...and thought - "What happened to Nordstrom's famous customer service?"

Three weeks ago I was on the hunt for a new ring. I figured it was time I bought one for myself - a nice one, one that meant something. I found a great one at Nordstrom. It was beautiful and big, just like I like. It was rose gold and had "love" in several different languages etched into the design. It was unique. It would stand out. Perfect.

However, they didn't have it in my size at the store. The attendant said she would find one at another store and have it sent to me. It would arrive in 5-10 days.

3 weeks later it still hasn't arrived. When I've called Nordstrom they've been helpful – calling around to find out where the ring was. They did everything right on their end EXCEPT the corporate office decided to switch from FedEx to DHL.

Now, I am sure they benefit from a great cost savings between the two, but in my opinion it was a very bad business decision. I had the same frustration with DHL two years ago when I ordered from Amazon and vowed to never do it again.

Nordstrom has a reputation - even at an urban legend level - for the very best customer service. But, do they deserve it any more? I'm not so sure. If they are supposed to be the best at serving customers, why would they select the cheapest delivery provider? In the end, will there be a real cost savings? Doubtful, because people will want to stop ordering from them if delivery is so frustrating. I won't order from them again until they switch back.

It may seem I am picking on Nordstrom a bit too hard, but bad customer service is one of my biggest pet peeves. Especially when companies should realize how easy it is for customers to publish their frustrations for the world to see...