A great experience even when things went wrong.
Last month, I sent a surprise gift to one of our customers. In an unfortunate series of events, the gift package never made it to her.
Here’s the email I received from the coffee company I bought the gift from:
I spoke with your customer and she says that they did not receive the package and has spoken with her neighbors to be sure that the box was not delivered to one of them by accident. On the day of delivery, there was terrible weather all across the area, including tornados. Many businesses and all of the schools closed that day, but she says that their office did not close. It is possible that either the postal delivery person was in too big of a hurry that day because of the weather and chose not to deliver the box or there was a substitute delivery person who did not know where to leave the package.
I am very frustrated that this has happened. I am going to re-flavor the coffee (Hazelnut) today (it has to sit overnight) and deliver the coffee/ tea order to her myself tomorrow. I’ll let you know if I get any more information.
Thanks, again, for the order.
Clarke, Highland Coffees
They really did a great job turning this potentially negative situation into a great one. Instead of blaming the post office or leaving me to figure out where the package went, Clark sent out a brand new order. Clarke even shared in my frustration that the experience wasn’t perfect.
Explanation? Check.
Empathy? Check.
Promise to follow-up? Check.
Even though this order might take an extra little bit to get to the customer, I’d still order with Highland Coffees again in the future. It turned out to be a great experience even when things went wrong.
We work hard to provide the same stellar experience with our customers. If you haven’t yet, go check out Basecamp 3!
