catbird’s world

Re: Red Card

Dear Target,

If you really want to help schools, just do it. Don’t make it conditional on whether I sign up for your marketing program (so you can track my purchases). Don’t make it conditional on how much I spend in your store. In fact, don’t make it conditional on me shopping at your store at all.

Just help the schools.

Then have your PR team promote the heck out of your good deeds. Good PR can go a long way, much farther than bribery or blackmail.

Sincerely,
catbird*

*Yes, I really sent this letter to Target, but signed with my name.

A NOTE: Target does other things to help schools that aren’t conditional on people buying stuff.

catbird :: Apr.12.2010 :: customer service, mommyhood, socio-pop :: Comments Off

Dear Old Navy,

I’ve made you a short To Do list for next year’s online holiday shopping season:

1. Real-time stock updates. If you’ve emailed me that something I ordered is out of stock, I shouldn’t be able to buy something two days later. Better yet, take a note from Amazon and don’t list things in the store that are sold out.

2. Tidier order fulfillment. If I put something in my cart and check out, I should receive it. In your brick-and-mortar store you don’t come up to my cart when I’m paying, take stuff out of my cart, and give it to other people, right? So why do it online?

3. Better shipping notification. Offering free shipping is great, but really good communication about when orders will ship and arrive is even better. If I panic and have to contact customer service to find out if my order will arrive on time, you’re doing something wrong.

4. Start post-holiday sales post holiday. I received email about the Old Navy post holiday sale at about 3:30 AM Christmas morning. Next year, please let me enjoy my holiday before announcing your sale.

But, hey, kudos for how you handled my sold out items. I called and got the sold out items replaced with similar items at the same sale price and free shipping as the original. Nice, but really, I’d rather know what is sold out before I buy it so I don’t have to waste time on the phone with customer service and risk not getting my order in time.

Thank you for taking care of these tasks before holiday season 2010. Me and millions of other online shoppers appreciate it.

Sincerely,
cat

catbird :: Dec.29.2009 :: customer service :: Comments Off

At the tweet-request of @msmari, here are 5 things I think Whole Foods is doing right. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think WF is perfect. But I do think it’s miles ahead of other chain grocery stores.

1. Customer Service:
If you read my blog or tweets, you know I’ve had quite a bit of interaction with Whole Foods customer service. WF recognizes customers as key to the company’s survival and therefore treats them with respect, listening to suggestions or complaints and trying to rectify any problems. As a part of the WF customer service plan, they generate a feeling of (dare I say it?) community among customers through feedback channels, in-store events, and general friendliness of the staff. Good customer service is so important to a successful business and WF really gets it.

Where I live (in northern NJ) friendly grocery store employees are few and far between so I really appreciate the friendliness (real or contrived) of the people at Whole Foods.

2. Employees:
For the past 12 years that Fortune Magazine has been generating the Top 100 Places to Work list, Whole Foods has been on it. Ranked at 22, it isn’t the only grocery store on the list. Wegman’s is 5 and Publix is 88 and both of those have been on the list all 12 years as well. Do I think it’s all sunshine and rainbows to work there? Probably not, but they must be doing something right.

3. Local products and suppliers:
Whole Foods is doing a great job bringing in local products and suppliers. In almost every department, there are signs for locally caught, raised, or produced food. Sure, it might be better for me to drive to the various farms or artisan shops to get these products (emphasis on “might”), but as long as we have grocery stores, I’m glad there is one collecting local products under it’s roof for me.

4. Green Mission
Whole Foods has Green Mission Specialists and they actually do stuff. Like listen to customer requests for reusable containers for bulk foods, or setting up special bins for compostable waste in the dining area, or getting rid of plastic containers in the prepared foods area, or… well, you get the idea.

5. Sustainablity
Okay, I know it’s such a buzzword right now, but it is important. Whole Foods thinks about products from “farm to fork”. Might not be perfect yet, but at least they are *thinking* about it.

