I ordered some planner refills a few minutes ago from Franklin Covey, and am chatting live with a rep to try to fix it just minutes later, and they can't do anything for me and are asking me to jump through a few hoops. This sucks.

I don't have time to call them at the moment, as I'm heading into a meeting, but I also emailed customer service so I'll post their useless reply here later. This just pisses me off that in this day and age the bar is still set so low for basic customer service. I asked them to do a quick change on an order for which the ink hadn't even dried and due to their system saying that it was "picking".

Seriously, did it really go into "picking" within 10 minutes???, or is that just some system flag based on half-assed business rules to provide customers with a false sense of progress via a website that illustrates in some faux way that their order is moving along?

Anyway, the transcript is in the extended version of this post. More to come.

[UPDATE] I retraced my steps in the order and found out that I did what I was supposed to, but the website is flawed. When I selected the dates I wanted, and then selected the size, it reset the dates to the period before what I had wanted, and just deliberately selected! WTF - I can actually reproduce the error on the site...that's proof positive that it's not my fault.

Anyway, I called cust serv and they're going to ship the correct ones, and reimburse me for the return and the shipping on the return when I send the items back. I still waste my time, which is what this planner is designed to manage. How ironic that the premier provider of time saving planning solutions that are designed to make us more effective has such archaic cust service policies & procedures.

What if the Franklin Covey customer service group actually followed the 7 Habits of one of the namesakes of their company?

1. Be Proactive: They'd have fixed the damn website so that I wouldn't be in this predicament

2. Begin with the end in mind: They'd have visioned how they wanted each customer to feel after an interaction with customer service and have trained their agents to make things right the first time.

3. Put first things first: Put the customer first

4. Think Win/Win: They could see that I'm a loyal customer with an annuity product (I'm going to be refilling the freaking planner and archiving the contents in one of their binders every year so, my LTV is AT LEAST $60/year * 30 + more years of work = ~$2500)

5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood: They would have asked me what type of resolution I was seeking and then negotiated from there.

6. Synergize: They'd have collaborated more on a solution (which they did over the phone by offering to at least reimburse me for shipping the wrong item back)

7. Sharpen the saw: They'd be eating their own dog food and figuring out how not to chop the balls off of their customer service support staff.

15 minutes is forever in internet time :) I once realized I had made a mistake with Amazon literally as I click the submit button. 15 seconds later and the order was already "in shipping" and could not be changed.

Yes, but the shipping dock is not the Internet, and they all still operate off of ERP systems in the background that just have a pretty web front end. I still think they're pulling one over by simply setting a flag in the system that their CS people are trained to react to.

I hate this. I've had it happen with Amazon and other online merchants in the past and I suspect what's really at work is that CSR you're talking to has no way to actually touch the ordering system or process. She sounds like she's reading from a scripted decision tree.

In fact, she's probably sitting in an outsourced call center somewhere hundreds or thousands of miles away from the pick-and-pack shipping facility (also probably outsourced) that is "already processing your order".

And I'll bet no actual employee of FranklinCovey even knows this is transpiring - or will - except as a tick mark on a monthly report from the call center.

Marc - You're right on there. It was very scripted, as I believe it would have to be to ensure consistency. However, their consistency measures ensure mediocrity, at best, and customer frustration as a worst case - my case.

They should have an escalation policy in place that supports customers that reach a certain threshold. I feel better that I'm able to vent via my weblog, but it doesn't change the fact that I'm now going to be seriously inconvenienced when taking action to correct the issue. Granted, I think it's my error, but I was certain of what I checked on the website, so who knows...

This is of no comfort to you right now I realize, but FranklinCovey is known for their outstanding customer service. I hope this is an exception to their otherwise impressive track record.

I was employed by FC in the tech support department for about 1.5 years. Shortly after 9/11 the CEO (Bob Witman) called a Town Hall metting for all employees and he swore up and down there would be no outsourcing...about 4 months later guess what, yup all the call centers were outsourced to EDS (Electronic Data Systems.) I was then hired on to the in-house call center (for FranklinCovey Tech Support) for a transisition period unitl the new techs (in Canada) could be completely independant of in-house techs (you know, us, the guys from the U.S. that actually tried to give the best customer service possible.) Anyway, my point is that FC is all about trying to pull themselves out of the (financial) hole they dug themselves into when they made the merger with Covey. Granted if they don't make money they can't stay in business but by outsourcing they have shot themselves in the foot and put themselves in an futile downward spiral they are trying to climb out of. To save money, they outsourced. I don't think FC corporate has a clue that people think that FC cust service SUX.

