Customer service--is this allowed

alltrightbricks

I had a buyer email me seeking part 2489 in old dark gray. They have already been having a terrible time determining what the exact color they needed was by ordering the wrong colors. Comes down to they need the old dark gray, and there is no one on BO that carries that item in that color. So they are asking me if I can be of any help finding this item for them. Well, I know a place that has this item for sale, but am I allowed to tell them that?

To me it is good customer service--in the real world. If I'm shopping at Home Depot and they do not have the stove pipe I need they will tell me all the other places I'm likely to find it. I don't think BO will be hurt by this, as really I've only had one or two buyers I would point at the other site, and it will make people on this site seem friendly and helpful. Honestly I think that we are here to stay as a site, my sales here are better, and it looks to be a long time before the other site gets their act together.
Can we afford a little customer service of this kind?
I will wait on Admin before emailing this buyer back. But I'm curious as to the thoughts of the community on this.
Thanks,
Katie

Lawrence

Ultimately I would prefer not bit I understand it's a difficult situation. If I owned a retail store, i don't think I would direct a customer to a direct competitor, but certainly to non competitors if relevant.

theHellmouth

Sure, why not? Better to hear it from you than to find it out for themselves. They probably consider it good customer service and are more likely to come to you first if they need more.

theHellmouth

If I owned a retail store, i don't think I would direct a customer to a direct competitor, but certainly to non competitors if relevant.

For you Lawrence it's clear, you DO own a retail shop ;-) Should you start pointing buyers to the other site, then we're in real trouble

However for us as sellers, a direct competitor is another seller, be it here or at another site. As said before, we try to offer good customer service (because we expect them to come back for another order), but eventually it's the competition that gets the order.

alltrightbricks

@the Hellmouth
That is how I feel about it. They will know that I am friendly and helpful even if it doesn't benefit me directly. On the other hand if I don't tell them and they find out for themselves like you say, then they are going to wonder about my customer service since I surely knew the answer and didn't want to give it.
A hard call, but I prefer to error on this side of making the customer (past and future if not exactly present) happy. People do remember these sort of things.
Just want to make sure ahead of time that I wasn't going to get into big trouble for doing so.
Katie

Stragus

We sellers are in competition? I prefer to see the goodwill and fellowship among Lego addicts, we tend to help each other out all the time.

Though it's quite different regarding BrickOwl and its competition, especially given the aggression displayed by the other party in the past.

theHellmouth

We sellers are in competition? I prefer to see the goodwill and fellowship among Lego addicts, we tend to help each other out all the time.

Though it's quite different regarding BrickOwl and its competition, especially given the aggression displayed by the other party in the past.

Sure we are a community and such but in essence there is still some competition, just have a look at prices for any part really, there will always be a seller wanting to be the cheapest or trying to lure buyers with a sale or coupons.

It is true the websites themselves are in competition, trying to get the biggest buyer/seller base and such. However I don't feel this strong competition between myself or another seller here at BrickOwl or the other site. I know people very closely who stayed at the other site and we buy from each other. If I myself need parts I look across both sites for my favourite sellers, for good customer service, etc.

alltrightbricks

Follow up
I sent the buyer to the exact page he needed to be at to find the part on the other site. I just received this email from him:

"Katie you are fantastic! I can't thank you enough.
I will be back to purchase from you in the future, you'll be top of my list and i'll tell my friends to do likewise too!
Regards"

Hoddie

Another option might have been to offer to secure the piece from 'the other place' so that they could add it to their next order. Sure, it would have cost you a couple of quid but good customer service often does

Markyd7

I agree with Hoddie.
I've directed customers to other stores on here before and they've always come back.

I'd have offered to get the part for them if I could find it.

Creative Technic

I also agree that it would be a better solution to offer to source the part(s) I have done this in the past with the same "happy customer" result.

alltrightbricks

I honestly didn't think of this approach .
Right now I am closed for vacation, and will be gone for most of the next 3 weeks, so such an approach this time would not have been practical unless I expected the buyer to wait a month before getting his package.
I do understand that it's not the best for business, but I also find it hard to keep my buyer in the dark by not opening his eyes to a new market. That may still be good customer service, but it truly is not in the best interest of the buyer.
----I know, I know----thin ice here.
For the record, this is the only buyer I have every pointed at the other site, and will go out of my way to keep from doing so. I have buyers telling me that certain parts are so hard for them to find---but they can find them here. This was a plea for something that could not be found here, and so was hard to ignore.
Katie

Hoddie

Either way I don't think it's a big deal. What you did was also good customer service in my opinion.