Tag: credibility

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How can small online retailers build trust?

Jack Ma, Founder of Alibaba Group
Jack Ma, Founder of Alibaba Group (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I wanted to buy a product online recently, found a local online retailer who had the product available at a reasonable price but didn’t place in order because the small business did not create a feeling of trust and credibility.

What put me off and changed my mind was that there was no physical address. This for me is a big red flag because you don’t know where the people behind the online retail store are operating. They could be plying their trade in a dingy basement or broken down house in a residential suburb, running some kind of boiler room operation. I think I’ve seen too many horror stories on television and film. Continue reading “How can small online retailers build trust?”

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Keeping tight-lipped about product flaws is fatal for trust

English: Muizenberg from Boyes Drive
Muizenberg from Boyes Drive (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It happened so long ago that I almost forgot about it: how I bought a surfboard from a shop in Muizenberg when I first started surfing and the board was so brittle that it cracked even with the slightest pressure or bump.

In those days, not unlike what still happens in all sorts of products and services, the owner of the surf shop didn’t say a word about the poor quality of manufacture of his product. I can remember how many times I’d have to buy resin, catalyst and fibreglass strips to fix the many “dings” in my surfboard. Continue reading “Keeping tight-lipped about product flaws is fatal for trust”