Customer Service Superstars

If customer service was an event in the Summer Olympics, Keurig would win gold; ZAGG – silver. Recently I contacted these two vendors to find answers to why my “reliable” products were broken.

Gold Medal Winner: Keurig

I’m a coffee drinker, my husband is not. It seemed wasteful to brew a four-cup pot of coffee every morning  just for me, so when my friend asked if we wanted her Keurig Elite Brewing System, which had seen its fair share of brewing, I quickly accepted. That was three months ago.

On Monday morning, I grabbed a K-cup, put it in the device, pulled down the lever, heard the water begin to heat and pushed the button indicating the need for a “full” cup.  Drip! Drip! Drip! Three drips – that’s all I got.

That night, I watched a few videos online at Keurig.com and cleaned the system – determined to fix it. I grabbed my second K-cup and tried again. Nothing! I immediately called Keurig and told the lady about my disappointing morning. She asked me two questions:

1.) Did you watch the videos? 

My answer: Yes 

2.) Did you clean the K-cup holder.

My answer: Yes

Her response: “Well, I am truly sorry for your inconvenience. It seems you have a brewing system that is no longer functioning up to Keurig standards. Please remove the K-cup holder and discard the rest of the brewing system. Within three days you will receive your new Keurig Elite Brewing System. Within 30 days please return the K-cup holder as proof your original system is no longer in working order.”

I thought, “Holy cow! Just like that. Two questions and boom – I’ll have a new system in 72 hours. Great customer service!” But – that’s not why they are getting the gold!

After 72 hours I began to wonder where my new Keurig was. That night I received this email!

Okay, so the replacement device displayed “great” customer service. The prompt email and a free box of K-cups (with free shipping) was “above and beyond” customer service – making Keurig the gold superstar in this coffee drinker’s book!

Silver Medal Winner: ZAGG

I have a HTC EVO Design. The thing about these phones – the glass screens are extremely fragile.  After dropping my phone and shattering the glass (6 days after my initial purchase), I bought phone #2 and immediately went to Best Buy to buy a protective invisibleSHIELD by ZAGG. That was more than six months ago.

This week (yep – same week as my Keurig malfunction), I dropped my phone and low and behold – The ZAGG worked. My screen didn’t shatter, but my invisibleSHIELD scratched.

I had heard about ZAGG’s lifetime warranty so I went online to check it out.  I was asked four questions regarding the make and model of my phone, the day I purchased my ZAGG and if I purchased it at ZAGG.com or through a third-party vendor. After answering all the questions, I clicked on the word Replace.  And , then (this is why they are silver superstars and not gold), they asked me for my credit card number and informed me I’d be responsible for shipping costs. Then, the message said, “If you return your old product within 60 days your credit card will not be charged the product amount.”  After submitting the completed form, I was sent a confirmation email.

I was extremely impressed. They never asked what happened to my ZAGG. I was never asked what type of damage occurred nor do I have to prove that it is ruined prior to receiving my new product. And, here’s what gives them the silver and not bronze – they let me upgrade my product for FREE. I was able to choose the full body coverage as opposed to just the screen coverage.

These two customer service superstars have won me over. I will not only be loyal to their brands for many years to come, but they have now created an online brand ambassador. I have blogged about it, I will soon Tweet about it and anytime anyone asks, “What’s protecting your phone?” I will tell them my ZAGG story.

So, if you think that not developing a customer service plan won’t hurt your brand – then you haven’t been paying attention (not naming names – SPRINT!) 

Then, five hours later…

What brands are your customer service superstars?