Background
As a customer at Sierra Trading Post online, after spending 2 hours (lapsed time) locating half a dozen pairs of pants and long-sleeve tops in my size and color, adding them to my cart, checking out and paying for them without any issue, I received an email the next day informing me that my order had been cancelled because I had used a different email address to place this order than the email address I had used on my last purchase several years ago. I would have had to manually re-create the order of many items.
User Story
As a customer at Sierra Trading Post online, I do not want my order to be cancelled just because I used a different email address than I used for a previous order (especially if that previous order was years ago).
Note: The above is not actually a good user story because a good user story should state the correct action, not just the undesired behavior.
Possible Implementation
As a customer at Sierra Trading Post online, if my order is cancelled by Sierra Trading Post after I have successfully checked out, I should immediately be sent an email that my order is on hold for 24 hours. During that “hold period”, a customer service representative should contact me to verify any needed information.
See Suggested Solutions below
Note: A typical user story card may not contain all of the following info. I am adding it here for completeness in documenting this issue and demonstrating the thought process that goes into possible solutions.
Suggested Solutions
I’m guessing my order was cancelled due to some well-intentioned but poorly-executed anti-fraud measure screening for unscrupulous people trying to get discounted clothing for the outdoors.
Why should email address have to be the same as on a previous order, for a customer with a given name and address? Are you insisting that a customer must have a lifetime email address which they must use for placing orders with you?
Why was the order cancelled?
– Because it was considered “suspicious activity”:
First, use more robust “suspicious activity” detection methods and indicators.
Accept that customers can move to different addresses over time, may change their phone numbers over their lifetimes, and may even use different email addresses to make purchases, depending on which device they are using, etc. Rely on having proper anti-fraud detection measures for checking credit card shipping and billing addresses, and don’t rely on other, half-baked identity-verification data points. I am purposely refraining from adding more implementation details here because publicly posting security rules is a bad idea.
– Because the OMS can’t handle a different email address in a “matching” customer record:
This should be fixed in another card: “Allow customers to change their email address”.
– Because the OMS would consider it a duplicate record, and duplicate customer records are not allowed:
Well now that just sounds like a B U G that needs to be fixed … even if the original developer conceived of it as a “feature”. Iykyk.
If the order is cancelled
If the order is cancelled, provide a method for the customer to “reclaim” or “re-find” the items that she had purchased or put in her cart, so she doesn’t have to start from scratch.