Having just recently sent a package to Hong Kong from the UK Via FedEx I feel fully qualified too say that you suffer from a well known large company syndrome known as “Arse and Elbow” To put it simply your companies elbow doesn’t know what its arse is doing, let me explain my frustration in the hope that one of the following people either read this, decide to take action or contact me for help as your website sucks.
James L. Barksdale
John A. Edwardson
Judith L. Estrin
J.R. Hyde III
Shirley A. Jackson
Steven R. Loranger
Gary W. Loveman
Frederick W. Smith
Joshua I. Smith
Paul S. Walsh
Peter S. Willmott
Come on FedEx when was the last time you did any of these things below
1 A usability test?
2 Gather feedback from your customers?
3 An exit survey?
4 Find out your conversion rate of new customers?
Ok let me explain
I want to send a package to Hong Kong , so the first thing I do is go to Google.com and search FedEx
What is the first thing I get ? fedex.com, it seems to know that I am from the UK as I notice that the URL switches to fedex.com/gb good start then it starts to fall apart …
I am confronted with a huge advert right in the middle of the screen asking if my current couriers are “doing a bad job”
I now have to spend the next 5 minuets hunting around tiny links on the page to try and find out what service I am looking for…
So now I spot “international shipping “ at the top of the page so I click it
I am now on a page with a tiny font offering what services they do….
I now ( after much squinting at the screen) decide I want international economy service..
So I read down the page again having much trouble with the tiny grey font..
And at the bottom there “call to action “ which should have been something like this
CALL ME, I BADLY WANT TO SHIP YOUR PACKET 0845 22 22 22
Was actually this
** Please contact Customer Service for details or restrictions per country.
And a “back to the top” option?
So I click the “customer service” option
So now I have this page
• Pick-up request
Prepare a shipment and schedule a courier online with FedEx Ship Manager at fedex.com. Access FedEx Ship Manager at fedex.com by clicking on “Ship” at the top of the screen from any page on fedex.com.
• Service and price information
From any page on fedex.com, click on “Rates” at the top of the screen to view the FedEx List Rates. You can consult our transit times and service availability online as well.
• Package status and Proof of Delivery
How do I track a package on fedex.com?
From any page on fedex.com, click on “Tracking” at the top of the screen. At the main Tracking page, enter the tracking numbers from your shipping label receipt.
How do I find a Proof of Delivery on fedex.com?
From any page on fedex.com, click on “Tracking” at the top of the screen. At the main Tracking page, enter the tracking numbers from your shipping label receipt. Once the shipment is delivered, you can see who signed for it on the results page.
• Open an Account
Open a FedEx account online today and start taking advantage of all that FedEx offers.
So Now I click the FedEx Ship Manager at fedex.com.
Are you still with me? Or are you losing the will to live or read on? Yep that’s just how I felt …..
So Bollocks to all this FedEx, you badly need to sit a 65 year old guy in front of a computer and give him googles homepage and say “type FedEx in there” “when your on the website send a package” and watch him struggle !!! For hours on end ….
You see this link below, well that’s a great homepage how easy and simple is that ?
So then tired of all this messing about I went in search of a phone number… so back to homepage, a little search and there we are….
So I call 08456 07 08 09 (real number) I get the standard options , press 1 for this press two for this etc.. so I press the number that most represents what I want , then I get the loudest buzzing noise coming down my phone into my ear that I have ever heard … after about three seconds it gives me a ringing tone .. But then I know whats coming THE DREADED INDIAN CALL CENTER…
I was right… however I do have to say that the woman’s English on the other end was impeccable …..
So I gave her all my details and haggled a price, which I thought was really kinda great, you don’t expect to be able to haggle with a large corporation like FedEx ? Or maybe we weren’t haggling the price; maybe she was just giving me the most expensive options first? it sure felt like we were haggling ?
Then after taking down all my details she said, would it be ok for me to get someone to ring you and set up an account? Errrrrr what I said, surely that’s what we have just been doing for the last 5 minutes? No came the reply, someone will have to call you back … “arse and elbow”……. So I say, why not just take the details I have just given you and set it up? I don’t want to be going through all that again just to set up an account?
Anyway this was not possible and I refused to take another call just to give the details I had already given…
So I pay with my credit card and the call ends..
Three hours later a young guy comes and picks up the parcels , I fill in some airways bills and he asks, “have you paid for these” arse and elbow …. Yes I reply, with no proof whatsoever he says ok and just takes the packets ….
Fedex here my plea ……
Take a really good look at your website and homepage and do some testing to see how you can make peoples lives easier …
It can’t be that hard, surely there can only be a certain number of things people actually come to your homepage for, let’s see
• Track and trace and Parcel
• Come and Collect a Parcel
• Get A Quote
• Services we offer
I mean half your homepage is taken up with “latest news” who really seriously is bothered about that?
What you need is to do some simple testing on your site to see just how much “new customers” on your site find it real hard work just to get someone to come and collect a packet.
If you are really struggling to find someone to sort this for you, I happen to know a few guys who lecture at Google about these types of things, so drop me an email and I will point you in the right direction..
