How brand promise can be damaged by third parties and how to avoid

Lots of companies work with third parties to deliver a brand promise. Here's an experience of how it can go horribly wrong and how the pitfalls can be avoided.

Mentioning no names
This is about a global distribution company, no names mentioned but they have brown livery, retro vehicles and a gold logo.If you still haven't got it, its U**. It was all so straightforward to start with. I sold concert tickets on StubHub, printed out the delivery label of their distribution partner, U**, checked on the shipper's site for the nearest drop-off point and took my package to the point.

Poor service
The drop-off point was not a U** operation. They provide a lot of locations run by independent businesses so customers never have to travel far. It's a great idea. When I arrived, there was no U** branding on site but  I asked to send my package - not much response for the from the sales person who continued to serve other customers in the convenience store whilst dealing with me. After several minutes of  failed attempts to scan the package, I was handed a receipt. I thought no more off it and thought that was that.

Lack of information
The package had not arrived several days later. Trying to track with the receipt I had been given, U**s website couldn't help. It would only track with the code on the package which maddingly, I had not kept a note of. Calls, emails, Tweets to StubHub were responded to but with no hard information from U**. Over a week later, StubHub were able to confirm the that the package had not been delivered because it hadn't been scanned properly at the drop-off point and had not got on U**s system so it wasn't delivered.

Getting it right
Thinking about my experience, companies who sub-contract part of their service should do the following to make sure their brand promise is always delivered:

• Only partner with companies who share share your outlook e.g. great customer service values
• Make sure staff in the partner companies are properly trained and understand the customer service levels expected.
• Make your brand visible in the partner's operation e.g. sticker in window
• Encourage customer feedback of how the partner performs - I haven't been asked.
• Resolve customer concerns quickly - U** didn't