These are just five things I think Whole Foods is doing right. I’ll reiterate: I don’t think WF is perfect, but I do think it’s the least of all evils with regard to grocery stores.

catbird :: Aug.23.2009 :: customer service, food, green :: Comments Off

Last weekend we went to the local pet store to buy dog food only to find there had been a price increase, from $46 to $60 for a 40 pound bag. Wow, a $14 increase! We purchased a bag, but, out of curiosity, we checked the big chain store for a price comparison: $46. Plus, while we were there, a salesperson gave us a $2 off coupon, making the price difference $16.

I believe it’s very important to shop local. When you shop local, you’re supporting your neighbors who own the business and you’re developing relationships that make your community a better place to live. More of the money you spend stays in the community through profits, jobs, and taxes. Local businesses are more accountable and are more likely to utilize other local businesses. They also hire local people who provide better service to others in the community, who happen to be their neighbors.

No one can deny that shopping at a local merchant is more satisfying than shopping at a big box store. And who wouldn’t rather live in a town with a Main Street full of local merchants rather than next to a highway littered with strip malls?

As satisfying as it is, however, I do have limits. When a book I wanted to get my husband was $30 more at the local bookstore than at Amazon, I didn’t hesitate to buy it online. So, how much more am I willing to spend to buy local? It seems it depends on a number of intangible elements. But I do know I’ll continue to buy from my local merchants whenever possible. Whatever that means.

catbird :: Jun.30.2009 :: customer service, green, socio-pop :: Comments Off

Is this the before or after picture? It doesn’t matter because they look exactly the same.

Today, the friendly Thomasville deliverymen came and took our new chairs away.

We bought two upholstered chairs from Thomasville in April, which were delivered in mid-May. When they arrived, I checked them all over for damage. But it wasn’t until the deliverymen left that I sat down across from the chairs and noticed that the arms were stuffed differently, not just from chair to chair, but, on one of the chairs the two arms were drastically different.

So began my adventure with Thomasville customer service. My call was promptly answered by a real person, who sent me an email requesting photos. I email back photos that same day and immediately received an email confirmation of receipt.

The customer service rep assigned to my “case” said that the problem could probably be fixed by the upholsterer and, if not, Thomasville would replace the chairs.

A week later, not having heard anything, I emailed my customer service rep. With no response, the next day I left a voice mail. The following day, I called the main customer service number finally got my rep on the phone.

Luckily, the news was good. The upholsterer could fix the chairs, although they would have to go back to the warehouse for an indeterminate amount of time. I was even offered loaners! (I declined because the idea of keeping them free of chocolate smears and markers was too stressful.)

So, for now, our chairs are gone to the warehouse, to await the upholsterer. I have no idea how long they will be gone or if they will be repaired correctly. Sounds like I need to make a call.

UPDATE:
After having our chairs for almost three weeks, Thomasville called to schedule a delivery. So exciting! Finally, we would have our chairs back and they would match! I figured since the upholsterer worked on them himself, he would take care to make the arms match on each chair, and also make the chairs match each other.

Oh how wrong I was! The chairs came back looking EXACTLY the same. I am firmly convinced absolutely nothing was done to these chairs and that Thomasville took our chairs as some sort of punishment for complaining. Feeling totally misled and screwed over, I say to Thomasville:

“Do you really think we will ever by anything from you again? Do you really think we won’t tell everyone we know — and everyone we don’t — how horribly we think your furniture quality and customer service has been?”

I was told I would have a call today, but I did not. So tomorrow I have the pleasure to call them.

UPDATE 8/1/09
My Thomasville customer service representative let me know that Joe the Upholsterer is usually very thorough and he couldn’t believe the chairs aren’t okay. Good thing we took photos because everyone agreed that they look no different than before. Joe will come to my house to fix the chairs so we’ll be sure everything is satisfactory. Why didn’t they just arrange that to begin with? Anyway, poor Joe the Upholsterer has had poison ivy, but he is supposed to come Monday. Hum. We’ll see what happens.

