Last week we talked about making it easy for your customers to use your business.  This week we expand on that idea through the use of Online and Mobile applications.

At Specialty’s Café (see Service Super Stars), customers can get in line and order in the traditional method – order off the menu directly with the cashier.  However, Specialty’s also have several iPads available with an App running on it that will allow the customer to either login with an account or simply swipe a card to start your order.  You can order anything off the menu, and it’s updated with daily specials (soup changes daily for example), and customize it the way you want (salad dressing, cheese selections, no onions, etc.).

You can also go online using your desktop,  laptop, iPad or iphone (it may work with other phones as well), and the  website will recognize the device you are using, and display an appropriate format that you can use to login and place an order for pickup or delivery.

Easy.

On the other hand, I recently sent my mother flowers for her birthday.  The site at FTD.com is one I use, but it’s kind of dumb.  Mind you – I use this site as my online flower delivery choice and have for quite a few years.  I have several people in my address book on my account, and have their full address entered.  When making a choice to order flowers online years ago, I chose this one.

The thing that is dumb, is that when I choose the flowers, it wants to know what zip code I want the flowers delivered to?  Why?  It doesn’t allow you to say “Choose from my Address Book” as an option.  To make matters worse, when I check out, it allows me to select the address, but doesn’t seem to have any connection to the fact that I’ve entered my mother’s zip code into the application, and I don’t know anyone else there.  It asks for the zip code again.  Why did it need it in the first place?  Probably to tell if you want them delivered to someplace they don’t serve.  But why not allow you to use your “address book” to select the delivery location?

It’s just kind of stupid, if you ask me.  And that means it’s not really easy, or at least as easy as it could be.

When I tried to contact them with a suggestion, the only expectation they have for a “contact” on their site expects me to have a question about my order.  I can’t call.  There are no phone numbers.

It leaves you feeling like they don’t really want to deal with you, and certainly they don’t want to talk with you.

There are lots of companies like that these days.

Don’t be one of them.  Make it easy for your customers to do business with you.