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I am a longtime fan of New Balance shoes. The company maintains an almost freakish commitment to fit and foot health and their shoes are as close to custom fit as they come.
Even when I have a minor meltdown over corporate decisions on advertising and target markets, I still have a strong love for the shoe itself. And like any shopper who wants to save time, I often order online through New Balance Web Express. They follow the Zappo’s business model, with pre-printed shipping labels and free returns. They also seem to be taking a page from the Zappo’s customer service handbook.
I recently ordered a pair of running shoes, under a new model number. I hit the jackpot with shoes that come pretty close to running on a cloud, and I made a mental note to immediately order a second pair as a replacement.
A couple of days after receiving my package, I got a personalized email follow-up from NB Web Express customer service, saying they hoped my shoes were serving me well. On a whim, I answered back saying that not only were the shoes great, I’d be ordering a second pair AND I really appreciated the customer service follow-up. This led to a short flurry of pleasant correspondence, and that was that. I ordered my second pair of shoes, and went about my business.
A few days ago, I received another customer service email from NB Web Express. They wanted to thank me, they said, for not only being a good customer but also for being so nice to their customer service department. The email included a gift certificate for $50 off my next purchase.
As a business owner, how many times do you think of offering a discount or a gift card to a disgruntled customer as your way of saying, “We’re sorry”? How many times have you thought of doing the same as a nice surprise for a customer who’s been especially pleasant to deal with? You already have a happy customer in the palm of your hand – why not cement that relationship by going over the top to say “Thanks for just being you”?
I have a couple of retail clients that I’ve convinced to give this idea a try – I’ll share the details in an upcoming post.
Michele Miller is a writer, speaker, and consultant on ways to capture the heart of the female customer. The co-author of The Soccer Mom Myth, she consults with businesses of all sizes across North America
I agree completely. The only time I’ve ever lost my luggage was when it caught an earlier flight and, in a freakish twist of fate, another Angi took my bag. I was in the airport for eight hours waiting for her to notice and bring my bag back. The people in the lost baggage department were horrified but I’m pretty mellow so I just sat and read my book. At the end of the day when my bag was returned and I was saying goodbye they gave me two coupons for $100 off my next flight because no one had ever been so nice about losing a bag. I never tell this story as a negative experience – just a funny story about why I trust the airlines with my checked bags…with a very happy ending!
Another great tale Angi, and I love how you spin it as positive for the company. Why more businesses don’t follow this practice is beyond me. The ROI is exponentially positive!
On Sep 17, 2009, at 7:37 AM
Amen Sister–I promote this thinking in my dental practice and other professional clients too–My very wise Mama always taught me to accentuate the positive. Her way of saying it was “Honey, always remember, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar!” –so incredibly simple and obvious but we’ve all missed it a million times in our business dealings–
PS: My wonderful brave autistic 25 year old son, Joe, is hiking the entire Appalachian Trail –over two thousand miles. He’s in Maine now and started in Georgia–6 months of straight hiking—and he is wearing his ONLY second pair of NB hiking shoes–pretty darn good service considering they have been sharp and rocky, cold and hot, sloppy wet, mountainous, heavy duty miles–Go Joe and go New Balance!
Margaret Titus
Brand Strategies for Professionals
Just think if most businesses operated that way. The world would be a wonderful place. Thanks for posting Michele.
Thanks, Barney – isn’t it amazing that more businesses don’t follow this model? The time for change is ripe, I tell ya…
Margaret, you’re so right. Maybe more businesses don’t do this kind of thing because they deem it to be “old fashioned.” Well, I’ll take old fashioned any day! And a hearty congrats to Joe – quite an achievement.