UPDATE 8/3/09
Joe the Upholsterer came today to fix the chairs. He is very nice, very competent, and very meticulous. While the chairs still don’t look exactly right to me, they are good enough for me to live with. So I signed the papers. I’m sure I will be the only person bothered by the mismatched arms.

Overall, I was satisfied with the Thomasville service. My two complaints:

1. The chairs never should have shipped looked like that. Really bad QA.
2. The process took a very long time, about 3 months. Way too long to resolution.

catbird :: Jun.12.2009 :: customer service :: Comments Off

We just received our replacement parts for Nate’s Build and Play erector set — all the way from Hong Kong, no less. It cost Meccano $3 in postage to send us four screws… but now we can once again build all the vehicles. Huzzah! (said with just a smidge of sarcasm.)

Meccano was prompt and courteous in their service, which is a refreshing change from Nikko America, which was their previous distributor. I tried to get replacement screws from Nikko America in August of 2008, but I eceived no reply to my email. In November 2008 I tried again, this time calling the Nikko America number on the box. The number didn’t work. My third try, also in November, was another email to Nikko Ameica. This time I got a reply:

As of July 1st, Nikko America is no longer Distributor for Erector sets. Unfortunately we were not given any new information from Meccano as to whom their new distributor would be. We apologize for the inconvenience that this may have caused.

But a few weeks ago I caught a lucky break. A local toy store started carrying the Build and Play sets. I looked on the new box and saw the Meccano URL. I’m not sure why I didn’t go directly to Meccano earlier. I can only think that I tried, but was somehow flummoxed.

Regardless, my email to Meccano was answered within 24 hours and our replacement parts arrived a week later.

Thanks Meccano for your excellent customer service… once I found you, that is.

UPDATE:
I believe Schylling is the US distributer for Meccano. I emailed info at schylling dot com and the very helpful person from Schylling who emailed me back was linda at schylling dot com.

catbird :: May.23.2009 :: customer service :: Comments Off

Lucky me, I have two Whole Foods in close proximity: West Orange, NJ and Union, NJ. While the meat departments are about equal, the butchers are definitely not.

The Good: The West Orange Whole Foods butchers.

These guys know their stuff and aren’t afraid to share it. In fact, sometimes I even think they enjoy sharing their meat knowledge with me, but then again, that might just be my own personal delusion. While they aren’t warm and fuzzy (nor do I expect them to be) they are friendly, courteous, and respectful.

Any question I have, no matter how bizarre, annoying, or strange, is answered without any hint that they find the question to be bizarre, annoying, or strange. Almost every visit, I ask which meat is locally raised, what’s the difference between the cuts, and just how I should cook a bottom round roast anyway. At least once a month I ask about other meat from Simply Grazin’ Farm in Skillman, NJ. Yet, there is no sense that they are tired of my pestering, which, of course, I’m sure they are.

A specific example: Last time I was there I asked (for maybe the bazillionth time) about the local pork. The butcher couldn’t answer my question and called over the Head Butcher Guy who said he said he’d get the information from upstairs. Then, he actually got me information and had it waiting for me when I came back around at the end of my shopping.

The Bad: The Union Whole Foods butchers.

Well, not all of them, just the woman has been helping me for the past three visits. For some reason, I always feel as if I’m interrupting her with my annoying beef needs. With her curt replies and poorly hidden disdain for grass-fed beef, she likes to begin her answer before I finish asking a question. Her favorite response? “It’s all the same.” Which, quite frankly, I find hard to believe.

Her demeanor is so off-putting that it’s no exaggeration to say that I buy less meat when she is “helping” me. On my last visit (see below), I even didn’t buy everything I needed. In fact, she single-handedly cut my meat purchasing by two-thirds. Luckily for our protein intake, the fish guys are friendlier.

A specific example: When I asked for a pound of the grass-fed ground beef, she turned to her fellow butcher and said “I think for lunch I’ll go outside and eat some grass.” To which I replied “It might make you more palatable, too.” Well, I didn’t really, but only because she continued talking.

