I’ve already covered this experience as a customer but now it’s time for me to step back and look at the situation as a user experience and usability professional. I’m usually on the user research and interaction design side of SAAS but the enterprise-level, systemic failure across all UPS customer service channels could not be ignored in this incident.
Customer Service Failures
- No attempt in the field to find the correct house after attempting delivery at the wrong house.
- No follow through on commitment to call and reschedule delivery.
- Customer service call center repeatedly gave the customer bad information that didn’t match what was actually happening according to the tracking information.
- Recipient initiated contact through the email contact form on the UPS site and never received a response.
- The UPS Store doesn’t have the complete history of the customer service contact and exacerbates the situation by refusing a refund.
Customer’s Experience
UPS_journey-map (downloadable PDF)
The above journey-map shows the 15 day roller coaster the customer took that started with satisfaction but ended in a permanent loss of a customer for UPS. Every customer service channel the customer tried didn’t work as expected. Even the tracking system was vague and lead to false hope.
When the customer completely loses trust in a company, it’s virtually impossible to get that back.
Going Forward
First and foremost, UPS desperately needs to make sure that all customer service channels have access to the entire thread of customer interactions. Then UPS needs to do what they say they’re going to do. If you say you’re going to call, then call. If you say you can get the package redelivered, you’d better do it.