Positive customer service experiences

[I talk to the trees]

We are- or at least *I* am- quick to post a rant about poor customer service, but sometimes forget to praise the companies that go above and beyond what's expected to provide good customer service. I think we have had threads in the past describing positive experiences, but I cannot get the search function to provide me with one of those threads, so I am starting a new one!

 

What companies have you had great experiences with?

 

This year, I am giving a round of applause to Looney Labs (Thanks, Alison!) for amazing quick and friendly service when I requested replacements for damaged Fluxx cards, and Chewy.com (Thanks, Jeffrey!) for a turnaround time of less than ten minutes from the time I sent an inquiry about an order to the time a new order was processed. It's nice to know that there are companies out there willing to go the extra mile for their customers!

[mmasc]

I ordered a level of Math U See to try for my DS. After opening it and watching some of the DVD lessons, I decided it was not the right level. I called and a very nice lady helped me return it, and replace it with the correct level. She was so friendly and I was glad to have someone specific to call if anything went wrong with the return. She even gave me a discount I was eligible for, even though I didn’t know and didn’t get it on the first order. So pleased with my first dealings with this company!

[TheReader]

Before Thanksgiving I went into JCPenneys to buy a coat for my DH. We had bought him this specific coat 2 yrs ago, and then last year he took it on a business trip and ended up leaving it in a hotel somewhere. :sigh: 

 

So, this year he was closely watching the coat sales for it to go on sale. It finally did, but online they were out of his size. I went into the store to see if I could find it in person; there was one coat remaining in his size, although I almost missed it as it was hung across the way in the women's section. 

 

I grabbed it and headed up to check out, only to find it was a Black Friday special and as such, only the online offers were "live" yet (it was only Tuesday of that week) and for in store Black Friday pricing I would need to come back Thursday night. 

 

I explained it was the last one, asked if I could perhaps order it online for in store pick up and have her place this one as the one to pick up. Of course, she couldn't do that, because online showed this size to be out of stock. BUT, she called her supervisor, explained the situation, and the supervisor went ahead and granted the Black Friday price, even though really she didn't have to, at all. 

[happypamama]

Amazon

 

LEGO

 

Klean Kanteen — they replaced a water bottle whose weld failed after a year or two, quickly, without us needing to send them the broken one.

 

Erie Insurance — we’ve been customers for almost twenty years, and they’ve been great.

[happypamama]

Pandia Press has been fantastic too!

[6packofun]

Chewy.com has had nothing but awesome reviews from my friends.  I used it a few times and the one time I needed to return something they told me to keep it and sent me another item super quick!  Can't say they're going to do that with everyone, obviously, but I was impressed.

 

Honestly, Amazon makes exchanges and returns pretty darn easy.

[alisoncooks]

Amazon has been awesome at replacing a lost/stolen package, plus throwing in an extra $10 credit since one of my items is now out of stock.

 

Bass Pro Shops - their Santa was absolutely fabulous to my two girls, who are about to age out of the Santa experience. The photo was free and the store gives everyone a cute picture frame for free. Tons of activities to keep kids busy while they waited, too. They've got my business from now on.

[amy g.]

I had a very good experience at our local Verizon store. The person waiting on me took care of what I needed and did it the way I wanted it done without trying to convince me to buy anything.

 

I did call corporate and tell them I had excellent service. The entire time I was waiting and then being helped, one associate was working with a specific customer who had been there before I got there and was still being helped when I left.

 

I couldn’t help overhearing some. I was amazed that the associate kept making calls and trying to find solutions for this customer. He never once said,â€There is nothing we can do about it.†And he never once tried to pretend that the customer had somehow caused his own problem.

 

It was quite amazing to witness true customer service.

 

I also had really good service from our local Comcast people. My salesperson was good about calling me and even coming to the house to make sure everything was installed to my specifications.

 

He is the kind of salesman clients follow when they leave a company. It is so refreshing to experience good service.

[Scarlett]

Shark.  They replaced the whole main part of my vacuum when a piece broke off after I had it for 6 months.  I knocked it over and the piece broke...and I was honest about it..but they replaced it immediately free of charge.

[Scarlett]

Apple.  I took my 6 month old IPhone in because the sound had quit working.  They replaced it on the spot.

[rutamattatt]

I've always had great experiences with Amazon customer service, too.

 

Locally, we have the BEST Publix grocery store.  I HATE grocery shopping - I would rather scrub boys' locker room toilets with my own toothbrush than go grocery shopping...unless it is to Publix.  So helpful.  All about solving problems.  It's like they are determined to be sure I leave feeling a little happier than I was going in.

 

We have a Dairy Queen that is under new management, and it is also FANTASTIC.  Kind, courteous, orders have always been correct, food is great AND the staff is made up of a lot of teenagers.  Delights the fire out of me to see these teenagers KILLING IT with regards to customer service.  