The Ugly:

Okay, even I’m not snarky enough to comment about the butchers’ attractiveness. And anyway, the real hotties are in the fish department.

catbird :: Mar.02.2009 :: customer service, food :: Comments Off

Steve’s Born replacement shoes have cracked a sole. Are these shoes designed to only last 6 months? Ridiculous. I won’t even bother contacting the company this time. But really, we are done with Born.

catbird :: Jun.18.2008 :: customer service :: Comments Off

I bought Steve a pair of Born shoes last year. After about only six or seven months, the sole cracked completely in half. Maybe if I had bought a pair of cheapo-joes from some random discount store we would have just tossed them, but Borns… really, we expected more. I contacted the company, expecting that they would have us send them back for a replacement. Instead, the rep that replied to my email, Ilario Altamura, sent a form to fill out and return. The form noted that the process could take 3-5 weeks. So I completed the form, sent it back on Oct 19, 2007, and we sat back to wait. And wait, and wait, and wait.

Finally on January 4, 2008, what, like 10 weeks later?, I emailed Mr. Altamura again, asking for an update. Today is the 17th and I haven’t heard anything.

How disappointing! I wanted to like this company with their super comfortable shoes. Instead, I’m left feeling like they don’t care about their customers and that they produce a shoddy product. If they believed in their product, it seems they would have not hesitated to replace the shoe, or, at the very least reply with a reason why not.

Let’s contrast Born to a company that cares and stands by their product: LL Bean. A pair of winter boots, several years old, had soles that started disintegrate due to dry rot. LL Bean took them back, no questions asked. Because the soles shouldn’t dry rot after such a relatively short period of time, because they believe in their products, and because, most importantly, they want me to continue to purchase things from them. Which I will.

UPDATE 1/25/08: The day after my post above, I received an email with a request to call Born. Mr Altamura said he never received my form. How odd he must have thought it was that I emailed him saying “I have attached the form” and later “Do you have any information for us?” If he had emailed me with his confusion, I certainly would have promptly responded to clear things up. I emailed my form again and also called (Mr. Altamura was “on the phone or away from his desk” so I left a message. I love my caller id, too.) I guess the form got through this time because a few days later I got an email to send the shoes back for a replacement pair. Thank you Ilario Altamura!

Better late than never, I suppose. Although I could certainly have done without the drama.

catbird :: Jan.17.2008 :: customer service :: Comments Off

Okay, I was really super pissed when my new Keens finally arrived from LL Bean with two right shoes. Returning mail order stuff is a pain in the neck. I called to make sure I would send everything back correctly and, what do you know, when they heard the problem, they offered to send me out a new pair that I’ll have by the end of the week. Then I can send back my two rights with a prepaid shipping label. Plus the customer service people were very personable. Thanks LL Bean. It’s still a bummer, but you made as painless as possible. What more could I ask for, except maybe, better QA.

catbird :: Nov.26.2007 :: customer service :: Comments Off

I was super disappointed when the hub caps kept falling off our Radio Flyer Pathfinder wagon, mostly because when the hubcap falls off, the wheel falls off, which makes it a bit hard to pull two kids. I went to the Radio Flyer web site and completed the “request parts” form. Although I didn’t get a confirmation and had to call to follow up after a week, I was totally impressed and happy to hear that four new hub caps had already been shipped out to us, no questions asked.

I love good customer service.

catbird :: Nov.13.2007 :: customer service :: Comments Off

Kudos to RC2 for the handling of the Thomas trains recall. While I was surprised and dismayed by this recall, and a bit put out to fill out the form and mail our James back, I am impressed with the way the company is handling everything. I received a very professional and courteous email confirming receipt of the train, then, a week later, we received a “free gift” (Diesel — one we didn’t have yet) with a letter assuring us that our replacement James is on its way. Thank you RC2 for taking responsibility for the mistake and for taking care of your customers.

