Sometimes it just works out that way
At coffee hour this morning one gal was telling about a bar of dark chocolate she purchased from a local chain store in town recently.
When she got home and opened it, the chocolate had white edges all
around and seemed brittle. The "best by" date on the outer wrap was good. Somehow the bar must have been exposed to excessive heat.
She threw it away.
Another lady spoke up and said she should have returned it and gotten her money back.
"Well, it would have cost more in gas to return it than the chocolate cost, so I just tossed it", was her reply.
I think this happens more often than one would believe. Truth is, companies really want to know when a product is misrepresented or not as expected or damaged in some way. However it is a pain to
hunt out the receipt and make a special trip back to the store for a small refund.
Many people shop for all manner of goods, including food items, on line now. I find it is very convenient if you shop from safe web sites.
(Not going in to that now.) The places I have shopped from on line always have return forms included in the shipment. So I believe that
indicates they do expect a few complaints.
I buy all my pet supplies from Chewy.com. Twice I have opened the carton to discover the packer had placed the box of Milkbone under
two heavy plastic jugs of cat litter. Also the only packing material used was a large piece of brown paper laid loosely over the top of all the items. The damage was not in any way the carrier's fault as the outer carton was in perfect condition. It simply was not packed correctly . Was it worth my time to call or write to Chewy? After all it was only a less than $3 box of biscuits (now reduced to kibble).
Since it was an issue that could be dealt with by the company, I felt they ought to know. So I called. First time the clerk said they were sorry and they would send another box of Milkbone right away. Two days later I received a box in good condition. However, someone forgot to tell the errant packer, for the next box that arrived had the same problem. This time the biscuit box had broken open so not only
were they broken to mini kibble, they were all over and in everything else. Nothing else was damaged but it was a mess. Once again I contacted Chewy. This time the girl answering suggested I scoop up the broken biscuits and donate them to as local shelter. Good thought, but I doubt they would accept something open and damaged. (I put most of it out for the forest critters.) Once again I received a new box of Milkbone.
Last week I received a new order. This time it was packed beautifully
with lots of packing between items and heavier items on the bottom.
The box was clearly marked "this side up". Everything was in excellent shape. So the packer was trained or is working somewhere else.
Making complaints is much easier now than it was years ago. Now you can pick up your phone and dial 1-800 -----, saving writing time and a 55 cent stamp.
My Mother was always one to write letters (hand written) to a company when she received an item that was damaged or not what she ordered. Almost always she would receive a replacement or a refund check. Sometimes it took nearly a month, but companies always wanted to maintain good will.
One year Mother had ordered Christmas gifts from Sears. When the order came, she discovered a tin of Christmas cookies with her items.
One thing Mother would never have ordered was boughten cookies!
She made beautiful holiday cookies in many shapes and flavors.
So she wrote to Sears explaining that the tin of cookies had been sent by mistake and how should she return them. After a couple of weeks
Mother received a package from Sears. It contained yet another tin of Christmas cookies and a note saying they were so sorry they had been left out of her previous order. Not sure if it was honesty or pure frustration, but Mother wrote back, once again explaining the mix-up.
Two weeks later a package arrived bearing TWO tins of the cookies and an apology letter saying they were sending her a free tin along with her ordered tin to make up for the inconvenience. At that point she gave up.
Those cookies came in lovely tin containers. I have no idea what became of the cookies, but I have one of the tins today. It is oval,
decorated with flowers and has two handles which fold down. It has been my sewing basket for years. Mother used one of them for her sewing too.
Sometimes things just work out that way.
When she got home and opened it, the chocolate had white edges all
around and seemed brittle. The "best by" date on the outer wrap was good. Somehow the bar must have been exposed to excessive heat.
She threw it away.
Another lady spoke up and said she should have returned it and gotten her money back.
"Well, it would have cost more in gas to return it than the chocolate cost, so I just tossed it", was her reply.
