Thanks For the Crappy Christmas, Lakeside Collection
I’m sure when a merchant screws a customer over, they never expect that customer to be a retail manager… or for that matter, the wife of someone who writes and blog about catalogers.
Lakeside Collection, meet the angry Ursula Parry… who just happens to be married to a senior writer at Multichannel Merchant. And neither of us are happy that Ursula is left scrambling to find replacement gifts for her 30-or-so employees on Dec. 23. Especially when she ordered the said gifts on Dec. 8, received an e-mail that they had shipped (and a confirmation number by phone from someone in the call center), only to find out tonight that the gifts aren’t even in the mail stream yet!
Now maybe there’s something Ursula should have done before placing the order: Looked for some sort of customer reviews online. Here’s what resellerratings.com had to say about Lakeside Collection, and it’s not pretty.
Over the past six months, it received 13 customer reviews and scored a 1.54 out of 10. No wonder Ursula’s employees are going to have a crappy Christmas.
How about epinions.com? One customer there says Lakeside Collections can offer such good deals because, well, they never intend to sell anything at those prices.
And if Ursula saw this one from viewpoints.com, she’d have seen they’re known for slow shipping, backorders and unavailable items. All of which is pretty darn unacceptable in the 21st century.
Ursula told me that both people she talked with really showed no compassion. One of the call center employees said “Well you could have logged into your account last week and found out that the item wasn’t available.” In all fairness, Lakeside Collection also could have e-mailed Ursula to let her know there was a problem.
But should Ursula have been responsible for checking out a retailer’s reputation? Not really. But in a time when consumer confidence has hit the skids, merchants like Lakeside Collection need to see what customers are saying about them and use that to improve their operations.
And in a Web2.0 world, Lakeside Collections needs to control its own destiny. It does not offer customer reviews on its site, and its jilted customers are taking their gripes outside.
I’ll let my wife tell her story here. She can do a better job at it.
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Related Topics: Operations & Fulfillment, Cross Channel, E-commerce, Catalog, Etc. - Opinion, Multichannel Surfing, Etc.
January 2nd, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Same thing happened to me a number of years ago. I ordered a wedding present to be delivered to the bride, rather than to me, saving me the hassle of bringing it to the reception. I received an acknowledgment of my order, three weeks before the delivery date. Two days before the wedding, I received — IN THE MAIL — a postcard saying — wait for it — your item is out of stock. Naturally, I was left to scramble and present an ordinary, ho-hum gift. I understand what caused it. The out of stock notice was not triggered until the item was sent to pick and pack, a couple days before the requested delivery date. Perhaps the same thing happened in your case. Nevertheless, this is an unexcusable method of handling inventory and notification to the customer. Did I mention that they mailed me a post card instead of emailing or calling me? So as much as I like their stuff, Exposures will never, never get a dime off me. And probably not off anyone who reads this. Have a great new year!
January 2nd, 2009 at 6:00 pm
Hello. My name is Juliana Furlong and I am Vice President, Office Operations at The Lakeside Collection. As customer service falls under my area of responsibility, I feel it is most appropriate for me to respond to the experience outlined here.
As someone whose entire career has been in customer service, reading an experience like this is crushing. But, as someone who breathes customer service every day, I also recognize and welcome the information because it is an opportunity to improve, as well as to share with our customers the efforts we are making to be better that may not be outwardly visible.
First, I do want to say it is the goal of The Lakeside Collection to provide customers unique product choices at value prices; and to do this in a shopping environment that is easy, straight-forward, and predictable for the customer. We obviously did not meet these goals in this interaction. Regardless of your family’s choice to do business with us again, we will attempt to bring some reasonable form of closure to your experience because we care and we believe it is the right thing to do when something is brought to our attention.
