Sometimes I wonder if marketing folks ever take the time to talk with the fulfillment and customer service area of the company. The best laid marketing plans can come to an abrupt halt if everyone in the company is not aware of what offers have been made.

I'll give you a case study. One you won't want to replicate! While I won't tell you the publisher, I'll give you lots of hints so you can guess for yourself!

Internet Monitor is listed in an industry directory. As part of our directory update mailing in the Spring of 2000, we received an offer to purchase the directory at a "special discount of $169.95 -- 15% off the regular price of $199.95". The book was promised for shipment in October 2000. I returned the order form in the same envelope as our updated listing form.

I received the directory the first week of December (two months late) along with an invoice in the amount of $211.65. Inside the shipping container was a flyer with a headline of "Get FREE Web access through May 2001!" But the catch was that I had to wait until I was mailed my password in order to access the online database. I received my password on January 31, 2001 -- giving me only 4 months of access.

I called their customer service department and explained the pricing problem and they said they wouldn't make a change until I faxed them proof of my original order. Luckily, since I had had problems with this publisher before, I had saved a copy and faxed it over. The customer service rep said "he had never seen this before and would have to check with his manager to see if it was valid". After some probing, I finally found out the answer. This publisher had decided to increase the price of the directory to include a limited time access to their online version of the directory. So, the directory was now priced at $249.00 instead of $225.00. But the problem from the customer's standpoint was that they promoted this new benefit "Free Access" and yet charged the customer for it by raising the price by $24.00.

To me, there are several important issues to think about.

First, when you make decisions that affect your customers, you should have the ethical responsibility to notify your customer before the decision goes into affect. Even though the order form stated (in very small print) "prices are subject to change without notice", when you solicit an order for a product that won't be published for eight months, there is plenty of time to let your backorders know that you've changed the price and give them an opportunity to cancel their order.

Secondly, be careful about how you train your customer service people in handling complaints. Give them the power to immediately solve problems without having to "check with their manager". Provide them copies of all your order forms and lists of all your offers so they sound professional to your customer. Remind them to satisfy the customer at all costs.

Thirdly, deliver what you promise. There was no reason that the password couldn't have been sent out PRIOR to the shipment of the book. Waiting a month poses several problems for customers. First, they feel cheated because they have had the book for a month without access to the online database that was promised in the shipment of the book. Secondly, if you know things are late, make a special offer to the customer such as "We've extended your free access until June!".

Unlike many purchasers of this directory (libraries and bookstores), I would be willing to bet that few people realized the pricing scam accomplished by this publisher. But I'll tell you one thing. I'm not going to buy this directory again and I've been a loyal customer for 15 years. So think about how your policies affect your customer and don't let this happen to you.