‘Sludging’ refers to the practice of putting unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles in front of someone to make it more difficult to access services, products, information, or benefits to which they are entitled. It’s a form of filibuster, pocket veto or negative nudging to cause a person to make a decision or take an action or fall into indecision or inaction, which would be counter to their own interest.
Today, July 2nd, I was the victim — and one of my favorite companies was the sludge practitioner.
We live in a dark sky community and rely on ring devices to light our pathways and stairs, as well as to augment security around our home. Optimizing the network has become something of a hobby. I love these devices. We have over 50 in our network, so this hobby — like so many others of mine — may have become excessive. Recently, one of the down-lights on our very long stairway decided it had better things to do than light our way. When I called ring community support, they walked me through the trouble-shooting process, which included resetting the device, removing it from the network, re-installing, etc. Nothing roused our light from its slumber, so ring decided to replace the device under my extended warranty.
This initial call was made June 17. The product support representative who responded specializes in smart lighting, and our interaction was as professional as anyone could expect. Once he decided to replace the device, he discovered it was out of stock with no expected availability. Multi-tasking at my keyboard, it was easy to verify the item wasn't in stock through either Amazon or HomeDepot, so it was clear there would be a wait for the replacement. Out of habit, I automatically set an alarm to inform me when the device became available on Amazon.
Before the call ended, we considered alternatives, which he had the authority to substitute. Unfortunately, none of the other devices would fit the application or location. So he suggested saving the confirmation email he sent during our conversation and calling again in about 30 days to check availability.
Two weeks later, July 2nd, the item became available on Amazon. That was my impetus to call the ring team again.
Again, a very professional product support representative responded. He would spend over an hour with me, and he did everything in his power to replace my defective device.
Five minutes into our conversation, the call was dropped. To his credit, the product support representative used my credentials to call me back.
He placed me on hold to investigate. When he returned, he was reading from a script. He informed me the item is out of stock. I reminded him the item is now in stock through Amazon, so ring is supplying Amazon customers with the exact product I need to replace the defective unit I’ve already purchased. The product is available, just not to customers who need a replacement. Can ring order the replacement for me through Amazon?
Saying that might be possible, he placed me on a longer hold. When he returned, he said he could not replace the unit. They considered refunding my original purchase price so that I could order it from Amazon myself. That’s not possible in this case, because the unit that failed is a replacement for a unit that had failed previously!
“Let me speak to your supervisor.”
“That’s not possible.”
“Yes it it. I need to speak to a manager now.”
“Let me see if I can find one.”
After a longer hold, he returned to say they can refund the purchase price for the original purchase, but a receipt is required. I have over 50 ring devices, so “…I’ll never find the receipt.” He searches and apparently finds the original transaction from the unit’s serial number. Again, I am placed on hold.
When he returns, he says he can replace the unit. Unfortunately, the color is wrong. It would be black. That would make it stand out as the only black unit on our white hand rails and spindles. After thinking it over, I informed him that would not work. It really needs to be white, like the original. It turns our this was a negotiation! He responds by saying they can provide a white one! “Look for an email confirmation of the new order.”
This is classic sludging. Look at all of the tactics and delays, the numerous opportunities for me to either quit or accept an unacceptable alternative. After well over an hour on this second call, ring eventually acquiesced to provide the replacement unit — the deserved replacement unit in the original white color. They were in stock after all!