Creatures of habit
I’ve used my M&S credit card for years now. I was drawn in when it first launched by the generous money off voucher, free coffee and travel insurance. Before that I’d used a Visa card. I use my credit card a lot, actually a hell of a lot. It must be the shopping gene in me!
However, just recently, M&S messed up big time.
Just before Xmas I noticed some fraudulent transactions on my statement. I called M&S up and was told I needed to stop my card and order a new one. It was 24th December so I knew the holidays would slow the card delivery down a bit. The thought of being without a card panicked me a tad – ok, that’s an understatement – but at least I’d done all of my Xmas shopping. My other concern was to have my card before I went to the Caribbean on holiday on 12th January. Plenty of time you would have thought.
As the days went on and I’d heard nothing, I called, and called again, several times. This time the UK team told me that I’d been incorrectly advised and that I’d cancelled my card needlessly. They assured me my card was on its way. I explained to them how nervous I was about getting it on time. Who wants to go on holidays for ten days without a credit card – not me.
To cut a long story short, the card didn’t arrive in time. There had been a ‘processing error’ but the UK team were nothing but helpful and professional at all times. I even got £20 worth of vouchers for the inconvenience.
Disaster was averted however when I discovered an old Visa card in the back of my purse that I’d never used. I tried it out and it worked. Bingo!
The M&S card arrived a few days after I got back from holiday, but almost three weeks on, I still haven’t activated it. Pathetic as it might seem, it’s all a bit of an effort. I have to sign it and I have to call someone up to activate it or go online. Don’t get me wrong, I’d much rather use my M&S card, but it struck me that when it comes to financial services, marketers are facing this sort of inertia day in day out.
Image taken from vegan.sheknows.com
I’m sure I will get round to using my M&S card again, but my experience shows just how easy it is to both lose and gain a customer in this fickle, too busy, or can’t be bothered age we live in.