Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Customer Service Kindness

So I called three companies recently (one yesterday, two this morning) with questions/comments/complaints. The first call was to the makers of the generic Target diapers I buy for my son - three diaper tabs had pulled off while attempting to change him, and you know, I paid for a box of 92 diapers, not 89. So now they're sending me a coupon! The customer service lady didn't say exactly how much the coupon would be for, but the since the diapers round out to about 15¢ a piece, all I really need is 45¢ off my next purchase. (This is not an uncommon problem with any diaper - when I was buying Huggies, the same thing happened on multiple occasions, and they sent me coupons as well.)

Then this morning in preparation for a playdate I was putting a frozen vegetable lasagna in the oven and had a question about the instructions (do I take the lid off for the last 15 minutes, or do I take the lid off and cook for an additional 15 minutes?). The nice man was kind enough to answer my question (just take the lid off for the last 15 minutes), and just for calling, he's sending me coupons! Whee!

The last call was to the customer service at PediaCare. Yesterday I bought a decongestant for my son, and on the inside of the box was a coupon for my next PediaCare purchase. Except the coupon expired in December. So I called, and now they're sending me a new one. Score.

Coupons are often a scam. They make you buy something you wouldn't ordinarily. However, I totally call the companies of the products I use when I have a problem or question because I'm a giant coupon whore. I even got a free roll of aluminum foil once from Reynolds (like a $7 value) because the side of the roll I had was smashed and therefore the aluminum foil wouldn't roll out without ripping. I have even called companies just to ask for coupons, and they're mostly happy to oblige. One company I called wasn't offering any coupons at the time (whatever that means), but the lady was still really nice, and I'm still glad I called. I'm all for letting companies know when something is wrong, but they also deserve to know when they're making a good product.

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