Kmart recently offered selected customers a coupon for $10 off a $20 purchase. Each customer receiving the coupon offer had given their e-mail address to Kmart and shopped in a community in which Kmart had recently updated the store.
Missing from the coupon, though, was a notice that it could be used only in certain locations. No surprise that the distribution quickly turned from a targeted e-mailing into a massive number of Internet hits. Also no surprise that when customers brought their coupon into the nonparticipating stores, store staff told them the coupon would not be honored. Actually, it appears that it got much worse than this. A bunch of people posted on Kmart’s Facebook page that they’d been accused by store staff of trying to defraud the store.
Here are a few of the reminders inspired by this Kmart episode in the Internet age:
- Proofread, even when there is time pressure to start a promotional campaign. Make that especially when there is time pressure. Mistakes like the promise of a 50% discount will spread so rapidly you won’t be able to catch them.
- Coach staff to fix the problem, not fix the blame. My impression after reading and hearing reports of what happened is that many store staff sincerely believed the coupons were fraudulent. It looked like an Internet hoax. I believe store staff, including managers, said to customers, “This coupon is fraudulent,” and the customer heard, “You’re a dishonest cheat.”
- Acknowledge the seriousness of a problem. KOMO TV reported that in a telephone interview, the Kmart spokesperson said what happened was, “simply an error.” That quote got very fast, very widespread circulation on the Internet.
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