neurotwitch

Note to ecommerce people: how to win a loyal customer even though you screw something up

A couple week ago, I ordered two Web Color KiloCharts from VisiBone. The charts arrived in one of those triangle tubes the USPS swears is perfect for posters and stuff like that. The tube was mangled at one end and had obviously been flattened at some point during its journey from Florida to Connecticut.

I pulled out the posters (I didn't have to open the package, the post office did that for me) and found that they were bent, but not damaged (the coating wasn't cracked or anything) and would be okay if I ironed them flat (it a wonderful poster - giving me exactly the information I need and no extraneous crap). I also found a nice letter from Bob Stein, the chief and only cook and bottle washer at VisiBone. In the letter, he said he wanted to hear from me (me as customer), so I thought I'd let him know that the triangle things are a bad, bad choice for mailing his wonderful posters.

I heard back from him within a few minutes, with an apology, an explanation, and an offer to replace the posters at no cost/hassle to me. (The explanation is that they ran out of the tubes normally used so switched to the USPS tubes so people wouldn't have to wait.)

I replied that my posters are just fine and already on the wall, thank you very much. I told him to spend the postage money making more useful products. He wrote back telling me to let him know if I change my mind. Then, yesterday, I got another message from him - one he sent out to all his recent customers I would imagine - again apologizing, explaining, and offering replacements and, essentially, thanking us for letting him know the triangle crap mailers from the USPS were a bad idea.

All of this indicates to me that he has pride in his products and he's smart enough to make customers feel he cares more about them than he cares about his bottom line.

What it boils down to for me is that even if another vendor offers essentially the same type of product with the same quality at a lower price - even at a fraction of the price - I'll buy these products ONLY from VisiBone.

Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.

<< Back to main