Although we may have created a “Crappy Christmas” in this particular situation, I do believe The Lakeside Collection does do many things right and does meet its goal more often that not. Are we perfect? No. Should we be? Maybe. I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes we are not as good as we should be. Sometimes we don’t do a perfect job forecasting demand and our customers wait – sometimes when it matters most such as at the end of a holiday season. Sometimes our call center agents don’t treat out customers the way we want them to. Sometimes we think we can get the job done, but we fall short. We try very hard not to make this happen, but sometimes it happens anyway. However, we continue to improve the process and make it right when we fail.
I am aware of the sites listed and the feedback posted to those sites. As mentioned, those 13 reviews over the past 6 months do not look promising at face value. However, this represents only a fraction of one percent of the total orders placed in that timeframe. Understanding that and looking at the huge number of emails we receive directly from customers about how pleased they are with their shopping experience and product value, I know we are doing a lot of things right.
We agree with your suggestion to expand our social media strategy and it has already been a much discussed topic in 2008. Including easy avenues for customers to also share their “Wonderful Christmas” experiences will help provide a more balanced view online of what it is like to shop with The Lakeside Collection. This is something that will serve both The Lakeside Collection and our potential customers. Additionally, as a result of our customers and their feedback we are implementing a number of systems changes in 2009 that will enable us to begin serving our customers even more effectively. I do not want to provide a laundry list of the customer and business benefits, but at a minimum it does let people know we hear our customers and are working to make changes they want to see.
We are at the beginning of 2009 and take this information into the New Year with us. The comments were not easy to read, but continue to rededicate us to improving ourselves for our customer’s better experiences. Even if your family decides to not continue shopping with The Lakeside Collection, I invite you to follow us over the next year to see how we progress against providing improved and more consistent customer experiences. Have a Happy and Healthy New Year.
January 6th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
Ms. Furlong I am sure does a great job but is trying to dodge the bullet to some extent. As we all know a 1.54 out of 10 is not a great number and those 13 responders usually only represent a small portion of the marketplace.
I have been in the fullfillment business for close to 20 years and we ship same day for any order in by 3:00pm and we get most order out the door the same day even if they are taken as late as 7:00pm and our fullfillment rate is over 99%. It is not easy to do and it take total commitment but we have built a great reputation over the years by keeping our eye on the ball.
I know that only 1 dissatisfied customer is one too many so I am happy to hear that there are system changes in the works.
I wish the Lakeside Collection and Ms. Furlong well in the future.
Lynn Bergen
Speedway Motors
Lincoln, Nebraska
March 2nd, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Despite Ms. Furlong’s assurances, it apperas to be bad business as usual at Lakeside Collection. I just phoned customer service and had to cancel an order I placed via the Internet. Even though I had an order number and a confermation number, the customer service agent informed me that there was no order in the system for me. Looking into the situation further, “it appears the items are not available at this time.” Now there online rating is a disgraceful .71 over the past six months. A very sad affirmation that this company is a joke!
May 15th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
I have been dealing with Lakeside for a long time and I must say that for the most part I have been satisfied with the merchandise and delivery. I have come accustomed to the backorder problems and usually have a contigency plan or I order way ahead (usually by October) for Christmas delivery. I did experience a problem this last Christmas when what I ordered back in October arrived damaged. I called every day after the item arrived and the phone at Lakeside was constantly busy. No matter the time of day, the phone was busy. I did go on line and read all the horror stories from others and also that they could not get thru to customer service. I sent e-mails to no avail. I sent a fax explaining my situation and received neither a response nor a phone call (even though in my fax I gave a phone number). When I finally connected with a human being, I was told that customer service was probably busy attending others(I did not buy the explanation- I tend to believe what other folks had posted on line that the phones were off the hook). Needless to say that the item that I wanted replaced was no longer in stock and the only option was to return the damaged item. I chose to keep it and gave it to the recipient explaining that it was a bit damaged.
