Glenn Cole writes,
> USA Today has a story about a botched order placed online through Harry and
> David, the (primarily) fruit mail-order house. Near the end, it notes:
>
> Another flaw: Orders entered online take longer to get into the
> system than telephone orders. Why? When you click "buy," the order
> is printed and then hand entered into the main order system.
In somewhat defending some of the e-services/e-commerce grumblings out there:
Unfortunately, there are firms that still want to use their familiar systems,
or maybe they haven't been able to link an older database to respond fast
enough over the web... there can be a raft of reasons why they went this way.
It could also be temporary (I'd have to see the article, but alas, time does
not permit right now). We've seen this time and time again.
Another case in point: The backend systems can be third party systems that are
not yours... and the firm doing the web work may either be unable or unwilling
to connect to those systems. The firm who provided the back end system may be
unwilling to have the web application interfacing with their databases. There
may be good reasons for this. When we connect to backend systems for
WRITE/UPDATE/DELETE access, we always get written permission from the vendor
first, as well as very detailed specifications. We don't get permission for
read access as the data belongs to the customer, and there's no potential
damage.
It's like anything new - and this is new ---- it's gonna take a bit before it's
all shaken out. A lot of people think this is a "walk in the park". Reality
Check: It's not. For the end user though - it should be as painless as
possible. Because we are a global community and all of us are different,
what's painless to one, is not necessarily painless to someone else. We
learned that... in one case, the hard way!
> I placed a couple orders online through Sharper Image. After the order and
> credit card# have been entered, the final screen says they will send two
> emails: one immediately as an order confirmation, and a second 24-48 hours
> later to confirm shipment, etc. It is only with this *second* email that
> you actually receive an order#.
You should get an order or reference number right after confirming the order.
We do this with WebStore - the customer gets a Reference/Order number right
then and there - however, many places will not charge your card until your
order ships. This could be the reason for the second e-mail.
The entire e-services (of which e-commerce is just a part) IS still in its
infantcy (regardless of how many stores have been out there). Not only that,
there are a lot of issues to resolve. Believe me - we've seen everything!
1. Some companies want online verification that a credit card is merely a good
card (not stolen) - others want full verification - and yet others just want
the number but prefer to swipe it manually. Thank God for CyberCash - they
have been a lifesaver for us in this respect. We have used CyberCash for
several projects - they handle almost everything!
2. Some will charge the card when shipped - some will charge up front. This
could be why an order number is not given right away... it has to hit the back
end system before an order number/customer number is given. Most "stores" will
charge the card when the order is shipped, but place a prenote on the card for
the total amount of the order when the order is confirmed. (This keeps
chargebacks to a minimum, or even nil).
3. Some want to use Purchase Orders. Yeah, we've done that too :)
4. Many want their own forms printed (picklists) and formats (Thank God for
Crystal Reports!)
I could go on... and this is not to complain either! There are ways to do this
and it will shake out very quickly. The best thing to do, if you have a
complaint, is to give the site some feedback on their systems.
(And yes, I am surprised that Sharper Image didn't at least give you some kind
of reference number - how the heck can an order be tracked without some kind of
reference number?)
Regards,
Joe (back to doing his e-services thing :)
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