Nowadays that most of our interactions are done online under time pressure, we rely a lot on the clarity and punctuality of the information. When my inbox is flooded, it is not sure that I will open an email, and if I do I expect it to be clear and informative.

Some days ago, I had one of the dreadful interactions with my printer. Supplied by my employer for my remote work, I use it from time to time, when the paper is stronger or more reliable than the digital form of information. I say dreadful because as we all know, the printer will stop printing right when you want him to work. This time it was the ink cartridges, as one of them was empty. Without wasting any more time, I ordered new ones from an online store from which my company gets most of its office supplies. I knew what I was looking for, I knew what I should pay, I lost some time in their order form because it could not adapt to the fact that I wanted a company invoice, however I managed to send the order on time.

Instantly I got a verification email that the order was received, with additional information about the next step, which was the verification of receipt from the supplier, when it will be shipped approximately and what would be the cost. All good.

But as the date of approximate delivery passed, I received another email, telling me that the order was received, and it would be prepared soon. Additionally, they mentioned the cost, which was not increased by a small, yet not negligible amount. I was confused, and I replied instantly telling them: that the order should be here already, and that the initial cost was different. Nobody replied.

However, I got a call from a courier within an hour, he wanted to deliver my order. The extra cost was the delivery cost that was not included in the first email (but was shown to me when I made the order. So in the end I got my order with only one day delay from what was promised, but I was left a little bit confused.

Conclusion:

The relationship with this supplier is very good, I will not doubt that. And they try to communicate with the client as much as possible, even in an automated manner. If this is done properly, it helps build trust for the client. However, mixed messages and information can mess up that communication and make the client feel frustrated. Even if in the end it doesn’t matter that much. I believe that a simple reply that everything in the end will be ok, or a call after the delivery if everything was ok, would save the day. But it seems that in the world of full automation, smart communication that can make the difference is not included the specs.