Monday, January 10, 2011

The Meaning of Customer Service

All to often it seems that customer service is a thing of the distant past. Oh yes, everyone uses it in advertising but rarely is it dispensed. Most times a customer service complaint can be answered easily. With just a little give and take, most of us would leave the exchange feeling satisfied. Now I don't spend a lot of time complaining about things on this blog, unless of course, it's my own stuff and that isn't going to change one bit, but I am going to send out a cyber pat on the back to two companies, one small and one large that still know the meaning and PRACTICE of customer service.

The first company is Nylabone. Those of you with dogs probably know them and they make a wide range of great dog toys and chews. I happened to buy a new to me chew toy that was advertised for aggressive chewers, of which I have many. It lasted maybe 15 minutes before the seam gave way on this hard bone and it had to be relegated to the trash. After Christmas I wrote a little e-mail off to Nylabone about my experience with this particular item. Mostly because not everyone watches toys as closely as I do and well the company should know. Low and behold, within 24 hours I got a response, a very nice response too and there was both good follow-up and feedback. My faith in Nylabone remains.

The second company is a small one, Petite Plus Patterns. I purchased a pattern (one of many from this company that I have plus a great book),


and found it to be a little faint in the printing. Not only did I get a fast reply to my query, but I got it from the owner/designer of the company Kathleen Cheetham herself. We had a wonderful few exchanges too. Ms.Cheetham owns a loom and would like someday to get back to weaving. Selfish as I am, I hope she has a number of creative and productive years designing more patterns, because they are FANTASTIC and you will get support with them. I didn't just get good customer service I got great customer service.

So there, if you need dog toys or great clothing patterns you know where to go!
Both companies were a joy to deal with.

Parting Shot: I'm so Pretty and Witty and Wise!

5 comments:

Michelle said...

It's always so nice to hear a good report! I've had a post percolating on some Oregon brands that I love; maybe this is the week for it.

Leigh said...

Aw, Stella's smiling! I agree it's great to hear about companies who still do it right.

Susan McShannon-Monteith said...

Its great when a manufacturer realizes that its bread and butter relies on keeping the customer happy.
Too bad we wouldn't get such a great response when we try to reach a governmental office on the phone eh?
The doggie is so cute all snuggled up with such a happy expression.
Susan x

Susan said...

I'm a customer service rep for a cell phone company. I have always believed that customer service is massively important and most of the time it's really easy to do. But I am amazed at the number of people who feel intitled to a credit when they are the one who messed up, or who think that yelling at me is going to make me take their side when they are wrong.

Life Looms Large said...

I love the idea of nylabones, but our dogs never seem to like them. I love good customer service though!!

Sue