I just wanted to ask a question of everyone. I had an incident a few weeks ago where UPS damaged one of my boxes I sent to a great customer of mine. The side of the box was busted open and three clipper blades were missing. When she called me about it, we agreed together that the blades were older so I credited her order for 3 blades at $15.00 dollars each. On top of that, I also sent her an apology letter with a $25.00 off coupon to use with her next order. I haven't heard from her since this happened and will be calling to see if I've lost her as a customer because of this.
My question to you. How would you have handled this? If you have some other suggestions, please take a moment and post a comment below or send me an e-mail at Jim@wolffind.com. I honestly though this was a fair deal. I'll find out of it was when I call. :) I'll let you know what happens.
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What does the age of the blades have to do with it?
ReplyDeleteYour customer lost three devices she uses for her business and it will cost her full price to have the same number of tools to operate with.
You have treated her poory.
LaVerne Riddle
As a customer, I would be very happy. Even though you haven't heard from her, I'm sure she appreciates your apology, even if it's not your fault.
ReplyDeleteAs for that UPS, you'll need a stern talk with them (they're the one who should refund you), or switch to Fedex/DHL.
@Rudy - I actually use DHL almost all the time, it's just this time UPS was more convenient. (Or so I thought) :)
ReplyDelete@LaVerne - Actually, with the $15 dollar credit AND the $25 dollar gift card, I covered the price of new blades plus some. But you didn't answer my question. What would you have done?
You did a very good job with all you could do, customer service comes first and I believe you did that. If you lose her as a customer, it will be her loss because you have a lot of knowledge to share with everyone, and it is free!! Great job Jim!
ReplyDeleteHi Jim,
ReplyDeleteIn comment to your question about lost blades I probably would have offered her replacement blades. If you figure the $15 each that you credited her and the $25 off the next order you exceeded the cost of new blades. True it would have been money out of your pocket to buy the new blades but the customer would be happy (assumption).
Secondly if you shipped them UPS you should have been able to recover the cost of new blades from them as they supply $100 worth of insurance at no charge to the customer (you). I assume that the box was damaged in shipping?
Craig
ersinJIM
ReplyDeleteI would have replaced the blades with new ones. i would then check with ups to see if i could recover the cost.i replace all lost or damaged blades with new ones.this is something you try to keep from happening, but at some point it will happen.good coustmer relations is worth a lot more than a couple blades.i have been sharping for over 20 years, my thoughts on sharping is,do good work, be honest,be prompt, go the extra mile. the return is 10 fold. Don
I would have replaced the blades with new ones and delivered them in person if customer was relatively close as a face to face explanation carries more creedance than a phone call.
ReplyDeleteThen I would have beat up on UPS for replacement costs.
@Anonymous 1 - Thanks for the kind words!
ReplyDelete@Craig & @Don - Thanks for the great advice.
@Anonymous 2 - I would have loved to do a face-to-face, but it was too far.
Jim,
ReplyDeleteI think what you did here was a great idea, with the hand money & the certificate, you gave the customer more than new blades. The big question is, did you tell the customer that the certificate & cash would more than replace the blades so they understood the deal? I bet you did, but you didn't say you did. I would have explained the offer clearly & probably given the customer & asked is they wanted that or their parts replaced. Really, you gave the customer a chance to upgrade or buy something completly new, but sometimes you can't make the horse drink. Also, I'd try to learn from this & figure out a more UPS/FEDEX/ANY-OTHER-CARRIER resistant packaging. I know they seem to try real hard to damage things sometimes, it happens.
Thanks. I didn't tell her in this particular case because I know her quite well, but you make a very good point. In most cases it would be good to point out that more was given than lost.
ReplyDeleteAs an update to this post, this groomer is still my customer and she was very happy with how I handled the situation. Thanks for commenting and jogging my memory. I'd forgotten about this post. :)