Consumer championing can sour one’s view of the world. My inbox tells of a world of fraud and incompetence; of persecution and gaslighting. Customer satisfaction is at its lowest ebb since 2015, according to a survey released last week by the Institute of Customer Service, as companies slash budgets.
Now and then, though, there are tiny sparks of light. These are the firms who go beyond the call of duty to cherish a customer.
Over the past year, readers have shared experiences of exemplary customer service and reading them makes the spirits rise. Mostly, these companies prove their mettle when something goes wrong.
They shoulder the cost of a customer’s mistake, or rectify their own, with such flourish that a complaint becomes an accolade. They are companies who regard their customers as individuals, rather than statistics, and allow their staff leeway to empathise.
Altruism can be profitable, according to research by the Institute of Customer Service, which found a third of customers would pay more for excellent service.
Chief executive Jo Causon says the latest research suggests companies with above-average customer satisfaction have improved profitability, revenue growth and productivity.
Let’s hear it, then, for businesses who are bucking the trend and, in the midst of a cost of living crisis, putting the customer first:
• My daughter had to have her cat put down after a sudden illness. She was expecting an order of food and litter from Katkin the following day, and tried to cancel it. It was too late to stop the delivery, but in a wonderful, sympathetic email, they gave her a full refund and asked for it to be donated to a cat shelter.
LB, Clitheroe, Lancashire
• My daughter and her family borrowed my car for a holiday and, as I believed my Start Rescue breakdown policy covered me, rather than the vehicle, she bought her own from the same company. Six months later, Start Rescue called me to flag up that there were two policies on my car. It turned out my daughter had been covered by mine and they’ve refunded her. Who’s heard of a company going out of their way to highlight their customer’s mistake so they can refund them?
GS, London
• When my grandfather had a stroke and was moved to a nursing home, I ordered a Stamptastic name stamp so his clothes could be labelled. Sadly, he died the day after his arrival. I called Stamptastic to see if the order had been shipped. It had, but, without being asked, it offered me my money back, even though it was personalised and therefore not refundable.
KD, Cockermouth, Cumbria
• A local power failure meant that, for a few days, we had to have a generator supplied by SP Energy Networks. Staff were incredibly polite and caring. To top it all, when the crisis was over, they sent a hamper apologising for the disruption.
BD, Freuchie, Cupar
• Thank you SunGod, which replaced my sunglasses for free after my own were smashed when I was knocked off my bike in a hit-and-run.
NH, Lancaster
•In 2021 I bought a pop-up gazebo from Dawsons department store in Skipton. I left it out during a storm and the weight of collected water collapsed it, breaking one of the side struts. Dawsons sourced the relevant parts and promptly posted them at no cost to me, despite my stating the damage was caused by my own stupidity.
PL, Nottingham
• We bought a Nuna TRIV pram and buggy system for our granddaughter in 2020. It covered a lot of ground. This year, with our grandson’s arrival imminent, we noticed the rear wheels were, unsurprisingly, worn. I asked Nuna if I could buy replacements. They were sent free of charge, although the warranty had expired, and in time for the birth. Pram, buggy and grandson all doing well.
GL, Cambridge
• I bought a Sprayway Gore-Tex jacket in the mid-1990s. This summer, some of the inner pocket seams gave way and the elastic was also on its last legs. I asked Sprayway how much it would cost to repair. They simply told me to send it in. I expected an invoice. What I got back was my jacket, fully repaired, and good as new, for no charge.
SB, Weaverham, Cheshire
• Recently the wheels came off my Gtech cordless vacuum cleaner, which is nearly four years old, and two years out of guarantee. I phoned the company, expecting to hear that the spares were either unavailable or expensive, but the wheels arrived the next day, free, except for postage. And when I had trouble fitting them, I was patiently talked through the process.
SH, Sunbury-on-Thames
• I ordered four storage boxes from Argos. When they arrived one of the lids was missing. The delivery driver, Mohammad, apologised and, on his own initiative, phoned his manager and arranged for a replacement. It arrived four hours later. Excellent delivery guy, representing the company really well.
GA, London
• A shout out to East Midlands Railways. I inadvertently bought two sets of tickets online for the same journey. They were all non-refundable. When I realised what I had done, before collecting them I emailed EMR, which offered a refund that arrived the next day. I’m seriously impressed.
CA
• I took a tumble on holiday and broke the screen on my new Fujifilm X-T5 camera. Fuji delivered a post-paid box for me to return the camera so they could assess the repair cost. I was then emailed to say that Fuji had replaced the screen at no cost, and were returning the camera, again at no cost to me. I was expecting major delays and a large bill. Fujifilm have revived my faith in corporates.
NG, Redditch
