Losing Friends Over Nothing

As I prepare to write my columns each month, I am sometimes a bit short on topics. But then something will happen that provides a good subject, and then things sort of fall into place. That's the case with this column, which was sparked by an irritating letter.

About three months ago I ordered a piece of software from "Bigsoft Services," free except for a five-dollar shipping fee. No complaints with that, but it never came. I found that "Biggie Express" had claimed to have delivered it to my door. They were wrong, of course, and told me to file a claim. They were prompt in sending the proper form that even had some of the blanks filled in. Pretty efficient, I thought.

Then I got this letter:

"Our investigation shows that we cannot accept liability. Our records reflect this shipment was tendered to Biggie Express with instructions on the airbill indicating Bigsoft Services should be billed. Therefore, this shipment moved under Bigsoft Services' customer number making Bigsoft Services responsible for the billing. Bigsoft Services and Biggie Express have a contractual agreement that claims be settled between Bigsoft Services and Biggie Express. We suggest that you contact Bigsoft Services regarding your claim. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience you have incurred."

I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but this is pure mumbo jumbo. Five dollars is hardly worth a lot of effort, but the cryptic denial had piqued me a bit.

A couple of phone calls turned up a nice person at Biggie who eventually explained. I had paid Bigsoft five dollars. Then they had paid Biggie to deliver the package, but Biggie had lost the package. I would have to file a claim with Bigsoft so they could file a claim against Biggie. Biggie would then give my money back to Bigsoft, who would then send it back to me. Sounds like a lot of work for five dollars.

Here' s my thinking. Biggie has my five dollars. It would be cheaper and quicker if Biggie would just send the money straight on to me. No more claims, no more letters, no more circular reasoning. Then Biggie and Bigsoft could duke it out between themselves over any remaining differences.

All of the people at Biggie were very nice, but they just didn't appreciate such extra-simple logic. Rules are rules, you know. Procedures must be followed, even at triple the cost.

So what's the point of this rambling? Biggie could have endeared me as a customer forever by saying, "This is not what we normally do, but we'll take care of it. The check is in the mail." All of us could have been winners. But I finally surrendered, leaving my five dollars hostage.

Sometimes we just need to overlook the small irritations and move on to more important issues. Relationships--whether they be with friends or customers--should not be snagged by trivial matters just to make a point.

Copyright 1999 James McAlister

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