July 13th, 2009 at 10:48 am
I also shared the same shipping woes & oh yeah its a 3m backorder(1 week b4 christmas)ordeal my 1st time. But i tried again the very next 4 a very special gift that was to go to a very special lady. Needless 2 say, 2 days b4 the holidays im told they’re out & only because i called 2 track it. I was so heartbroken & even more so now that my aunt (best friend) passed this year. I figured 1st time… everyone makes mistakes. Because of the 2nd time, i feel i was denied a better memory & i found a way for lakeside 2 give a little back without having 2 go out of your way or such. You know, like actually following your on guidelines. I now use in some way or another, all those pretty little pictures in your lovely magazine to create something in my crafts business that people can really take home. Luckily i had an aunt that taught me, i had 2 b smarter than what i was working with because 9 times out of 10 i was the only 1 working. Actually, thanks, she may not have enjoyed the gift, but i know she enjoyed you proving her point 4 her!
August 1st, 2009 at 1:28 pm
I have been ordering for Lakeside for years and every time I do I swear to myself that I will never do it again. What can I say I am a glutton for punishment. Time and time again I either get broken items, no items or items months later.
Ms. Furlong you need to really examine your customer service and actually do something about it. Don’t try and tell me that the comments on blogs are isolated cases. My most recent experience with your company goes like this: I got a catalog last Saturday and had my order placed by Monday. Like one of the other people who commented I called up yesterday to see if I could get some sort of idea when my order would ship and “Toby” couldn’t even find it even though I gave him my customer #, confirmation & order #. He promised to call back and never did. Stupid me thought that if I order items that I needed for my vacation 2 weeks beforehand I would be ok. Guess I should have looked more closely at your ridiculous shipping policy. 7-14 days to process? Are you kidding me? Maybe Toby should be out in the warehouse instead of answering phones.
Oh, and while I am on a rant what kind of company still insist on shipping with foam peanuts?
August 14th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
I too have been waiting and waiting for over a month to get my order. First it was back ordered, then it was being shipped by the USPS. that was ten days ago and if I can get a payment to a company in New york in 3 days, how can it possibly take ten, maybe more , days from Illinois?
August 16th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
I JUST PLACED AN ORDER TODAY,BUT AFTER READING THE COMMENTS FROM THESE OTHER CUSTOMERS, I AM WORRIED THAT I MIGHT NOT EVEN GET MY ORDER. PLEASE STOP TREATING YOUR CUSTOMERS LIKE THIS. IT IS NOT RIGHT
DOES NOT SOUND LIKE A GOOD THING TO ME. I HOPE THAT I DIDN’T MAKE A MISTAKE BY ORDERING.
August 21st, 2009 at 11:35 am
Oh dear, I have this large order prepared, but after reading the reviews, im scrapping it. Hate this as I was impressed with their prices.
August 26th, 2009 at 11:31 am
I placed my order on Aug. 14 and recieved the last items yesterday Aug 25th..I did however recieved 3 different packages..Two of them yesterday and the other on the 2oth..I dont know if I just got lucky or maybe they are working on better customer satisfaction..I will say this after reading Ms. Furlongs comments I was a very discouraged..I didnt feel like she was really taking any responsiblity for her employees but rather making excuses for them..I guess she has been in a management position long enough to have learned how run around issues in order to make everyone “happy” but do remember this Ms. Furlong every person is indispensable dont get to comfortable in your nice chair..I almost canceled my order because of your lengthy letter..But to my great satisfaction I recieved everything as ordered and in a very timley manner..
August 27th, 2009 at 5:41 am
I have been in customer service for almost 20 years. And yes I find their service lacking. I ordered something at the end of May to get for the end of June but didn’t get it till the end of July. I still order because I like the items and price. But I know if I want something for Christmas I have to order now. If Lakeside Collections wants a better rep then they need to respond to the customer. Let us know when I items are back ordered, don’t make us do all the work such as 4 emails to find out what is going on with the order. They also need to teach their service rep soft people skills.
