I love e-commerce. I really do. But sometimes, e-businesses make it so complicated even I begin to wonder about its efficiency. Last week, my washing machine was being temperamental, and leaked all over my basement. After spending $65 on a visit from the GE repairman, it was decided that it would be cheaper to buy a new washer than to spend another $250 to repair the transmission on my 6-yr-old machine. I was not exactly reassured by the repairman, when he stated "they really don't build them like they used to anymore," as he was handing me a rebate coupon for $40 off my next GE washer. Since time is money, and I am not looking to spend a lot on a new washer, I decided to investigate my options online.

After some research on ConsumerReports.com, I decided to go with the competition and purchase a Maytag. GE was out, despite their $40 rebate coupon, as CR's research revealed that the GE washers tend to need repair more often than others (confirmed by GE's very own repairman and my sudsy basement). I went to the Maytag site to find where I could buy the specific washer I picked out. Maytag's site suggested several small businesses in my area, as well as some of the national chains, including Lowe's, Home Depot and Best Buy. I decided first to try the local small business.

A quick Google search revealed that the local appliance store in my town did not have a Web site -- I guess they lost that sale. I then decided to try Lowe's, as I sometimes shop in the store, am familiar with it, and the remaining small businesses were a bit of a haul to get to. I went to the Lowe's site and immediately searched on "Maytag" and after a half a minute of load time, I was taken to a page asking for my zip code so they could recommend the nearest local store. Another 43 seconds later, I was taken to a third page, which asked me to register and provide all of my shipping information. At this point, I still had not even seen one washer. Frustrated, I backed out and went back to the home page. I was aggravated that a national chain, who should know better (don't they read ECommerce Guide!?), was asking for this kind of personal information when I wasn't even sure I was going to place an order. After all, I couldn't even tell if the specific washer was in stock. The home page now seemed to recognize that I was associated with the store in Orange, CT, so I decided to give them another chance. I searched more specifically on "Maytag washers," and after cycling through yet another five pages of links asking me to choose from front loaders to top loaders, and agonizingly slow load times, I finally found the Maytag washer I wanted. But by now I was too aggravated to buy it. I looked at my clock and realized that the total time it took me to find a washer: 31 minutes. In that time, I could have walked out to my car and drove to the nearest Home Depot, only 15 minutes away, and had a washer picked out. And that's most likely what I'll do over the weekend.

The Score
Sites visited: 4
Time saved: 0 minutes.
Frustration level: High.
E-commerce purchases made: 0

Lessons Learned
There are several lessons to be learned here. For starters, don't ask for registration and shipping information before letting customers even glimpse your offerings. It's probably the quickest way to get them to click right off your site and on to a competitor's. Make your product offerings accessible and easy to find. Also, these days, long load times and sites that make you click through more than two pages to find a product are unacceptable.

Little Guys: Having your store recognized as a dealer for a major brand, for example Maytag, can help you reel in the sales, particularly if your store can be linked to from the national brand's site. Even if you're not 100% e-commerce enabled, having a basic Web presence could still lead to sales. Letting your customers know what's in stock or what's on sale could mean more foot traffic in your brick-and-mortar shop.