[gstharr]

This does not involve a big company, but a small take-out only soul food joint that we go to  about once a month.  Went there with the 12 y.o ( his favorite place).  A joint with a long counter of steam trays and  you point to what you want.  There was a new server working the counter.  He was extremely polite and helpful.  the mac & cheese was down to crumbs, he went to check the kitchen for a fresh tray.  When we ordered fried chicken that was also low, he went back to check when the batch would be ready.  Another thing or two he checked to make sure it was fresh. He was quite polite, never bothered.   I told him how much i enjoyed having him serve us, and  discretely handed him $10.  Our total bill for the food was $22.00. I told my kid that he needs to reward excellent service.

[Annie G]

I love threads like this! Happy posts!

[I talk to the trees]

This is from 2009, but I'll never tire of telling the tale:

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/143301-giving-out-a-public-kudos-to-coldwater-mediadrive-thru-history-x-post/#entry

Oh, wow! I missed this thread when you posted it (I was a relative newbie back then.) Thanks for posting it again!

[TravelingChris]

My local Publix is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.   From really helping me out with prescription issues including one this week and another a few weeks ago when Tricare went down to super friendly baggers, wonderful checkers, etc.

 

My local Chick Fil A and actually many of them.  They hire good workers for the most part and very courteous managers too. 

 

Belks -- looked up for me whether certain items were at either store in town or whether I should order online to get them before a vacation. Another time we were shopping for bed set and just such a helpful lady.  

Dillards-  super helpful shopping people a number of times going out of their way

 

[Plink]

Apple!

 

We had an employee suddenly pass away, and his wife tried to repeatedly access his phone's photos but didn't know the code.  Obviously, she locked it up, and made a general mess of things.  

 

I went to Apple to have the phone wiped, and was lamenting over the sad situation.  Obviously, the store employee couldn't restore the phone to anything other than factory settings, but he worked his tail off for an hour to set things up so that the widow could later log in to icloud and access her family photos. 

[Stacia]

USAA for homeowner's & auto insurance. (I know their membership is limited, but they have been fantastic to me this year.)

[4Kiddos]

Amazon has been amazing!

 

There was a seller on Amazon called "Really Great Toys" that was so helpful when my little girls baby doll started falling apart within a week. They sent me a different doll and refunded my extra money.

 

Ann Taylor also has great customer service.

[Carrie12345]

I lucked out with a great Verizon rep a few months ago. My bill was way over what the sales associate led me to believe when I replaced a phone and got an iPad special. She spent an hour with me and got about $80 knocked off, and was really sweet the whole time.

 

My mom used to be a customer service rep, so I always try to be friendly unless they give me reasons not to. It usually works in my favor.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

The Swiss government.  Went and got passport renewals ordered for two of my kids on Friday 8am.  New passports arrived in the mail Monday 8am (as in, 3 days later)   :lol:

[Lizzie in Ma]

Chewy.com here too, replaced a missing package without question and immediately!

[Pawz4me]

Home Depot. It was their fault--they apparently got their purchase orders and shipping labels mixed up. From what I could tell my package went to someone in Pennsylvania and I got something meant for a man in Georgia. But HD was excellent about getting it straightened out when I called and they gave me a very generous discount.

[Alisa in Florida]

My Marine son is in Kuwait this year and I wanted to send a couple of things from Man Crates for Christmas. Their website said they ship to APO/FPO addresses, but I couldn't get the order form to take the address. When I called customer service, I found out that this was a glitch in some new software and they couldn't even get the address in. They knew it was an issue, but said that they could ship it directly from the warehouse at no charge. I thought they meant no shipping charge, but they didn't even charge for the items themselves, which were over $150. The customer service rep said they were doing this for all of the military shipments until they got the software problem fixed. I was blown away.

[HomeAgain]

Oh, let's see....

 

Lakeshore Learning - fantastic customer service.  When an item arrived with minor damaged, they immediately set out to replace it, but also asked, that if the other was still usable, to donate it to someone else rather than ship it back.

 

Math U See - always quick on the ball.  I miss the days they had more local reps, though.

 

Disney - for my dh's first time to the park, I made the hotel reservation by phone.  I could only afford one night at the Disneyland hotel before moving to a "good neighbor" the next day.  The rep asked a TON of questions, and told me we were all set in a room with his favorite character.  When we got there I found out we had been upgraded to a magnificent suite.

 

[theelfqueen]

Disney - when I was at Disneyland in September I bought a sweatshirt... it was still hot in California so I didn't put it on til after I got home. I discovered a small unfinished seam resulting in a tiny hole in the pocket. I emailed them. Exchanged a couple of emails... They sent me a replacement.

