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

[Mario Tilney-Bassett]

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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