Breathtaking customer service

Have you ever been blown away by great customer service? It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does your don’t forget the experience.

Recently, I purchased a pair of $29 earrings online from HeatherDownesJewelry.com to wear to the Women Business Owners Nellie Cashman Awards Gala, less than a week away. Before I tell you the story about my experience let me share how I heard about this company.

Heather Downes Jewelry was a vendor at the Women Business Owners’ trade show event last week. I purchased a bracelet from her as I was rushing out the door for a WBO board meeting. I didn’t know her prior to the trade show.

The next day (Friday), I decided I also wanted to purchase the matching earrings to wear to the Gala. However I was concerned I wouldn’t get them in time for the event. So, I emailed Heather and asked her if she thought they would arrive on time. She promptly replied that typically with standard shipping items arrive within 2 to 4 days in the Greater Seattle area. She also stated that if I ordered them by Friday night she would be sure they got in the mail Saturday morning before she went out of town. And, she added if I was concerned about them arriving on time “she would be delighted to hand deliver them to me.” Wow, that alone impressed me.

I went ahead and ordered them Friday night and selected standard shipping. In the comments box of the checkout screen I wrote that if she didn’t think they would arrive on time I would be happy to come to her location and pick them up.

The next morning, I received an email from Heather stating that she went ahead and upgraded the shipping to priority delivery to make sure they arrived on time. Wow again! She didn’t have to do that. I could have sprung to pay the extra fee for priority shipping on my own, but I felt confident they would arrive on time with standard shipping.

The earrings arrived on Monday. When I opened the package I felt like I had just purchased a $290 pair of earrings. The earrings were in a lovely box with a paper flower decorating it which was inside a larger box with paper confetti. Accompanying the earrings was a handwritten note from Heather thanking me for my purchase, a note stating that a portion of every sale is donated to provide clean and healthy water for a family in El Salvador, and another little note stating the Happiness Guarantee – all jewelry could be returned within two weeks for a full refund and comes with a one year warranty.

Further, the package included a jewelry cleaning cloth and two pairs of earring protectors – those little rubber things you put on the earring wire to keep the earring from falling off. All of this for a $29 purchase. Wow, wow, wow!!!

I was so impressed I took photos of the packaging and the earrings and shared my delight on Facebook. And, now I’m writing a blog post about my experience. That is the kind of customer service that makes fans, as in fanatics, of a business. I will think first of Heather Downes Jewelry the next time I’m looking for some new baubles. And, I will continue to rave about my experience, which is great for her business.

I have no doubt that her company will grow quickly as word spreads about not only her lovely jewelry but the delightful customer experience.

How could delivering this kind of experience help your company? What little things can you do to wow your customers? It doesn’t take much to turn your customers into raving fans. Just ask Heather.

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