I'll get straight to the point here. My wife ordered a mirror online from Urban Outfitters. The mirror is framed by recycled tin labels, a novel idea for both looks and for environmental purposes. Good stuff.
The mirror arrived on our doorstep and we opened up the box. This mirror made from recycled parts was squeezed in between (drum roll, please).... two sheets of foam.
Isn't this defeataing the purpose? And isn't there any other material in the known universe that is both affordable and environmentally friendly? Something crazy like cardboard? Shredded paper? Cotton balls? I don't know, I'm not in the purchasing department, but there's gotta be something out there that can do the job.
To add aggravation to annoyance, I sent a brief e-mail to Urban Outfitters addressing this very issue. That was a week ago. Still no reply.
I've said it before, I'll say it again... what is the point of these contact forms on business websites IF NOBODY IS EVER GOING TO RESPOND TO A CUSTOMER'S E-MAIL?!?!
Showing posts with label contact forms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label contact forms. Show all posts
Friday, January 11, 2008
Monday, January 1, 2007
Website Forms: How NOT to Provide Assistance
I frequently trawl the Internet during my spare time. And I find that I often will be searching a site and come up with a question or comment about the company/organization at hand. So I look for contact information to air said question or comment. And what do I find more often than not: the devil's idea of website marketing... "contact forms".
A visitor to a website in some way has interest in learning more about the website owner (i.e.-- I'm not going to go to, say, Manchester City Football Club's website if I have no interest in the team). But contact forms, like this annoying form from Wawa's website, are a direct impediment to contacting somebody on the other end. Why would I want to fill out a form full of questions, often including my name, email address, question topic, and so forth, when simply having an appropriate email address would make things so much more direct. In addition, I find that there's a 50% chance that the recipient will ever respond... which is unfathomable since each and every legitimate question/comment should get a response. I think the information filled out in these forms often gets lost in "cyberspace", never to be found again. Or perhaps the information is found, but only after 3 months of sitting in contact form purgatory.
My advice: provide a direct email link to a real person who can answer a question/comment or who can redirect you to the appropriate person. Ditch the forms.
A visitor to a website in some way has interest in learning more about the website owner (i.e.-- I'm not going to go to, say, Manchester City Football Club's website if I have no interest in the team). But contact forms, like this annoying form from Wawa's website, are a direct impediment to contacting somebody on the other end. Why would I want to fill out a form full of questions, often including my name, email address, question topic, and so forth, when simply having an appropriate email address would make things so much more direct. In addition, I find that there's a 50% chance that the recipient will ever respond... which is unfathomable since each and every legitimate question/comment should get a response. I think the information filled out in these forms often gets lost in "cyberspace", never to be found again. Or perhaps the information is found, but only after 3 months of sitting in contact form purgatory.
My advice: provide a direct email link to a real person who can answer a question/comment or who can redirect you to the appropriate person. Ditch the forms.
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