Re: UKNM: Last Minute or How not to run an e-commerce site?

[Tim Ireland]

Count your blessings - there are worse crashes (at sea, for instance).


Tim


-----Original Message-----

From: Mario Tilney-Bassett <

mariotforesight [dot] co [dot] uk

>

To:

uk-netmarketingchinwag [dot] com

 <

uk-netmarketingchinwag [dot] com

>

Date: 11 March 1999 20:44

Subject: UKNM: Last Minute or How not to run an e-commerce site?



>Hello!

>

>Is there anyone on the list from Last Minute.com?

>

>Just had a terrible first shopping experience on the site trying to book an

>Easter break.

>Slow access, more crashes than I care to remember, once just after I had

>entered credit card details (!) - the phone helpline operator told me three

>times to keep trying the site and actually said they would prefer not to

>take phone bookings.

>

>Cut to a few hours later - still no access, and I am told that now the

>holiday has all sold out. I received an apology and was told "small

>company...can't cope with demand...etc"

>This answer did not reassure me, especially after I had entered my credit

>card details in time for a crash.

>

>Outcome: A customer (not a potential customer, but a real, ready to spend

>customer) can't spend the 500 GBP they were perfectly happy to. What's

worse

>is that they now have a bad opinion of LM.com

>

>Surely this isn't the way to run an ecommerce site or build a brand with

>regular custom? What use is promotion without infrastructure to support it?

>

>I've happily shopped on the Internet before - most recently at Interflora

>and Amazon - but if this was my first dalliance with e-commerce, I would

not

>be too keen to rush back into cyberspace.

>

>M


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