I think this happens more often than one would believe. Truth is, companies really want to know when a product is misrepresented or not as expected or damaged in some way. However it is a pain to
hunt out the receipt and make a special trip back to the store for a small refund.
Many people shop for all manner of goods, including food items, on line now. I find it is very convenient if you shop from safe web sites.
(Not going in to that now.) The places I have shopped from on line always have return forms included in the shipment. So I believe that
indicates they do expect a few complaints.
I buy all my pet supplies from Chewy.com. Twice I have opened the carton to discover the packer had placed the box of Milkbone under
two heavy plastic jugs of cat litter. Also the only packing material used was a large piece of brown paper laid loosely over the top of all the items. The damage was not in any way the carrier's fault as the outer carton was in perfect condition. It simply was not packed correctly . Was it worth my time to call or write to Chewy? After all it was only a less than $3 box of biscuits (now reduced to kibble).
Since it was an issue that could be dealt with by the company, I felt they ought to know. So I called. First time the clerk said they were sorry and they would send another box of Milkbone right away. Two days later I received a box in good condition. However, someone forgot to tell the errant packer, for the next box that arrived had the same problem. This time the biscuit box had broken open so not only
were they broken to mini kibble, they were all over and in everything else. Nothing else was damaged but it was a mess. Once again I contacted Chewy. This time the girl answering suggested I scoop up the broken biscuits and donate them to as local shelter. Good thought, but I doubt they would accept something open and damaged. (I put most of it out for the forest critters.) Once again I received a new box of Milkbone.
Last week I received a new order. This time it was packed beautifully
with lots of packing between items and heavier items on the bottom.
The box was clearly marked "this side up". Everything was in excellent shape. So the packer was trained or is working somewhere else.
Making complaints is much easier now than it was years ago. Now you can pick up your phone and dial 1-800 -----, saving writing time and a 55 cent stamp.
My Mother was always one to write letters (hand written) to a company when she received an item that was damaged or not what she ordered. Almost always she would receive a replacement or a refund check. Sometimes it took nearly a month, but companies always wanted to maintain good will.
One year Mother had ordered Christmas gifts from Sears. When the order came, she discovered a tin of Christmas cookies with her items.
One thing Mother would never have ordered was boughten cookies!
She made beautiful holiday cookies in many shapes and flavors.
So she wrote to Sears explaining that the tin of cookies had been sent by mistake and how should she return them. After a couple of weeks
Mother received a package from Sears. It contained yet another tin of Christmas cookies and a note saying they were so sorry they had been left out of her previous order. Not sure if it was honesty or pure frustration, but Mother wrote back, once again explaining the mix-up.
Two weeks later a package arrived bearing TWO tins of the cookies and an apology letter saying they were sending her a free tin along with her ordered tin to make up for the inconvenience. At that point she gave up.
Those cookies came in lovely tin containers. I have no idea what became of the cookies, but I have one of the tins today. It is oval,
decorated with flowers and has two handles which fold down. It has been my sewing basket for years. Mother used one of them for her sewing too.
Sometimes things just work out that way.
I just love this story! I asked for an item at my local small market and they no longer
ReplyDeletestocked it. The manager gave me a box of a similar (better, it turns out) item. I bought
two items just because his concern impressed me. Customer service pays off.
I once bought a pair of light knit winter gloves when I was in Chicago (living in central IL) because it was unusually cool for September. Well, the gloves didn't wear well but I no longer had the receipt. I wrote the store saying I didn't expect anything but wanted them to know that the gloves didn't last very long. Holes in the finger tips. I received a check for the amount of the purchase and a thank you.
ReplyDeleteYears later, I was living in and working in the Chicago area. I ordered an item in November from the same store and was told it might take awhile because it was holiday season. I finally wrote the store in April and said that if I charged them for the time to keep checking on the item how much money they would owe me. I received the item for free, gift wrapped and hand delivered to my office. I'm not sure how they knew where I worked as I don't, after all this time, recall telling them.
"Big Brother knows! No secrets, or even much privacy anymore.
Deleteworked to your benefit anyway.