Don’t you hate when you’re having an amazing digital experience with a vendor, and they ruin it? Here’s the story.
After a successful series of meetings in Atlanta, I returned my Hertz rental car and headed for the terminal. I really love the convenience of the email receipt—no waiting around for an associate with 20 pounds of remote scanners and printers on their belt. However, once I was back in Oklahoma City, I realized I had left my sports coat in the back seat of the car, so I sent Hertz an email through their Contact Us feature on the website. I explained what had occurred and asked for them to contact me, to which I received an automated response essentially stating, “We received your email. Someone will get back to you.” This was fine; at least it confirmed they received my message.
Six days passed, and I still did not receive any notification from Hertz. Obviously, this is not the great service I teased at the beginning of this post. I googled “Hertz Lost and Found,” and learned I needed to file a lost item claim. Now, this option is not obvious on the website, but with some help from Google I was able to locate the lost claim option. I had certain fields to complete specific to my lost item, and in just a few minutes I successfully completed my claim.
Immediately, I received an automated confirmation on my lost item claim. Again, this was confirmation my claim was received. Less than an hour later I got this email:
David, Your Coat/Jacket Has Been Recovered
Found Item Details
Found Item Number: XXXXXXXXXX
Date Found:4/24/2019
Item Category: Coat/Jacket
Description: Mens / JOHNSTON MURPHY / Cotton / Blue /
Additional Info: BLUE PLAID
Click Here If This Is Not Your Item
Wow, that is amazing service! I had options to schedule a pickup at one of their Atlanta locations or have them ship the jacket back to me. I chose the shipping option and received my jacket a couple of days later. I could not have been happier with this great experience! I’m guessing had I not searched and found the lost claim option, I would still be waiting for a response from my original Hertz email, but hey, that was a dim memory based on the fast response and coat recovery.
Then, just a few hours after getting the package with my returned coat, I got a response from my initial email to Hertz (eight days later):
Dear Mr. Peterson,
Thank you for your inquiry concerning your lost item. We are always concerned when customers leave personal property in one of our vehicles.
We regret any inconvenience experienced regarding your lost Jacket. However, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the rental agreement, Hertz is not responsible for personal property left in our vehicle.
You may however go to our website and report your lost item by clicking the lost and found link at the bottom of the home page. You can also check if your item has been recovered by the location. If your item has been recovered, you will need to contact the location directly to arrange for its return.
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to review this matter. Your business is appreciated and we look forward to the opportunity of serving you again.
Yours sincerely,
Amir
Customer Service Administrator
Hertz Customer Services
Why would it take eight days to respond to my original email? This ruined my joy over their awesomeness for returning my jacket. Why wouldn’t they have given more specific instructions about where to find the lost item claim? For that matter, why doesn’t their website have more clear instructions about where to find that option? But here’s the bigger issue: why do they not have customer experience systems in sync? I identified myself in the original email, using my Hertz rewards number and the car rental agreement number. Is it so hard for a customer contact system to be mindful of any and all customer contact?
Think about your various points of communication. Are you innovatively aggregating customer contact in a way that thrills and delights? Or fools and frustrates? The tools to get this right are available. Think innovatively about how to consistently thrill your customers and then never, ever ruin that great experience with a follow-up communication fail.
Get this right!