Examples of outstanding customer service

[Acousticado]

Car guys may appreciate this one. We keep a car at our Florida winter vacation home and last April, I bought a new car cover from a long-standing, reputable “made in America” cover manufacturer, Budge Industries. The car has sat for 6 months with a good amount of daily summer sun and weather exposure.

About a month ago before we arrived, a storm rolled through and because the sun had degraded the cover, it completely broke down leaving the convertible unprotected. The cover I bought was rated for our use and came with a 5 year limited warranty.

I contacted the company customer service by email with explanation and photo of the car (as sent to me by a neighbor who keeps an eye on our place), and they said that once we arrived back south, cut off a tag and a small swatch of the fabric and mail to them, which I did. In my cover letter, I mentioned that rather than an exact replacement (which I expected would be prorated with some out of pocket by me), I’d prefer the best version they had and I’d be willing to pay the difference.

Well a few days ago a shipment arrived and in the large box was not only a new replacement of the original cover I’d bought, but also the best of their cover offerings (in a material that should hold up very well)! In addition, they included a cable and locking tie-down assembly and a 3-pack of microfiber cloths. They did all this at no further cost to me. Now that’s customer service!

Of course, doing this will result in me being a loyal customer in the future, but it also produces good word of mouth which is invaluable (which I’m doing here). Too bad that many companies don’t do anywhere near that, or do nothing at all. So if you ever need a cover to protect your ride, consider Budge Industries!

Feel free to share your own experiences of exceptional customer service.

Years ago I ordered a box of 50 sets of medium guage bulk Martin strings from Strings and Beyond. I had been playing mediums for about a year and after the shipment of strings came my left hand couldn't take it anymore. I was at the point where I couldn't fret the guitar without pain. I switched to a pack of lights and my hand returned to normal. But now I had an unopened box of 50 sets of medium strings I couldn't use. I contacted Strings and Beyond and they happily exchanged them for lights. I was surprised and very pleased. Strings and Beyond will always have my business.

[Basalt Beach]

Last spring, we could smell what we thought were exhaust fumes in the car cabin. I took into the BMW dealer who advised the valve cover was cracked which would be a $1,400 repair. The vehicle had no warranty as we are the third owner of the vehicle, and it had just over 49K miles on the vehicle. I called BMW USA and politely expressed the disappointment with that valve cover would fail, and pointed out that the previous owner purchased the vehicle as certified pre-owned, and had this occurred during their ownership, BMW would cover it (less the deductible). BMW took down the pertinent information, checked with the dealer, and called back and agreed to cover 85% of the repair cost.

[AX17609]

Got blood work done from one of my insurance company's preferred providers. Paid the co-payment at the time of service. Started getting bills from the lab for a very large amount of money. Started getting threatening letters from a debt collector for this supposed bill. Finally, I called my insurance company. The representative said, "Yeah, we know these guys". Put me on hold. Less than a minute later he came back and said, "I took are of it; don't worry about it".

This has happened more than once.

[Brucebubs]

I've had great customer service from several USA based companies.

I asked D'Addario about the re-designed holders in their 2-way humidification system and they posted me these for free.



Martin Guitars have replaced strings that were corroded - they also helped me with information I needed to complete a pre-CITES certificate - and they sent me a set of Titanium strings to try when I asked about them.

Strings and Beyond have ordered in picks and strings for me not on their inventory - they also replaced corroded strings.

DR strings organized a replacement set of strings for me too.

Jon at My Favorite Guitars put my case through to Martin Guitars management when I needed to replace the factory tuners on my Martin 12-string - Martin don't sell their branded tuners to the public - they made an exception for me thanks to Jon ... even more outstanding when you consider I'm on the other side of the world and I didn't buy the guitar from him!