Sitting at home, toasting my tootsies on a roaring radiator while scanning the inbox, I couldn’t believe my eyes. A jolly email from Eurostar nestled between Johnnie Boden and my sister-in-law.
The email arrived Saturday morning just after the Eurostar’s most hellish day in their 15 year history. Customers being treated worse than any banker deserves to be. Traffic chaos resembling a mass exodus caused by an impending nuclear Armageddon.
The subject matter of the email: “Give a continental gift this Christmas”. Are they off their rails?
I’m a happy customer. In fact two days previously I'd had a great day in Paris thanks mainly to Eurostar. But they’ve shown a total lack of sensitivity. Any Eurostar customer could have faced that situation and instead of recognizing this, they are selling a Christmas present to remember.
I can only think that either some overworked or hung-over marketing exec thought "I’ve been waiting months to get this away, driven the design team nuts, I don’t care, just get it out."
Or they’re just too arrogant to give a damn.
As a communication tool emails are great; but they have to be handled with care. We’ve all got a horror story to tell.
What should have happened is an email explaining what went wrong, the steps taken to rectify the situation and positioning the Christmas offer as a "thank you for understanding". I’d forgive them. After all it’s the season of goodwill.
Ian Prager, Planning Director
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