I wanted to share a brief story with you about a great example of customer service excellence - it went way beyond my expectations, and left me in this case as a really excited customer.
Some time ago, we bought a microscope for my two sons Donovan and Jameson. They were both very excited to finally be able to look at all kinds of gross stuff up really close. And for a while, all was good... until one day, when something happened to the microscope lens and it stopped working. (To this day, no one has accepted responsibility).
So what did we do? Well, as dutiful parents, we said we'd contact the company and get it replaced. But it wasn't really a supper high priority, so it got pushed to the back burner... for about three years!
And then one day I came across the microscope, and decided it was time to sort things out! I emailed the company, and a very polite young mand named Timothy Wade told me that he'd be happy to replace the lens - free of charge! All he needed was the model number.
I was elated! I rushed to the microscope and wrote down the model number. I headed back to my computer and sent it off to Timothy... and he told me that, unfortunately, they had stopped making that model a couple of years ago. But (this is where it gets good!) he said he would be happy to send me a complete working microscope of the replacement model!!!
I said thanks, and gave him our mailing address, and within two weeks, a brand new, 400X Thames & Kosmos TK2 microscope arrived! No product exchange... No proof of purchase/receipt to be sent in...
And to my sons,I was Super-Dad!
I can't fully express how happy I am to have bought from Thames & Kosmos in the first place. As a customer, this was an outstanding experience, and it really shows how a company can make their customers happy. Granted, I'm not likely going to be buying a microscope every day, but I have told this story personally to quite a few people, and I would bet that at some point, a few of them will buy microscopes for their kids. And hopefully this story will mean something to them. (T&K also make really cool science experiment kits!)
What I learned from this is that Customer Service is about making your customers happy, so they will tell your story to their friends on your behalf.
It's really cool what you learn when you look at things under a microscope. :)
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