Package delivery has come to be one of those things that we expect well-known logistics companies to get right.  It’s their core business. But that was not the case with a recent FedEx package.

I ordered an item online and got the “it will be delivered by 8 pm on Tuesday” message and that the item was being shipped by FedEx.  On Saturday, 3 days before the promised delivery date, I checked the status of my package and was surprised to see: “Delivery Attempted. Business Closed.” Really? I was home all day.  

The online FedEx information was no help so I decided to call the FedEx number and got a recording. I had to tell their “interactive voice response system” my tracking number 4 times before they got it right. Ugh! Not wanting to risk another issue, I selected an option to pick up the package. I was given 3 locations, the closest being 5 miles from my home. Weird since there is a FedEx Office and Package store 1 mile from my home but that location was not an option.  All-in-all it was a very frustrating and disappointing experience and certainly not what you would expect from a world-class logistics provider like FedEx.

In 2018, a PwC study reported that one in three consumers (32%) said they would walk away from a brand they love after just one bad experience. With this in mind, a consistent exceptional customer experience is paramount in retaining customers and must be delivered with every interaction or in the case of FedEx with each and every delivery. Unfortunately on this particular day, FedEx not only didn’t deliver a package, they forgot to deliver Customer W.O.W.