August 31st, 2009 at 10:52 am
I placed an order with Lakeside Collection in May and I am still waiting for my product…it’s almost September! The product I ordered was never on back order, they just have all kind of other excuses for my order. The first excuse was that they shipped it and it was returned to sender, and I was asked if I still wanted the product to send in a claim form that they would be sending to me…the claim form nor the catalog ever have a problem reaching my address (imagine that).
I fax the claim form back to them acknowleging that yes I still want the product, It was for my dad on Father’s Day. Again I wait the 14 days, no product, call back to customer service wait 15 minutes to talk to someone only to find out that again they have returned to sender and credited my account.
Call me crazy, but I did it again! This time around they said they had a problem with getting an authorization on my credit card, even though while I’m on the phone with them they tell me that it’s gone through, I said wait, I’ll give you another card so there will be no problems. Guess what, they charged both of my cards on the same day.
I called back to customer service this morning and explained to “Janice” the situation, now I have to send them proof that they overcharged me like they can’t see it on their computer screen!
Ms. Furlong, with as many people there are looking for work with the economy being the way it is, it seems to me that you should fire the staff that you currently employ and hire some people that are not there just to get a paycheck. It seems to me that they, and maybe even you, have become complacient.
I find it sad, because I really like the products Lakeside Collection carries, and you can’t beat the prices. I wanted to order Christmas items for my family and friends but if it takes this long and I have to go through this kind of hassle to get it, I’m afraid you have lost what would have been a really good customer!
GET IT TOGETHER PEOPLE
September 3rd, 2009 at 3:20 pm
I just received a Lakeside Collections catalog yesterday - the first I can remember. I looked through it and found a perfect gift for my granddaughter whose birthday is the 15th of Sept. but lives in another state. I tried phoning in my order, but every time I tried the phone number listed in the catalog (about 5 times), I either got a busy signal, or the operator said it was incorrect. That made me go to the Internet and check out anything I could find on Lakeside. I planned to send them an email asking what their phone number was, in case it was a printing error (how bad is that on a newly received catalog?) After reading all the above comments, there is no way I will order from Lakeside even though the items are attractive and I really wanted the item mentioned. I hope to find it somewhere else and hope I have better luck than these people who left comments. Thanks to all who did that!
September 7th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
I have ordered twice in the last few months and have had no trouble receiving any of my purchase in a timely manner. I truly hope this continues for i enjoy ordering from lakeside collections and have referred a lot of friends to this site.
September 13th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
I have been a customer of Lakeside for many years and on occasion I have ordered good that were out of stock. I order when I get the catalogue if I need the good for a special occasion and I have have seldom had to wait long on my order. For Christmas I order in September and don’t wait until November as by that time I have my sppring catalogue and the chances of getting christmas goods, especially the popular items is slim.
Stop whining and don’t sit on the fence.
September 25th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
We, Wife and i are STILL wateing for our order over due 60 days..
Nothing has changed..
As has been told, we got our Notice 3 weeks later that one item was out of stock..
OK, that was 7 WEEKS ago..
You should be in Politics Mz Furlong, you Evade and side step with the Best Crooks in Washington..
Pure Bull Shite
September 26th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
I feel like I’m reading my own story over again and again. I have worked in customer service a long time. If I ever treated my customers with the disrespect that I was treated with then I would have been fired on the spot, which is exactly what your reps deserve. In order to improve your issues you need to get new reps in there. Of course if you are going to use the same people to train them then give up now. I placed an order last year before xmas, I had some pieces backordered, no problem. The problem is is that I was told it would be shipped in may and yes they are in stock I checked. Have I received them NO. I work for a small company as far as how many employees go, but our customer service is through the roof. We never leave a customer upset as it is our job to make them happy. We also fix the problem that day no waiting. Before the customer hangs up from us they have an answer to their problem that they are happy with. I now deal with Collections Etc. 100%. I have ordered from them over the past 4 years and have never had a problem they were not more than happy to solve for me. They basically sell the same things people so I’d give them a try.
I do understand things get backordered but an email or a phone call is worth a lot. That is how my company works. We call the customer and ask them if they would like to wait or substitute. No problems. Take notes.
