'Two Left Feet' - a cautionary tale

You may have been following in 'In the News' the story of 'Two Left Feet' - the online baby clothing and equipment company - which went into administration on 24 March, leaving expectant parents in the lurch. The story of how they got there is not straight-foward, but is definitely a cautionary tale on what can happen if you do not get customer service right.

'Two Left Feet' (TLF) started as a small independent family business in 1998 and grew fast to a £7 million turnover business. TLF failed to match the growth with investment in the ordering and customer-service systems they needed and customer experience began to suffer. Complaints started pouring in, mainly about missing orders and failure to pay refunds. Customers struggled to get through to anyone on the phone and TLF finally removed the customer phone line all together, accepting communication by email only. Frustrated and worried customers, desperate for their order or money back, had nowhere else to turn but sites like Plebble and the media to vent their feelings.

The BBC's 'Watchdog' programme featured TLF in 2006 and following an unprecedented flood of complaints, aired another feature in February 2009. Already struggling with cashflow because of lack of credit in the retail system, this was the final straw for TLF. The bank pulled emergency funding and the business collapsed, leaving the owner and staff devastated.

It goes to show that there are very real consequences for leaving customers feeling alienated and not prioritising engagement and retention. This was an extreme case, but as the recession bites, I fear more businesses will be tempted to cut or not invest in customer service. I just hope the story of 'Two Left Feet' serves as a caution to those businesses to put reputation first. I cannot put it better than the ex-'dragon,' Richard Farleigh, commenting on TLF on the Watchdog programme: "word of mouth, that's all there is."

And the cautionary tale for the rest of us... Search Plebble and other sites for other customer's experiences before you buy. Installing Plebble's browser toolbar will help alert you of companies with poor performance.