This morning the mailman delivered me a small express post parcel from Danier Leather. When I opened it, there was a gift card inside for $50.00. That is an impressive sum of money, by my standards, to be giving someone as an apology. I was expecting something in the range of a business card holder. Some years ago we were giving a dinner party and one of the bottles of wine we served turned out to have a pickled grasshopper in the bottom of it. We did not discover this, of course, until the bottle was empty. There were the predictable jokes about the great body of the wine, but JG was upset enough to contact the LCBO and the sales rep for the wine company. We got one (1) replacement bottle and one (1) bottle of the same plonk as an apology. Danier Leather is in a whole different league.
I am just about to dig out my box of cards, find a 'Thank You' one and handwrite a letter of thanks to the company. That is, after my eyes stop whirling.
Wait till the Fundraising Committee sees what we've got for the auction! My experience with charity auctions leads me to think that the best thing to do is to buy something with the card and auction it, as people won't bid much beyond the face value of a gift certificate, but they will push up the price up if something looks particularly succulent.
Is this the power of the internet, do you think, or would the incident have played out the same way if I had just snail mailed the letter and not blogged about it? Is the question worth a BlogRhet post for some discussion on this issue? I would love to know if other people have had that kind of response to posting a complaint.
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I complained bloggily abotu Home Depot not honoring a rebate, submitted in excruciatingly exactly proper fashion. Before I could even fire off a note (other than verbal complaint) to Home Depot, i received an email from a person who got me the rebate in very short order. Nothing beyond that. I was satisfied.
ReplyDeleteI complained bloggily about AT&T's shoddy service and customer service. I received a personal rep to manage my account for six months and three months discounted or free. I was satisfied and have not---as I was ready to do at the time---changed service.
I complained bloggily about Best Buy's shoddy service, crappy product support and nasty customer service. Additionally, I sent letters, made phone calls and they could not have cared less.
I complained bloggily about Whirlpool's crappy Duet products. Additionally I sent letters, made phone calls and they could not have cared less.
Who do you think I'll do business with in the future?
Who do you think people who know me and my blog will do business with in the future?
All of these businesses and products operate in a FIERCELY competitive environment.
Their rep over their competition is worth more than its weight in gold.
Word of mouth has ALWAYS been a high priority for businesses.
My business? My sales right now are solely from word of mouth!
Blogs are amazing because they are IN PRINT, broadly available to the world over word of mouth picks and pans.
Yes, that influenced it.
No, that's not the sole motivator.
Like Home Depot did, they found you and they hopped to beautifully, displaying a care for their customers.
Like I have for Home Depot (even over Lowe's!), I bet you remain a loyal customer.
That's above the price of rubies, really.
Yes, worth exploring more!
Julie
Using My Words
I had a nice experience with FedEx when I complained -- and this was before I had a blog.
ReplyDeleteI always write letters if something went really wrong somewhere, and usually, there is some kind of response. I recently had an unpleasant experience with a local high-end spa, and I wrote a letter and blogged about it (here). I wasn't seeking anything, but they gave me and my friend free massages.
ReplyDeleteBut, I DO think it'd be an interesting post for BlogRhet!
So if I blog about how disgusting Sodexo's food is, they might change their menu. I doubt it.
ReplyDeleteAs for the gift certificate, that is great. Now I'm wondering just what you can pick up there for $50. They do have lovely scarves and I suppose the wallets are in that ball park.
Mad, I'm hoping for something like that, or even a purse, which I think would auction well.
ReplyDeleteTere, I'm going to see if I can structure all this into a BR post.
Julie, can I use some of your examples?
SM, yes, some companies are great when you have a problem, even without shining the evil eye of bloglicity on them.