Complaints can be good for business

I recently had such a good experience following a complaint, I’m going to tell you all about it.  This was a textbook case of dealing with it well.

Recently though, I noticed that I was getting pink smears all over the surfaces that I was wiping. And when you’ve got cream kitchen cupboards, that’s not good.

I wrote to the manufacturers and enclosed the 1 cloth that was left in the packet, explaining the situation. And by return post I received a parcel containing a replacement pack of cloths and a pack of anti-bacterial wipes. This was the letter that came with it:

Dear Jane

Thank you for your recent letter. I am sorry to hear that you have experienced problems with the colour fastness of our cloths.

This issue has been brought to our attention from our brilliant customers and as such we have now changed printers to a new supplier who can provide us with the expected quality and level of colour fastness.

Unfortunately there will be a transition period where stock of the old cloths sells through. So we have placed a customer care notice inside all packs to use the unprinted side of the cloth to clean white or light coloured surfaces.

Please find enclosed a replacement pack of cloths from our new printers. I have also enclosed a pack of anti-bacterial wipes which are effective at removing any red smears caused by the faulty pack.

Thank you for taking the time to report this issue to us. We are always looking to improve our products and your feedback is invaluable to us.

This was signed from a named executive within the company.

So why’s that so good?

1. They apologised straight away
2. They complimented me by saying “our brilliant customers” and made me feel I’d done the right thing in drawing the problem to their attention
3. They acknowledged the problem and explained what they’ve done to rectify it
4. They replaced the faulty product with the corrected version
5. They provided a thoughtful extra, a solution to the problem caused by the faulty cloths
6. They thanked me for taking the time to report the problem
7. They provided a named contact should I have any further comments

The end result is a customer that is willing to share this good response and say what a great product they have, and I have no doubt that I will continue to use this brand safe in the knowledge that they care about their products AND their customers.

Turn a challenge into an opportunity

Every business gets it wrong sometimes. But it’s how you deal with the problems that makes you stand out. Deal with it badly, and you’re digging yourself a bigger hole than the problem caused in the first place.

Deal with it well, and you get yourself a band of happy customers and advocates.

Who is this company?  It’s Sarah Smith, who strangely don’t seem to have their own website. But you can buy their cloths at most major supermarkets and via several online distributors such as http://www.ecohamster.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=9829