Q Talk

[Old faithful]

Oh they're sinking, I recently found this forum and have learned that customer satisfaction is their biggest problem. When you lose your fanbase you're done!

[Mindy D]

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@Old faithful wrote:
Oh they're sinking, I recently found this forum and have learned that customer satisfaction is their biggest problem. When you lose your fanbase you're done!

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@Old faithful @Their biggest problem is that they are a TV shopping channel that did not adjust quickly enough to the way people are watching TV now and to the new ways shoppers are shopping now. Since they didn't adapt quickly they were not gaining new customers and long time customers couldn't watch them. They are rushing to change this. 
Customer satisfaction is big. I'm not discounting what you say. They definitely need to address this. They are really amping up shipping speed and satisfaction. They have to compete with companies that get items to us in one day and they know it. 

[Teddixat]

@Mindy D   Thanks.  Just read it.   They have run into unfortunate problems for sure.   The Q is not alone.  . More distressing to me is that HomeGoods, TJMaxx abd Marshals are all in trouble too.  I hope the Q and all the other struggling companies survive for the sake of all their employees.

I wonder how worried the hosts and employees are about their futures at the Q.   More layoffs are probably coming

[Desert Lily]

@Mindy D  I just read the article The Curious Case of Qurate Retail. Thanks for posting; it was interesting.

According to that article & others I read, Qurate has over $6billion+ (some say $7-8billion) in debt due within 5 years and currently has only $600-800million dollars in cash flow. Yikes.

Hindsight would likely say that buying more businesses, and adding more channels & more employees to make them function were poor management decisions that increased debt.

While the author included several facts, he also included plenty of opinion. It's his opinion that QVC lost customers due to a lack of inventory; I disagree.

I think it's 1) a combination of soaring prices for the same merchandise, 2) poor & late shipping, and 3) a change in customer service for returns that are among the top reasons.

I doubt the author is a Qurate shopper.

The author also had too much reliance on the fire. There was a large insurance payment to offset its losses.

The author glosses over Qurate's business model, too.

And what about tech advances & live streaming?

No solutions are offered; maybe the solutions would show that the author's opinions aren't on target.

The author does mention that Qurate has lost base customers and may risk losing more, but I'm not sure if the right causes were in the article.

Inflation has hit everyone. Some companies increase prices in accordance to the rate of inflation. Okay.

But, it's been reported & shown that other companies have taken advantage of consumers and used the label of "inflation" to increase prices disproportionately & sky high.

I put the brakes on my purchasing with QVC when shipping problems made me uncomfortable. I'm keeping the brakes on as I watch the soaring prices and can't rationalize or justify them. My orders have significantly decreased the past couple years, & I turn to better-priced retail options for items I need.

I cannot see burdening consumers with substantially higher prices to help bail out a heavily in-debt company due to its management/balance sheet decisions as a viable way to turn things around.

At least ... it's not for me. 

Hopefully, the 3-year plan will include further cutting of expenses, new technology, improved customer service/returns, improved shipping, and closing unnecessary platforms to secure success for Qurate and secure employment. But, these are my opinions.