I might be showing my age here or a slight snobbery (or both) but I must confess that Dixons had well and truly fallen off my shopping consideration list.
Whether it was the memory of those pretty horrible stores where some spotty teenager would grunt at you whilst surrounded by electrical detritus or the confusion over Dixons stores becoming Currys digital, unless of course you were in an airport, I can’t really pinpoint the point when they fell off my radar but suffice to say it, they had.
Recently they made a resurgence into the public consciousness with their witty, irreverent and rather risky ads:
And although I smiled at their boldness – it kind of reinforced the view that it offered a less than satisfactory experience. After all, they make the achingly cool place sound kind of nice…
Anyway, I recently met with some senior members of DSGI who were telling me about the efforts to reinvigorate Dixons and the virtues of their service offerings:
- Free delivery = Check
- Price Match Promise = Check
- Installation and removal of old appliances = Check
Good on them I thought.
Fast forward a few days and my lovely Mum decided she wanted a new TV, and of course she needed it within a week as the Virgin Media people were coming to install new services. So, as my better half offered to trawl the web for a good deal I happened to say “oh check Dixons, they’re supposed to have good delivery options.”
Later that day, with a good deal found, we placed an order on Dixons.co.uk.
Magically they were able to deliver that week. The only downside so far was that whilst they could tell us the date of delivery, they couldn’t tell you the slot or even better, let you choose one. Mum had an appointment that she couldn’t miss so I figured we’d take the risk and hope we could resolve any issues once Dixons were able to confirm the slot.
The night before the delivery was due, my Mum received a phone call from a lovely lady called Nicky* she informed Mum that they would be delivering the TV between 7-11am. At this point Mum told her that she had to leave at 9.30am for a hospital appointment, and asked if the nice lady could call me to rearrange. Nicky said it would be no problem to sort out but that she would call her back to confirm.
I then received a voicemail from Nicky* telling me that due to Mum’s circumstances they would arrange for delivery between 7am-9am and that she would try me back later to confirm. She also then phoned Mum and informed her of the times.
Now this may sound all fairly straight forward but what impressed me was that Mum wasn’t treated as simply one of a number of deliveries that had to be made, or as if she was a pain in the ass but instead she was treated with kindness, empathy and most importantly as a human.
Fantastic service.
But it didn’t finish there. The next morning at 7.30am I received a phone call from the delivery drivers telling me that they would be delivering within half an hour.
So, I called Mum to let her know but, I’m too late she’s had the same call from the delivery guys herself. Later on I received a text from her to tell me it’s all delivered, no problem. When I saw her later that morning, I quizzed her…"What were the delivery guys like? Rude? Impatient? Drop it off on the doorstep?" "Nope, not at all" she replied, "they were lovely, polite and helpful," brought it straight in and popped it down right where she asked them too.
I must say I’ve been impressed, Dixons service way surpassed my expectations (hence writing this post) and for me they have placed themselves well and truly back on my consideration mix. Well done Dixons!
Things to crack:
1. Allow users to see delivery options when ordering
2. Allow users to select delivery slots – preferably in one hour slots but if 4 is all that’s possible then go for it
3. Align service proposition with brand – it did confuse Mum why Curry’s called her regarding her delivery when she thought we’d ordered it from Dixons.
(I know, I know but it confused her and I’m sure there are others)
*Nicky - I'm sure that was her name but I may be mistaken.
- Free delivery = Check
- Price Match Promise = Check
- Installation and removal of old appliances = Check
Good on them I thought.
Fast forward a few days and my lovely Mum decided she wanted a new TV, and of course she needed it within a week as the Virgin Media people were coming to install new services. So, as my better half offered to trawl the web for a good deal I happened to say “oh check Dixons, they’re supposed to have good delivery options.”
Later that day, with a good deal found, we placed an order on Dixons.co.uk.
Magically they were able to deliver that week. The only downside so far was that whilst they could tell us the date of delivery, they couldn’t tell you the slot or even better, let you choose one. Mum had an appointment that she couldn’t miss so I figured we’d take the risk and hope we could resolve any issues once Dixons were able to confirm the slot.
The night before the delivery was due, my Mum received a phone call from a lovely lady called Nicky* she informed Mum that they would be delivering the TV between 7-11am. At this point Mum told her that she had to leave at 9.30am for a hospital appointment, and asked if the nice lady could call me to rearrange. Nicky said it would be no problem to sort out but that she would call her back to confirm.
I then received a voicemail from Nicky* telling me that due to Mum’s circumstances they would arrange for delivery between 7am-9am and that she would try me back later to confirm. She also then phoned Mum and informed her of the times.
Now this may sound all fairly straight forward but what impressed me was that Mum wasn’t treated as simply one of a number of deliveries that had to be made, or as if she was a pain in the ass but instead she was treated with kindness, empathy and most importantly as a human.
Fantastic service.
But it didn’t finish there. The next morning at 7.30am I received a phone call from the delivery drivers telling me that they would be delivering within half an hour.
So, I called Mum to let her know but, I’m too late she’s had the same call from the delivery guys herself. Later on I received a text from her to tell me it’s all delivered, no problem. When I saw her later that morning, I quizzed her…"What were the delivery guys like? Rude? Impatient? Drop it off on the doorstep?" "Nope, not at all" she replied, "they were lovely, polite and helpful," brought it straight in and popped it down right where she asked them too.
I must say I’ve been impressed, Dixons service way surpassed my expectations (hence writing this post) and for me they have placed themselves well and truly back on my consideration mix. Well done Dixons!
Things to crack:
1. Allow users to see delivery options when ordering
2. Allow users to select delivery slots – preferably in one hour slots but if 4 is all that’s possible then go for it
3. Align service proposition with brand – it did confuse Mum why Curry’s called her regarding her delivery when she thought we’d ordered it from Dixons.
(I know, I know but it confused her and I’m sure there are others)
*Nicky - I'm sure that was her name but I may be mistaken.
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