a guy and a bee

complaining is not something zack and i do often. thank you, however is something we offer frequently. over the past few months, i have had some exceptional customer service encounters that i would like to share.

sperry – we are BIG sperry fans. love the brand, love the shoe, love the quality.  i recently purchased a pair of sperry’s at a discount shoe store (who notably did not make the list) and, upon my second wear, found that one of the laces on the sperry was damaged.  with my life motto of “the worst they can say is no” in my mind, i e-mailed sperry noting the issue.  in a matter of hours i had a detailed response from sperry offering apology for my disappointment and clear instruction on how to send my shoes to the company for repair or replacement. never once was i asked where the shoes were purchased, their condition, or how i caused the damage.  i sent my shoes off and within a matter of days had a new pair delivered to my doorstep.  no questions asked.

visit http://www.sperrytopsider.com.  you will not be disappointed.

ll bean – i honestly do not break things often, but the past few months have been challenging for my outwear (shoes above and jackets).  i take the marc train and therefore spend a decent amount of cold mornings and evenings standing waiting for the train to arrive.  last winter, i took the plunge and purchased an amazingly warm and long winter jacket from ll bean.  i have always liked their winter gear, but was pleasantly surprised this winter not by their quality, but by their customer service.  while flying home from vermont this winter, my jacket was placed on the security belt in the airport (not in a bucket) by a security guard.  he promised me it would survive the short trip through the x-ray machine.  he was wrong.  my jacket somehow got caught and had to be forcefully pulled from the machine.  at this point, i was running late for my flight and did not pay attention to the zipper on the jacket.  i got home and went to zip my jacket, only to find zipper teeth missing and a small tear in my jacket.  the next day, i went to our local ll bean and asked what the fee to repair my jacket would be.  their response.  nothing.  the jacket i had purchased was not available in-store, so they issued me a credit for the full-price of the jacket in order to provide me to opportunity to replace my jacket at full-price, if necessary.   they never once asked what happened.

visit http://www.llbean.com.  they mean “guaranteed to last” and stand by their word that they will make you happy.

meadows – i love local businesses and i LOVE ice cream.  zp and i discovered the meadows frozen custard not that long ago and have fallen head over heels.  fresh flavors of the day (and a calendar that gives you a heads up of the flavors to come), an amazingly friendly staff, and the best owner ever are only the start of our list of loving them.  but for this post, customer service is the focus.   we were having dinner in hickory ridge one night and stopped by the meadows after dinner.  having already closed, steve (the owner) could easily have said, “see you tomorrow night.”  instead, he invited us in, noted they had closed, and told us we could pick anything that was out.  we opted for an ice cream sandwich that had just been packaged (with homemade cookies and fresh custard, of course).  steve recognizes you (probably indicating that we get ice cream too often), wants to know about your life, and ALWAYS thanks us for stopping in and inviting us back.  he and his staff make you feel welcome and at home.

i think saying thank you and showing appreciation for a job well done are amazing gifts. i also think they make someone want to keep going their job well.  so, i encourage you all . . . take a moment and appreciate someone going out of their way to assist you, or just doing their job well and not making your life more challenging.

thank you.