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Ordering Online from the Big Box Hardware Store
A Play in One Act
Time: 9PM on the 18th. The Project: Ordering online from the Big Box Hardware Store. I am on the phone with someone from customer service.
Me: I’d like to check on my order.
Customer Service Guy: Sure. Do you have your order number
Me: No. Can you look it up?
Customer Service Guy: No. I need the number.
Me: (sigh) okay, wait a second. (I risk cutting off the call on my phone to get into my email and look up the order number. ) Okay here it is. W1933456
Customer Service Guy: Here it is. You ordered some drywall hangers. They will be delivered on the 28th.
Why would I wait 10 days for a 5 dollar box of drywall hangers?
Me: I didn’t order drywall hangers. Why would I wait 10 days if I needed some drywall hangers?
Customer Service Guy: It says you ordered them, They’ll be delivered the 28th.
Me: What if I don’t want them?
Customer Service Guy: You have to take them back to the store.
Me: What about my screens? I ordered three screens. I was going to pick them up in North Lilburn.
Customer Service Guy: Yes, here it is. They cancelled your order.
Me: Yes I know. They cancelled my order and didn’t notify me. Why did they do that?
Customer Service Guy: Most likely they were out of stock.
Me: The online ordering system said you had 6 in stock.
Customer Service Guy: Yeah, but a lot of times they are actually out. Customers buy them or they get damaged.
Me: Then why did the online ordering system say they had them?
Customer Service Guy: Oh, we only take a physical inventory a couple of times a year. We did the same thing in the restaurant business. Just because the system says something, doesn’t mean they have it. Someone has to go back and check to see if they are actually there.
You mean your inventory control system is not accurate?
Me: Wait a minute, you mean your inventory control system is not accurate?
Customer Service Guy: Nah. Somebody has to go back and check to see if they are really there.
Me: Okay, let me ask you something. There were at least three problems with my order. The inventory count was wrong, you sent me something I didn’t order, and you cancelled my order for the screens without telling me. Is there any feedback in your system that tells your management that there is a problem with the online ordering system? That way you could tell how often screwups like this happen and maybe fix it?
Customer Service Guy: Nah, there is nothing like that.
You mean there is no feedback loop?
Me: You mean there is no way for the management to know how often there is a problem so they can fix it?
Customer Service Guy: How would they fix it?
Me: Order enough screens, and then make sure the store puts them into inventory properly so the picker can pick them, and so your system can track inventory properly.
Customer Service Guy: Nah, there is nothing like that.
Me: So how am I going to get my screens?
Customer Service Guy: Do you want me to check the inventory for that part in some of the other stores?
Me: Sure.
Customer Service Guy: Oh, there are 4 in North Lilburn.
Me: Wait a minute, that’s the store I ordered them from. Why should I drive around and go to that store if I am not sure they are going to be in inventory?
Customer Service Guy: uhhhhh
Me: I guess you can’t help me. I will have to figure this one out myself.
So What was the Real Root Cause?
This order entry issue was a failure on many different levels.
Here is a probable scenario: The store got the order, they sent some undertrained clerk back to the screens to pick my order. He or she couldn’t find them. Rather than “looking harder” the decision was made to just cancel the order. The system to send me a cancellation email doesn’t work.
Either way, there are three or more systemic failures. Undertrained employees are a prime cause of this. WE talked about this about a year ago.
http://www.iso-help.com/2019/05/25/the-witter-index-and-the-case-of-the-4-inch-lag-screws/
Here is a less likely scenario: The store got my order, they sent a clerk back to pick the order, he or she put them on a cart, and pushed them to the front, and understaffed store did not update the “order is filled” system whatever that looks like. Japan Airlines did something like that to me.
Lack of Feedback Systems is a serious deficiency
I have a video on this topic below. Alarm systems come in all sizes and shapes. In this case, the alarm system is a “screwed up order” metric. This is a very sophisticated retail operation, and I am confident that there is some kind of measurement that tracks this. The customer service guy was not knowledgeable about this. The company should know how much money is running through their fingers by this type of issue.
What happened next?
Because I needed some screens, and was limited on time, I went to a third store which indicated online that they had 7 of these screens. I went to the store, and found the screen section, and this is what I found:
So now, the failure is in basic retail merchandising. The sales floor is disorganized, the screens are poorly labelled, and it took very well educated me a long time to find the right screen.
So this failure is one of floor level store management.
What is the real, real problem?
Ah this, I ask this in my audits all the time. In this case, this is a “contract review” failure.
The fundamental business model of this place, which sprung to life in the 80’s was to have as big a store, and as many items as possible. That way, if you needed some lag screws, you might very well get lost in the store and come out with lag screws and a new electric drill.
The “new paradigm” is the Amazon model, where you find your selection online, order it, and it is either delivered to your door, or pick it up in some easy way without wandering through the store.
The Big Box Store Reality
Big box stores like this do a terrible job of inventory management for one simple reason: It wasn’t important to them. Their business model was about driving traffic through the stores. Worked for a long time.
Now, however they are being pulled screaming into a new era of inventory management, SKU’s and online service that they had to build from scratch in about a five year period. Now, because of the Covid issue, they are being forced even more screaming into this new era. It is literally a life-threatening decision to walk around in a store.
The Business Model Decision
Here, then is the real problem. Someone made a poor product line decision. Some conversation was had at some level that went like this: Should we have a product line of pre-made window screens in our store? At the time, the blanket answer to this question was “of course, we want everything to do with home improvement.” The reality was, that window screens are hard to sell. They are bulky, take up shelf space, there are a hundred different sizes, and they are fragile, which means they are easily damaged.
So no wonder the sales floor is a disaster, and no one can find their window screens. It is a fundamental business model issue.
If you were an ISO operation, you would have a failure in 8.2.2 which is contract review because you made the decision to offer the product for sale even though you didn’t have the capability.
That goes apparently double for the online ordering system. I would love to know how many billions these guys are losing.
The 1970 Business Model
You needed some screens, 50 years ago. There was a guy in your town that was fabricating screens in his garage. You took measurements, went to him, and he made your screens. If you were a construction guy and were building a new house, you knew this guy, and got your screens from him.
If you didn’t like this idea, you did it yourself. Did anyone but us have the window screens that you took out in the fall and replaced with storm windows? I was happy when we got the type of windows where you could slide the extra pane of glass up and there would be a screen window.
Ancient History
I guess in those days, before people started ordering online from the big box hardware store, people opened their windows. Maybe not so much now, and that might change as well. Who knew that non-air conditioned air might be better for you?
It kept someone employed, namely the screen maker. Your screens fit, or he didn’t get paid, so he made sure they did. The system was less efficient, and more expensive, but at the end of the day you didn’t need a customer service operator to answer the call from a complaining customer. You also got your screens.
Sorry for the nostalgia. It worked that way for plumbing and a lot of other jobs.
