The risks of outsourcing your customer experience

A few months ago I received a letter.

I got a notice to go pick it up at the post office as some custom fees were due. I had no idea what that was about, so I complied. Once there, I was informed I had to pay seven euros and change, for this letter came from outside the European Union and had a declared value of five euros.

A Surprising Subscription Reminder

Seven euros are not enough, apparently, to keep my curiosity at bay, so I paid. By the way, if you wonder how it is possible that import fees on a five euros value are higher than the value itself, welcome to the club, I was also astonished. It appears that there are minima for these fees, regardless of the original value imported.

I opened the letter, and found inside four or five stickers from Wired magazine.

I immediately thought I had fallen the victim of some sophisticated scam, but soon realized that was unlikely, as the money I just paid went to the Austrian customs, not the sender of the letter. Then it all came back to me. At some point last year, I subscribed to a promotional offer to access the digital version of Wired: one year for one dollar. Of course, I signed up. I had completely forgotten about it, and was sadly reminded of it in very unpleasant circumstances. Not only, I had paid an extra seven euros, but I also wasted half an hour going to the post office.

My “promotional” Wired subscription had now cost me hundreds of euros.

The Leica Letdown

Fast-forward to mid-December 2023, I was home that day, but because our elevator was out of order, I got another notice about a package awaiting at the post office. It was just before leaving town for two weeks, I wasn’t expecting any package, and remembering the Wired misadventure, I decided that could wait for my return.

In early January, a couple of days after getting back to Vienna, I decided to go to the Post Office. This time, nothing to pay, but I was surprised to receive a very tiny packet. So tiny in fact that it could have easily fit in my mailbox, if it had not been requiring my signature. In the tiny box, a holiday greetings card and two chocolates from Leica to thank me for being a client. Needless to say chocolates and cards immediately found the way to the first trash can.

I think that facepalm left a red mark on my forehead…

Reflecting on the Bigger Picture

You may wonder why I am telling you all this.

The common negative feeling in both these situations wasn’t directed at the Austrian Post services, although they were involved in both occurrences. The negative user experiences in my mind were associated with Wired Magazine, and Leica. Their poor choices have cost me half an hour each, plus seven euros in the first case.

Could the Austrian Post have improved my experience? Certainly so in the first occurrence. If their staff was universally equipped to charge import fees at the door, I would at least saved the round-trip to Zollergasse. If our elevator was more reliable, or the mail delivery person more athletic, the second round-trip would also have been avoided.

Here’s the thing, though: I did not start either of these journeys with the Post. I started them with Wired and with Leica. These events were parts of my user experience as a client of these two companies, and the subsequent frustration and disappointments are now tied to my perception of them.

When you outsource aspects of your user experience to third parties, you take a risk, as the chances these companies care about your customers as much as you do are close to nil unless you invest very seriously in them.

It is not random that the only two companies I order without apprehension here in Vienna are Amazon and Apple. The former runs their own delivery logistics, the latter probably pays enough that even regular delivery companies never, ever, mess up a delivery. Meanwhile, I canceled our Hello Fresh subscription because they use a shipping company that thought it was ok to leave a package containing meat for eight hours in the hall of our building.

You can outsource parts of your service, but you’ll own your clients’ experience to the very last drop.

Your Turn

Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation, where what seemed like a small convenience turned into an unexpected hassle? I’d love to hear your stories and thoughts on how companies can better manage the outsourced parts of their customer experience. Share your experiences in the comments below.