"Simon Galgut" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'll let you know. I ordered some wheels that I dont need for a few weeks. My theory is that the
> initial response to on-line orders fron a new
website
> is usually good - after a while when the novelty has worn off things might change.
there is also the "praise == kiss of death" phenomenon I have noticed with on-line traders.
They sometimes appear to underestimate the resource required to deal with a sudden peak in customer
demand (or just don't have that resource anyway) - they have a successful marketing campaign or are
praised on usenet or the web and then find they cannot deal with the influx of orders this causes!
I noticed this happen to online DIY kit dealer Screwfix in Summer 2001 (took them several months to
recover, with a lot of negative publicity) , and more recently to Smile Internet bank after good
press in the Guardian encouraged loads of new customers! To give Credit to Smile/Co-Op, they were
very honest what had happened and dealt with it quickly, and when I needed info urgently the co-op
bank call centre gave it straight away, *with an apology*.
However both the above were large companies - I can see how an SME can get quickly overwhelmed with
orders and start letting customers down - to the point where they may even be suspected (perhaps
incorrectly, but understandably from a *customer* point of view) of fraudulent trading!
Alex