Notes From the Diaper Bag

WRITING THIS ISSUE'S Pushing the Envelope is a bit like coming out of a time warp.

My last three columns were written way back in early fall 2005, prior to my maternity leave. This week, I crawled out of the diaper bag and jumped back in the direct marketing saddle (at least during business hours).

But as you can probably guess, even with an infant vying for my attention 24/7, it was hard to get out of the DM mindset. Here's a few postcards from Momville.

• Readers may recall that last issue I related ordering two gingerbread lighthouses from L.L. Bean as Christmas gifts. I placed the orders in October, and was assured that the items wouldn't arrive until after Thanksgiving.

  Great — except they apparently meant Canada's Thanksgiving, since the item was shipped to one recipient in late October.

  I found this out my first day home from the hospital, when I popped online to check my e-mail. The friendly “your order has been shipped” e-mail made me quickly reach for another Percocet.

  A few phone calls later, Bean's customer service department deduced that the request to delay shipping had been entered into the system with the initial order — but only on the main screen and not with each individual gift. The rep apologized profusely, refunded my shipping and handling and promised to send my aunt and uncle another lighthouse in early December, so they'd have a fresh one for the holidays.

  I never did ask what they did with the one that arrived near Halloween. Personally, I'm hoping one lucky trick-or-treater got an extra-big surprise in their bag.

• I've praised Harry and David in this space several times, but a recent experience seemed a little off. A relative in another part of the country passed away, so my mom and I wanted to send a sympathy basket. I logged on to H&D's site and quickly found what I wanted. After I placed the order, a screen offering a discount on one item for myself as a treat popped up. Considering this was a bereavement purchase, the upsell seemed very inappropriate.

  Think about it. If you're out buying a box of cherry cordials for grandma's birthday, picking up a candy bar for yourself isn't out of line. But if you're ordering a funeral arrangement, you're not going to tack on a dozen roses for yourself. It just isn't done.

• Since my leave coincided with the December holidays, I did spend my share of time pushing the stroller through the malls (no, no, I don't buy everything direct — c'mon, do you?). Two stores stuck in my mind for their approaches to mom-friendly customer service.

  The first was an athletic shoe store whose name I can't recall, probably because its unlikely I'll shop there again. Baby Daniel and I strolled in to buy sneakers for my husband. The store was small and cramped, so I couldn't get around the clothing racks to look at the Reeboks.

  “Oh, let me help you,” said the clerk. “We're supposed to have the aisles cleared for wheelchairs anyway.”

  She kindly moved a rack and we strolled in to browse. A few minutes later, we turned around to leave, only to find she had moved the rack back and we were trapped. Was this done to make room for other customers? Nope — we were the only ones in the joint.

  The clerk appeared again in a minute to help us escape, but the event made me feel a little silly and not entirely welcome. I'm sure a disabled person would have felt the same.

  Coldwater Creek, on the other hand, couldn't have been more accommodating. The salespeople were courteous, made friendly — but not pushy — pitches for their e-mail list and store card, got me gift boxes and did everything right. And, when I came back a half hour later because I had mistakenly left my credit card behind (three hours of non-consecutive sleep makes one a bit forgetful), I found they'd already put the card in a secure spot in the back office, in an envelope with my name on it for safekeeping. Nicely done.

• My best customer service experience on maternity leave was actually my first. The nursing staff at my hospital was fabulous — they were kind and attentive, and took great care of Danny and I. In fact, when my c-section was delayed by a half hour due to a scheduling mishap, they actually gave us a $10 gift coupon for the cafeteria (mmm…pudding).

About a week after we came home, a rep from the hospital called and asked if I'd take a quick phone survey. I did, and she said they might follow up with a written version.

As I filled out the second survey, I remembered one area they could have improved upon and noted it. I forgot all about it — until the head of nursing called the next week to apologize. I told her it wasn't necessary and that I understood they were probably understaffed. Still, she said, it shouldn't have happened. We talked for a while and she truly was interested in my experiences and how we were doing at home.

The upshot was that I had even better feelings about an institution I was already praising to anyone who would listen.

Could your customers say that?