Good--Yes, GOOD--Customer Service!

We always hear the horror stories of companies screwing over their customers, but we rarely hear about the good guys. Sometimes, a company (and more often, a single person at a company) really goes above and beyond the call of duty and offers superior customer service. I want to know when my friends get great customer service, because I firmly believe that our dollars speak volumes, and I want mine saying all the right things to all the best people. So, I give you 3 companies who have in the past few weeks given me (or my husband) AWESOME customer service.

First, FlutterToday. If you're not a Knoxville native, I apologize. FlutterToday is a local company that works much like Groupons: a company offers a deal through FlutterToday, and enough people buy, the deal will "fly"--and we all save money! The difference is that FlutterToday is owned and operated right here in my hometown, so I know all of the money I spend stays right here in my community. You gotta feel good about that!

So, why do I say they have great customer service? Simple. I bought a Flutter a few weeks ago to my favorite place: Bath Junkie. The Flutter took off, and that means I should have received my Flutter in my inbox the next day. When it wasn't there two days later, I wondered, but didn't really worry about it. The next day I was talking to friend who also purchased the Flutter, and she said that she had received hers. Concerned, I replied back to a confirmation email I received when I first purchased the Flutter. I let Marcus (the person whose name was on the "from" line) know that I hadn't received my certificate. He responded within a few hours, sending my certificate and a follow-up email to make sure I received it. We corresponded a little more throughout the day, and he could not have been nicer! He was incredibly helpful and I was so impressed with how quickly he responded. I will definitely purchase from FlutterToday again!

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Next on my list of "new favorite vendors" is an online shop called Miss Lucy's Monograms. DISCLAIMER: I won a garment bag from Miss Lucy's Monograms via Heir to Blair. However, I am not compensated in any way for what I'm about to tell you. In fact, I haven't received my garment bag yet, but I've been so impressed by my correspondence with Debbie that I'm going out on a limb to tell you how much I love them before I even have product in-hand. No one at Miss Lucy's Monograms asked me to write a review at all, much less a positive one.  Also, I'll post more about this giveaway when I can show you pictures of my new garment bag :)

First, I won a giveaway! How exciting is that??? I was super-pumped! Debbie got in touch with me as soon Blair sent her my contact information, and she has been quick to respond to each of my emails every step of the way. After looking on their website, I picked out a navy garment bag with a navy & white ribbon, to be monogrammed in white. Yesterday, Debbie emailed me to tell me that not only was she out of stock on the navy bag, but her supplier was, too. I was disappointed, sure, but I also know that stuff like this happens. Debbie was very apologetic, and suggested that I could pick out a different color bag, or wait several weeks until they were able to get the navy bag back in stock.

I looked through the colors available online again, and decided I would wait on the navy bag. I emailed Debbie and explained that my suitcase is brown, and I really wanted my new garment bag to "work with" my suitcase. As the other bag styles are some form of black and white or bright pink or green, I knew I just wouldn't be as happy with them. Debbie immediately responded and offered to place a special order with her supplier for a brown bag, which she doesn't normally stock in her shop! She needed to order this week anyway, and she is ordering a brown bag just for me! TALK ABOUT CUSTOMER SERVICE. I was floored that she would be so generous, as I'm not even a paying customer! The brown bag is even MORE perfect for me, and I just can't wait until I get it! I'll definitely got to Miss Lucy's Monograms first when I'm looking for an oh-so-Southern (i.e. monogrammed) gift.

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Lastly, CamelBak. Do you all know CamelBak? You totally should. They have awesome backpack "hydration packs" that are a must for hiking/biking/doing anything outdoors, even if you're not hard core. The convenience of not having to stop, take a water bottle out of your backpack, unscrew the lid, drink, put the lid back on, and pack the bottle away again means this girl stays hydrated 1000x better when I hike with my CamelBak on. CamelBak also makes kick a** water bottles that include their patented Big Bite Valve, which means you won't spill water all over yourself when trying to take a drink. It works like a straw, but is less likely to spill because of the way the valve is constructed. The hubs and I both have one of these, and they are great for just about any use we've had for them.

Sunday night, Hubs noticed that one of the arms on the lid of his bottle had broken off. It didn't seem to be a wear-and-tear issue, as it's on a part of the lid that wouldn't receive that much wear. After checking the warranty policy online, Hubs saw that the bottles are under warranty for 2 years. His is just barely over a year old, so he emailed customer service, explained the situation, and asked how to go about getting a replacement lid.

Someone from CamelBak responded to him within 24 hours, assured him that such an issue with their bottles should not ever be the result of wear and tear, and asked for his mailing address so they could send him a new lid. They didn't ask for proof of purchase, where he bought the bottle, a receipt to confirm purchase date, or even for him to send the defective lid back to them. They just apologized and asked for his address to make it right. Hubs was very pleased with this response, and if we had any doubt about buying the CamelBak brand again in the future (which we didn't), we definitely don't doubt it now.

Now it's your turn: Who has given you exceptional customer service? Share in the comments so we can all be sure to give our business to outstanding companies.




Full disclosure: I don't work for any of the companies mentioned, nor was I compensated in any way to share my opinion. I'm just a big fan! Also, all images came from the websites I linked to.