As I mentioned in my “Coach stores do have coupons!” post, I purchased a new handbag or should I say diaper bag (since I do carry diapers in this bag). I love the hoboesque style and the fact that it looks slightly worn. It looks great with jeans and with dressy pants. However, it broke. I was appalled since I have had a black Coach tote for almost 10 years that has yet to break. I purchased the handbag online so I called the customer service number listed on the site. I could pay to ship it back to have it repaired but I inquired if I could just bring it to the local coach store for assistance.
My next call was to the local Coach store. I read the number code inside my bag and the sales associate said that she had the identical bag and would put it aside for me. When I arrived at the Coach store I showed her the clear plastic tubing that was poking out from the handle. The manager agreed that the bag was defective. I simply removed the contents of my old bag and inserted them into my new bag and within five or so minutes, I had left the store. I could not have been more pleased with this process.
My next debacle occurred with a crib sheet from Pottery Barn Kids. I had purchased the crib sheet back in December of 2011 yet it sat in a closet since I did not need it right way. It was the same organic white sheet with blue stars pattern that matches the bedding for my other sons. I decided that by having matching bedding for all four kids, it would not matter if the kids switched rooms at some point since all the bedding would match. I did have one set of sheets “run” from the ink on the the blue stars sheeting set. Some of it got onto a Mr. Super Frugalette shirt and left a faint blue star. When I called Pottery Barn Kids regarding the situation, they promptly replaced my sheets.
However, there was a bit of a hitch to the crib sheet. The blue ink ran, but not from natural causes. Frugalette #3 in the queue had an “accident” which cause the crib sheet to get wet. The dye ran in the location of the accident. I sprayed the sheet with stain remover, but alas, stain remover does not remove dye. I called Pottery Barn Kids, explained my son’s incontinence issues (or shall we say “diaper malfunction”…then again, this is a crib sheet so this “accident” is not really unexpected) and inquired about possible solutions. After I performed the requested laundering steps from the customer service associate which yielded zero improvement, I called back and Pottery Barn Kids informed me that I would be receiving a replacement sheet. Problem solved.
Plastic Jungle came to my rescue last week. I recently purchased 3 Gap gift cards with a $50 face value at a discount rate of 18% which is a smashing deal. I purchased some kids clothes. I only needed 2 out of the 3 cards to complete the transaction. So, when I received confirmation that my order had been shipped, I threw out one of the gift cards that had been used up…except…I threw out the wrong card. Yes, I confused the card with $37 on it with the card that had $0 on it. I was so angry with myself. I wondered why I just did not “keep it around” until the order arrived. I initially called the Gap and inquired if they would be able to provide me with the 16 digit code and pin number if I provided them with the last four digits on the used card. No such luck. Plastic Jungle was my last hope to retrieve the remaining balance on the card and I only needed the numbers since I shop online 99% of the time.
I sent an inquiry to the Plastic Jungle and within 24 hours I received an email inquiring about a time when a team member could contact me by telephone. I replied with my telephone number and a three hour window when I could be contacted. I was contacted during that window and the team member provided me with the 16 digit code and pin number. On a side note, I was so glad that I purchased $150 worth of gift cards because I made one purchase around $50 and a couple of days later the items I purchased were further reduced so I “re-bought” the entire order with the intention of returning the first order. Since I was able to reduce the cost of my initial items, I was able to sneak in another shirt for #4 Frugalette. Hence the total cost, including the addition of the shirt below was nearly identical to my initial order.
Have you had any surprisingly positive customer service experiences?
Although I do not bat 1,000, I usually always get what I want. Most people do not call, instead they complain. Most customer service organizations want to solve the particular problem.