Customer confidence (Full Version)

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Andy from Spain -> Customer confidence (10/15/2002 16:51:13)

Hi

I know when setting up an online store customer confidence is a pretty big deal. In the UK a lot of ecommerce sites show a graphic from Which magazine showing they' ve passed various tests and it' s " safe" to purchase from that particular store - does anyone know of any reputable international organisations that run the same sort of scheme?

Cheers
Andy



Thomas Brunt -> RE: Customer confidence (10/17/2002 11:19:17)

You mean something like this?

http://www.geotrust.com/true_site/index.htm



Andy from Spain -> RE: Customer confidence (10/17/2002 11:51:57)

Hi Tom

That' s the sort of thing, I found this one http://netcheck.com - thing is I' ve never heard of either of them whereas " Which" in the UK is a household name - do you think it would make any difference to you or anyone else if you saw one of these on a site?

Cheers
Andy



Thomas Brunt -> RE: Customer confidence (10/17/2002 12:15:31)

I believe that I' m a typical Web shopper in that I buy when I find the product I want -- period. I prefer to buy from a name that I know, but I don' t hesitate to buy from a name I don' t know if that' s where my search leads me. I wouldn' t notice a site ID if it was there. I would never think to look around for one during a visit.

I would only hesitate if I don' t see https and a padlock when I' m asked for my cc info. I would not ever do business with a site that takes cc info without ssl.

That' s a good question, however. What do the rest of you think?

t



Rian -> RE: Customer confidence (10/17/2002 12:36:26)

Hi Andy!

As far as the US is concerned I would also take a look at the BBBOnLine Programs
http://www.bbbonline.org/Business/
Example:
http://www.molepro.com/support/common_questions/company.htm

and TRUSTe Privacy Seal

http://www.truste.com/bus/pub_faqs.html

Example:
http://privacy.msn.com/

These are not necessarily directly related to e-commerce but they are widely recognized...

Rian [;)]



abbeyvet -> RE: Customer confidence (10/17/2002 12:48:27)

I would be the same as Thomas. I also don' t buy from messy badly designed sites on the basis that if they cannot get something as basic as that together there is probably a lot of other stuff they cannot get together too well either.

My feeling is that if users are savvy enough to go about looking for one of those seals then they probably know enough to judge the merits of the site without it.

Having said that I can see where you are coming from Andy. While people would not recognise the meaning and signifigance of something like those seals, and therefore probably not think of clicking on them, the Which symbol is so widely recognised and respected, offline as well as online, in the UK that its very presence would be really reassuring for potential customers.




ajdevies -> RE: Customer confidence (10/18/2002 14:41:01)

As abbeyvet said about the " Which" symbol in the UK, the BBB in the US has been around before the WWW and had a good reputation prior to e-commerce.

While the BBB is business supported (business owners pay membership fees to BBB, consumers pay nothing in the way of direct fees to BBB,) members in the BBB are theoretically guaranteeing a certain code of practices regarding customer relations and disputes. It adds a certain ' warm, fuzzy' quality to shopping at a store/site (on- or off-line) that displays the BBB symbol.

However, the BBB membership is no guarantee that in the event of a dispute the customer will prevail. Members in the BBB can just not bother to respond to written complaints. The refusal of a response goes into BBB' s files and future customers will only know about the refusals if they check the client' s BBB standing prior to doing business with them. I speak from sad experience about not checking a car repair shop' s standing before consigning the work. That and as the former owner of a BBB-membership subscribed business had made for a much wiser consumer.

I wouldn' t avoid a site that is not a member of BBB, but I' m more comfortable shopping there. Especially if 1) you check the merchant' s BBB status, and 2) as Thomas Brunt said, you see https / ssl and the locked symbol - kind of like double insurance.

I' ve also received notice from one of my major credit cards, that they have added better consumer protection in the form of less or no liability when using e-commerce. I' m not sure of the small print (which is inevitable.)

Thanks for letting me add my 2 cents worth.



Seventh -> RE: Customer confidence (10/18/2002 21:06:53)

Ajdevies,

I' d have to disagree with you about the BBB. To be honest, it is nothing more than a listing. And though many people consider that being a part of their network symbolizes quality products by their members, that is not the case at all.

What most people don' t know is that unless enough people start calling in to the BBB concerning a particular company, they' ll never post the ' wronging of customers by a company' in the offending company' s profile.

Kind of ironic, dontcha think?



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