October 20th, 2009 at 10:58 am
I am sorry to read about your mishaps with Lakeside, but I have been shopping with Lakeside for the past 6 years and I must say I have always had excellent service!
October 21st, 2009 at 7:29 pm
I order from Lakeside seriously ALL the time. I order AT LEAST once a season, but in total, I’ve probably placed about 25 orders. I have always been happy with what I got, especially books and cat toys (especially a corner lounger and a really nice litter box which I wish they still carried). I was only unhappy one time. I ordered pants, and they didn’t fit true to size. They weren’t entirely off the mark, but they looked “wrong” on me. However, if they had a larger size available, I would’ve exchanged them. As it was, I returned the product and got the directions for doing so on the website, and a few weeks later, my money was returned.
I’ve seen a lot of bad reviews, but I’m still happy- and haven’t had a problem. However, the “backorder” phenomenon is true. Most of the people I know who order from Lakeside (Grandmother, sister, Mother-in-Law, best friend) have mentioned this before and we order ahead of time for holidays or we don’t order at all. I know- maybe they should offer expedited shipping or a better time frame, but hey, I figure it’s okay for the low prices.
November 30th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
I placed an order last June, that should be early enough for Christmas shopping one would think. I ordered many small items, which did arrive sporadically over the months but a TV set and an MP4 player are still MIA. There has been no contact from Lakeside giving the status. The total of these two items is close to $200 and they have been making interest on my money for six months now. I tried to call, I don’t have long distance service and the cheap company doesn’t offer a toll free number, always a busy signal. I won’t be doing any more business with them at all. It is now a month away from Christmas and I don’t know what to do as these gifts haven’t arrived.
December 7th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
Ms. Furlong’s attempts to “improve” and “…discussions in 2008..” have apparantly fallen on deaf ears, just as my complaints to her company did. My issues are almost identical to D Niemann. I placed an order on 9/5/09. After 4 weeks with no merchandise, I tried tracking it and got “in process” finally after several unanswered emails I call the dreaded customer service. GAUD! What an experience, I had to listen to these pitiful excuses as to why my wait was soooo long (nearly 45 minutes). I kept getting a recommendation to use the wed site. Oh you mean the one who will NOT reply? No thanks. So I wait, they said they were “in route and should arrive in a few days” HA! I wish, a few days (and emails) later I called again (50 minutes on hold). I was told the item was returned because they couldn’t find my address. I had to fill out a fax requesting they resend the order. A few weeks later tracking my order it says “in process”. What?
Again? Another call (on hold 45 minutes). By now I just want my money back, the heck with the order. Had to fax another request for that. Waited, no refund. Called again (and more unacknowledged emails, just an auto reply saying someone will contact me within 5 days, NOT! NEVER!). Finally, finally I got ahold of someone who knew what she was doing and my money was returned within a week. Ok so all is ok now. One month later, I receive a letter from Lakeside Collections. Before reading it, I figure it is probably an apology but NO! It was a bill for the original merchandise which I never received. Back to the phone, now it is December and guess what? The same message I was getting in September, only this time it says something to the effect of, due to an overwhelming response to our Christmas catalog we are receiving a larger than expected number of calls. Really? because you were sayin the same thing in September. So once again I wait 55 minutes this time, when the rep comes on the line he goes “Hello? Hello? No one on line this call is being discontinued.” I screaming into the phone. I’ve waisted an hour of time for a HANG UP!!!?? I had no choice, I had to call back and wait another 50 minutes. I feel bad for the poor girl that answere because I was, let’s say, less than cordial to her. It took a while to explain my problem because her English was so poor , there was a huge communication issue. However, in the end, she assured me the supposedly balance due would be returned to zero. I hope that will be true because if I EVER EVER receive another bill from Lakeside Collections I will end up in a mental ward and I will be send THEM a bill from my attorney. If you value your sanity, avoid Lakeside Collection as you would the plague!