.
(1) Search their flash laden site that’s apparently built for about 20 countries.
(2) Click into the English section.
(2a) Listen to great music but hear it over and over.
(3) Click mens. Wait.
(4) Click “Spirit”. Wait.
(5) Find the item I liked.
(6) Notice colors are not named. No 360 view.
(7) Go back to home page (that is open in another window thanks to flash overload)
(8) Click store locator, US, State, City. 8 or 10 stores near me (or in my state) have Kjus, but what did they buy? Where are the “online” sellers. [yes, I know Google. Google brings up old stuff, half a**ed stuff. Not what I want.]
(9) Call each store on landline in analog-ville.
(10) huh? they say. Website info doesn’t match what they have.
(11) Email Europe.
(12) Europe emails Maine.
(13) I wake up [it's another day now...] and see emails responded to that say which store bought what.
(14) Exhausted.
(15) Call the stores they recommend.
(16) First store — yeah Brass Ranch! (smallest store wins with best customer service on first try!)
(17) Other stores examples of answers:
- Brass Ranch Ketchum Idaho. Patient. Has all the colors and educates me on the ones not on the website. Offers to ring up tomorrow since it will be 25% off. Could have easily taken my cash and I’d not know. Not out of breath. Apparently didn’t run today. Yay Cindy!
- Cole Sports — “Let me put you upstairs…”… Wait 13 seconds. Guy answers. Transfers to Gal. Gal says she’ll check within 1 hour, seems out of breath. Gal calls back in 8 minutes still out of breath. Has a COMPLETE colorway other than the options online. Doesn’t know the item HQ says she bought. We are confused. I don’t buy.
- Ski Haus International — “Let me put you upstairs…” [Apparently every ski shop has a basement office. Didn't know.] Puts me on LONG hold. Guy answers out of breath. [Apparently all sales people at ski shops run a lot. Says he'll check.] Puts me on another LONG hold. Comes back. No dice, but my 20 year retail radar says he didn’t really look. Doesn’t even know the jacket I speak of. Did the HQ lady get it wrong? I’m off. NO SALE.
Folks at Kjus — I could go on. Here are the lessons:
If I’m a rabid shopper dreaming of your product — and apparently you love your products becuase you produced a mega-expensive website — then get it to me in IMMEDIATE fashion. This is a luxury product. Neiman Marcus wouldn’t treat me this way.
You have Melissa L in the home office doing this all day. She could be apres’ ski showing off the new line, not answering emails from guys like me. Underarmour is a big company but they used to be small. Their website has always been good about directing me to a store with THAT product.
Folks on the ground:
Someone calls in January 2009 to buy something, you go OUT of your way to find the product, sew the product, offer others that compare. SOMETHING! One fellow at the ski shop in Truckee (True North) where I found my first Kjus love, was so NOT interested in the upsell, I accidentally apologized for bothering him that day.
The winners were the small stores where you could almost hear the vacuum running in the background. Brass Ranch’s Cindy in Ketchum and Sooz at Boot Doctor in Telluride are good eggs! You big guys can learn from them. While the press say small business America is out of business, the good ones will always live and they need people like you.
Btw, I spent $XXX today. Many of you lost.
Put on your skis. Let’s have a hot toddy.
[editor's note after presstime: I received the following from their brand manager in the US. See below. Also, a gal at a very small store in Telluride, Boot Doctor (shoutout to Suse!) was very helpful in me finding the rest -- the small stores really ruled here -- see lessons note]
CM-
I just wanted to get back you and thank you for the honest and constructive feedback. You have some valid points and one’s that we’ll certainly bring up to the team in Switzerland. I hope at very least that we might be able to eliminate step 11 and a day of waiting by providing a direct link to US customer service on the site soon.
I’m glad that Melissa was very helpful and was able to point you in the right direction. We hope that in the future you and others who love KJUS will have an easier and faster time finding the KJUS product they desire.
Until then, feel free to contact me or Melissa directly via email. And please follow us on twitter http://www.twitter.com/kjususa, and/or me at http://www.twitter.com/michaelcollin and join us on facebook (http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/KJUS-Skiwear/6175904068) and blogger (http://kjusworldusa.blogspot.com/)
ed: [at least they use Twitter and Facebook for chrissakes!]
All the best.
Follow your passion,
XXYYZZ
Brand Manager
KJUS – uncompromising skiwear
Topics: Big biz, Odd file | No Comments »