 

Amazon - this week I ordered a dress for a party I'm attending. A package arrived from the seller but it was not the dress! So I got on chat - they sent me a replacement with expedited shipping, arrived the next day. (They also replaced two missing orders super easily)

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[Word Nerd]

This was years ago, but I still remember the experience. When I unloaded groceries, I realized a bag of potatoes had apparently not made it into my cart at the King Soopers (Kroger) checkout. I didn't want to drag two little kids back out into the cold to retrieve it, so I sent an email to corporate and requested a credit or coupon. I didn't expect any follow-up at all and made a mental note to pay closer attention next time. Later that day when I answered the doorbell, I was shocked to see a person holding out a bag of potatoes and apologizing for the inconvenience. I shopped for groceries at that store only from then on even though there was a Safeway closer to where we lived.

Edited December 15, 2017 by Word Nerd

[TheReader]

This was years ago, but I still remember the experience. When I unloaded groceries, I realized a bag of potatoes had apparently not made it into my cart at the King Soopers (Kroger) checkout. I didn't want to drag two little kids back out into the cold to retrieve it, so I sent an email to corporate and requested a credit or coupon. I didn't expect any follow-up at all and made a mental note to pay closer attention next time. Later that day when I answered the doorbell, I was shocked to see a person holding out a bag of potatoes and apologizing for the inconvenience. I shopped for groceries at that store only from then on even though there was a Safeway closer to where we lived.

 

Our Krogers is pretty awesome, too. I strongly dislike the folks they hire for sackers/baggers here at ours, but in all other ways they are fabulous. 

 

Once we bought rotisserie chicken, got home and discovered it was so fallen apart that some of it was totally missing. Drove back up there, showed a manager, he went himself and swapped out for a different one. 

 

During Hurricane Harvey, a few days into it there was enough lull in the rain that folks were all heading out to restock groceries; we still had a few more days (5 more after this) ahead of us, and for our family, we were at that point taking in friends who were needing to evacuate. So, off we went to stock up while we could, not sure when we'd next be able to get out (the roads around us were getting very near "stuck in the neighborhood" level). 

 

No one in town was open except Kroger, and when we got there, they had a pretty long line outside the front of the store. It was raining, but in order to keep it from being chaos in the store  & overwhelming the lines, this is what they did. Managers were clearing carts from the parking lot and giving them to the folks waiting to get in (as people came out, they'd let people in) and telling everyone what items had limits, and how many you could get of each thing. Inside, they must have had every employee able to get there, because folks were busy stocking items, all the lines were open, it was amazing. Everyone was calm and friendly, in large part thanks to how the Krogers managers were handling it, personally coming out with the carts, etc. They really took a bad situation and made every single person feel like the  most valued customer there that day. 

 

I still don't like their sackers, but I have to admit, they get a lot more of my business since Harvey than they did before. 

[Selkie]

Zappos just sent us a Christmas card thanking us for our business and enclosed a $50 gift card. I was pretty thrilled when I opened it!

[Guest]

Seems like a cliché but, Amazon. Last year, I called because I got two of a gift (something that was expensive) and I was afraid it would be double-charged. It was not. They gave me the mistaken double.

 

Zappos. They really are incredibly helpful. I called once because the boots DD wanted for Christmas were out of stock indefinitely. Customer service there told me she did not know when it would be resumed, but gave me the name of their “cheaperâ€affiliate company, six pm, where the boots were not only in stock, but less expensive. A win!

 

Capitol One Venture credit card. They are pretty amazing. This may become my new favorite card. And I say that though I really liked my previous card.

[Corraleno]

Several years ago I ordered an 8' javelin on Amazon and then watched on the FedEx tracking site as it bounced back and forth between CA and AZ for an entire week. It kept saying "out for delivery" in AZ (I did not live in AZ), then it would be rescanned and sent back out. A manager at Amazon said she was going to make it her mission to figure out what was going on and make sure my son got his Christmas present, and she even gave me her direct number to contact her. Turned out that someone in the shipping dept had stuck a label, addressed to me, on one end of this 9' long PVC tube without removing the original shipping label, from the manufacturer to Amazon, from the other end. So it kept getting returned to Amazon, who would send it back out again! In the end DS got his javelin in time for Christmas, and I got a free year of Prime for the inconvenience. 

 

I've also had customer service people at Delta, Southwest, and American Express go way above and beyond to help me out.

 

[6packofun]

Christianbook.com sent us a package that was supposed to contain 3 hardback bibles.  2 bibles were in unacceptable condition (pages folding in all over the place, ugh) AND the 3rd one was missing but we got some baby board book I did not order.  LOL  Dh emailed them (after waiting 10 minutes on hold on the phone) and within 6 hours they had responded that they are sending the whole thing again and it will include a label to ship the damaged/wrong items back.  If I get everything in proper order, I will consider that very positive customer service to right a wrong!  (I was worried it wouldn't get here by Christmas if the process was too laborious but it seems quick and painless.)

[rebcoola]

Our Fred Meyer (Kroger) is amazing in general if their are 2 people waiting in line they open another cash register. 

 

We also had a good experience with Society 6 which sells art and art printed on home goods.  Even though I ordered the wrong size wall tapestry they told us to keep the original and sent a new one at no additional charge.