Friday, September 5, 2008

Exceptional Customer Service

Today I received unexpected, exceptional customer service. How often does that happen. Um, never comes to mind!!

My daughter, who started Kindergarten this year, has a dress code. Not a "uniform" per say, but guidelines on colors and styles. Being a 5-year-old girl who adores princesses, the kid will ONLY wear dresses. Not skirts, not skorts, but dresses.

I was able to find a few navy blue jumper dresses in our local stores, but none in black or khaki (her other 2 approved colors). I decided to order some online from Old Navy.

When the jumpers arrived (2 khaki, 1 black) and she tried them on, I decided that she probably needed a bigger size. I was delighted to learn that Old Navy allows you to print a return address label for return shipping, at no cost to the customer. I completed the exchange form, printed the label, and shipped it back. I wanted the exact same 3 items, just in 1 size bigger.

Yesterday I received an email that my exchange was received and my new order had shipped. However, the sale price and discount code I had used on the original order were not applied to the new items, so I owed them $22. I made a note to call today to complain, argue, and get my account credited. I planned to return the items for a full refund if my demands were not met.

The morning got away from me and I didn't call first thing as I had planned. A little after noon, my cell phone rang. It was Mark from Old Navy Online Customer Service, who was calling to tell me there had been an error with the exchange, the wrong prices were applied to the new items, and he was in the process of correcting my account to eliminate the new $22 charge. He needed my authorization to credit the original purchase price to my account, and then debit my account for the same amount, to account for the 3 new items.

Wow. I was impressed! Not only did they catch the error, but a very nice man called to apologize for the error and let me know he was correcting it right away. I felt guilty for even considering a complaint to this company.

Sometimes it's the little things that mean so much. Recognizing a mistake. Apologizing for it. Correcting it. And doing so with a pleasant tone and a positive attitude. Old Navy, you are now my preferred online retail site. Thanks for making my day!

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