I just wanted to respond to this as I was once a franklinCovey employee. first of all: our headquarters, warehouse, online support, EVERYTHING is all located in the exact same spot in salt lake city. therefore, when 15 minutes after you place the order it says "picking" THEY ARE ACTUALLY ALREADY PICKING IT!!! it travels literally yards from the computer which recieved the order to the warehouse where the box is packed.

second: on the website when you are choosing the merchandise you want it lists the size FIRST! then the start date. so why would you choose the start date first??? not to mention that it shows you your order a number of times prior to your committing to it. is it franklincovey's fault that you didn't double check what you were ordering before you committed to the order? i don't think so.

third: you wrote
"1. Be Proactive: They'd have fixed the damn website so that I wouldn't be in this predicament"

how many people do you think do what you did and clicked backwards then didn't double check when the screen said to? i would guess very few. because most people who order off the internet are more careful of what they are doing. franklincovey is actually very good about fixing things to be in their customers favor. in my experience it is the people who come in expecting people to bow down and kiss their feet like they are royalty who won't ever get what they want because that is not the attitude you should have when trying to get something you want in ANY situation; not just retail.
furthermore, do you expect that the franklincovey web designers be able to read you mind and see the future and fix a "problem" before they are aware that there is one?

next you wrote
"3. Put first things first: Put the customer first"

that isn't even what "put first things first" is referring to. it is referring to your tasks through out each day and your time management.

next you wrote:
"4. Think Win/Win: They could see that I'm a loyal customer with an annuity product (I'm going to be refilling the freaking planner and archiving the contents in one of their binders every year so, my LTV is AT LEAST $60/year * 30 + more years of work = ~$2500)"

a planner at the most basic level (and cheapest) is 26.95 for classic size original pages (which i'm sure is what you bought) and 8.95 for the storage case. that hardly equals $60.00! plus i'm sure that the reason you are using franklincovey is because your employer likes you to which i assume probably means they will expense that for you. which means that you are A) not the customer we are trying to keep but rather your employer and B) this didn't end up costing you a dime.

ok so next you wrote:
"5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood: They would have asked me what type of resolution I was seeking and then negotiated from there."

what i can guess happened was that someone on the customer service line answered their telephone and said something to the affect of "thanks for calling franklin covey how can i help you?"
and you told them what you wanted. they did their job and found that your order was in "picking" which it was because the warehouse is just down the hall. then you didn't like the response you got so you started bitching. so the poor employee referred you to someone else so they didn't have to listen to you bitch. by then you had already lost you temper because you couldn't get what you wanted. so instead of calmly explaining what you wanted to angela you just bitched. and bitching is no way to get what you want. had you asked nicely i'm sure it would have been much simpler. seems to me you wasted your own time by being self righteous and expecting that just because you are our "customer" that you deserve to treat us like shit. SORRY NOT HOW RETAIL WORKS ANYMORE BUDDY!!! The customer is no longer "always right." Infact, the customer is usually wrong. and you can get a lot further being nice instead of "holier than thou" and bitchy. most retailers will bend over backwards for you if you are respectful. if you aren't respectful and you are demanding and petty than why should they have to bend over backwards for you if you aren't willing to cut them any slack for just trying to do their job???

in the end, this whole situation wasn't franklincovey's fault but your own. you didn't double check what you were doing and you expected them to be emmensely flexible when you weren't willing to bend even an inch.
:)

and i realize this entry is a year old. i just can't stand self serving self righteous people who think that because they are paying money that means they are the God of the establishment. fuck that.
how much time did you waste writing this bitch-fest of a blog??? compared to the time you ACTUALLY wasted corresponding with this angela??

Thanks for the insightful comments, "FC". You've made incorrect assumptions about me at nearly every turn, but hey, I welcome the comments here because I like the viewpoints.

Thanks again for contributing.