On the other hand, Mattel is bungling things, in my opinion. Our Sarge (from the Cars movie) is recalled and instead of replacing it, Mattel is sending us a $7 voucher for a new one. What?! We looked long and hard for our Sarge and it wasn’t easy to find. The way the Cars are distributed is in boxes with all different characters. The store doesn’t know what characters are in the box or when they might be getting a certain character. So now Mattel wants me to send back our Sarge and start trolling Target for a new one? Why not just send it to me? It seems to me that Mattel should WANT people to return the lead infested toys so that they are out of circulation and can be disposed of safely. By offering vouchers, the company is just encouraging people to hold on to the Sarge they have rather than having to go out and hunt for a new one. Talk about not respecting customer’s time! Mattel is responsible for the lead in the toy and yet not only do I have to take time to send ours back, but I have to go out and find a new one? Come on Mattel, own up to your mistake and make good with your customers. Boo, hiss, Mattel.

What’s up with all the lead anyway? I was just waiting for the Cars to have a recall. I wonder if Matchbox or Hotwheels will be next? I’m tempted to take all the toys stamped “China” away until Van stops putting things in his mouth. But that would only leave about five toys.

UPDATE: Yesterday I received the emailed prepaid postage label from Mattel. The email was strange, clearly modified from one that had nothing to do with the recall (it included the phrase “Please be assured that we have forwarded your comments to the appropriate individuals.” when there was no place for me to include comments — believe me, if there was, I would have given them an earful.) On top of the poorly written email, it included the following instructions:

“The maximum size of the package must be less than 108 inches total. The total is calculated by doubling the package height, plus double the package width plus the length. The length is the longest side of the package.”

To which I say back to Mattel “Huh?” Could they make this any more complicated.

MEANWHILE…. RC2 continues to wow me with their very responsible and conscientious handling of the recall. Today I received a check for $1.81 to cover the cost of postage to send our train back. The check probably cost more for them to process than the postage amount. Unexpected and appreciated, RC2.

catbird :: Aug.14.2007 :: customer service, mommyhood :: Comments Off

Today I received an email from an angry would-be subscriber to the magazine where I do some freelance work. He* is angry about one of our policies, which I can understand. Other people have complained about the policy. But no one has resorted to cursing and name-calling like this:

________________________________________
From: [deleted]@aol.com [mailto:[deleted]@aol.com]
Sent: Saturday, May 14, 2005 4:00 PM
To: subscriptions@collegeparenting.com
Subject: Re: Your College Parent Magazine Subscription

are you out of your f’n mind or what??? I went through all of this crap so I could end up having to send you a fax or letter???…sorry, dipshit, you just ain’t worth it!
________________________________________

Over the years, I’ve received my share of rude emails. Razzberry probably generated the most, but were also the easiest to forgive. Teenagers can be quick to anger and impulsive; they’re still working things out — and razzberry was a place for them to do it.

But this guy has no such excuse. Since he is subscribing to College Parent Magazine, presumably he has a child in high school. I hope he is teaching his child more respect for others than he seems to have.

(*yep, I know it’s a guy, I have his name.)

catbird :: May.16.2005 :: customer service :: Comments Off

I love it when any business has good customer service. I firmly believe that good customer service is the most important thing that any company can instill in its employees and provide to its customers. That’s why I was thrilled at the experience I had with Barron’s this week.

A couple months back, I bought a book for Nate called Charlie Car. It’s a little board book in the shape of a car and Nate is just crazy about it. About a month ago, Charlie Car’s binding completely disintegrated, leaving our house strewn with Charlie pages. The book was only $4.95, but I was still annoyed.

So this week I went to the Barron’s web site and used the contact form to let them know what happened. Within the half hour, I had an email response PLUS a follow up phone call saying they were sending Nate a new book. Very awesome! I wish I could say that I was only ever going to by books from Barron’s ever again, but that just isn’t feasible. But they will always have a special place in my heart.

catbird :: Mar.10.2005 :: customer service :: Comments Off

is actually Bekins. But the second worst company ever is Network Solutions. Suddenly, none of my passwords work. Why? Who knows.

catbird :: Nov.08.2004 :: customer service :: Comments Off