Blogging Through the Alphabet - E is for "Exceptional Customer Service"

I LOVE shopping online!  Its one of my favorite pastimes - to my husband's dismay!  LOL!  Often, there are mistakes - in packing, shipping, or other areas.  I know some people get furious about that, but I try to remember that accidents happen.  After all, we're all human.  Its not perfection that makes a company great, its how they handle mistakes, questions, etc.  With that in mind, I thought I'd start a list of companies from which I've received great customer service!  I find that I'm often more likely to complain about a company than to praise them when they do a good job, so this post is an effore to change that!  This is by no means an exhaustive list of my favorite companies.  After all, there have been many companies that I've bought from and had a great experience, but I never had to contact customer service.  This is a list of companies that I have contacted because 1.) I had a question, 2.) I was dissatisfied with a product I received, or 3.) there was a mistake when my order was packed or shipped.  All of these companies provided me with what I consider to be wonderful customer service and I thought my readers should hear about it!

1.) ZoLi - We received a Sumo Snack Stacker in our very first Citrus Lane box and let me just start by saying how much we LOVE it!!! Its a fabulous product!!! It holds tons of snacks, is easy to hold and seals very well! Unfortunately, during a particularly bad bought with "mommy brain" I threw it in the dishwasher and the lid fell into the bottom of said dishwasher - where it stayed for several days, getting washed OVER AND OVER AND OVER again until it finally melted. I was crushed! I got on their Facebook page and let them know what happened and asked if I could buy a new top. That same day I received an email from their customer service saying they would be very happy to send me a new top for free. I was SHOCKED!!! After all, my "mommy brain" issues are certainly not their fault! But I was so pleased at their friendly, helpful, "above and beyond" attitude!



2.) RightStart - A few months ago I was looking for the special edition Aden+Anais Hello Kitty Dream blanket. I had decided to get it as a birthday gift for my Hello Kitty loving, soon-to-be three years old. Unfortunately, I waited too long and they were sold out on the Aden-Anais website. Thankfully, I found them on the RightStart website! WooHoo! I ordered it right away!!! When the blanket arrived, I had a little question about it. I'd never ordered Aden-Anais before and their soft, cuddly products have sort of a worn look, so I was worried it might have been used. I got on their website to look for an email address and found that they have an online chat option, so I hopped on. I received a reply almost immediately and was able to speak with a very nice customer representative. She listened to my questions and answered them in a friendly and helpful manner. Then she replaced my blanket even though I was satisfied with her explanation of its appearance! She said that they wouldn't be happy unless I was 100% satisfied with their website. That definitely made me want to come back!!!





3.) Citrus Lane - If you read my blog, then you know how much I LOVE Citrus Lane!!! And this is a big part of the reason why! I've had wonderful customer service from Citrus Lane! Sometimes it takes them a few days to respond - especially during ship week - but they are always friendly and very helpful! Recently I received a boy's item in my baby girl's box. (CL gives you a choice of a boy box, girl box, or gender-neutral box.) I contacted customer care and they quickly sent out a replacement. Their customer service people have always been kind and courteous to me and that's a HUGE plus in my book!!!!



4.) Goodbyn - We've received Goodbyn products in a few of our Citrus Lane boxes and LOVE them!!!! My toddler's July box had this fabulous Bynto and sticker set! The stickers are for decorating the Goodbyn products and they dishwasher safe! How awesome is that!!!???!!! I had a lot of problems getting the stickers off of the paper though, so I emailed Goodbyn's customer service. They emailed me back within 24 hours and offered to replace my defective stickers. Then they sent me a confirmation that the stickers had been shipped. Their customer service was helpful and quick. And I really felt that they went above and beyond by sending the new set of stickers.





5.) Green Kid Crafts - GKC is another fabulous monthly subscription box. They send boxes full of craft projects to do with your kids! But they also sell stand-alone boxes and recently I ordered one of their new ones - the Creativity Art Box! Their website states that the box contains over $50 worth of eco-art supplies, but when our box arrived it just didn't seem to have that value. So I emailed customer service. That very night I received an email from the founder of GKC! She was very apologetic that I wasn't pleased with my box and she thanked me for the suggestions that I made on how to make the box better. She also sent me a second box with items more along the line of what I was expecting. I love a company that is willing to make things right if you aren't fully satisfied with the product! And I love a company that is constantly trying to learn and improve!!!

(The box on the right is the original.  It has lots of stuff, but not a lot of full-sized products.

The box on the left is the replacement box.  Its full of full-sized packs of crayons, markers, paints, etc!)





So these are some companies that have provided me with what I consider to be exceptional customer service!  I plan to continue to update this list whenever I feel a company deserves a mention.  If you've had a wonderful experience with a company's customer service, please let me know in the comments section below!  I'd love to learn about more companies that care about their customers!!!