Customer service guys, read this.
Lego Ultra-Sonic Raider. Thanks to Jackie for the alert. We remember how upsetting it was to lose parts of our toys so we really like this story.
From Forbes: Seven-year-old Luka Apps spent his Christmas money on the LEGO Ninjago Ultra Sonic Raider set. Against his father’s advice, young Luka took his newly aquired Jay ZX with him when they went shopping. And then, disaster struck: the figure went missing, never to be seen again.
Luka decided to write a letter to the folks at LEGO asking for a replacement:
Hello.
My name is Luka Apps and I am seven years old.
With all my money I got for Christmas I bought the Ninjago kit of the Ultrasonic Raider. The number is 9449. It is really good.
My Daddy just took me to Sainsburys and told me to leave the people at home but I took them and I lost Jay ZX at the shop as it fell out of my coat.
I am really upset I have lost him. Daddy said to send you a email to see if you will send me another one.
I promise I won’t take him to the shop again if you can.
~Luka
A short time later, Luka received a reply from Richard, a LEGO customer service representative. Richard wrote that he had spoken to Sensei Wu, a master from the Ninjago line.
Luka,
I told Sensei Wu that losing your Jay mini figure was purely an accident and that you would never ever let it happen ever again.
He told me to tell you, ‘Luka, your father seems like a very wise man. You must always protect your Ninjago mini figures like the dragons protect the Weapons of Spinjitzu!’
Sensei Wu also told me it was okay if I sent you a new Jay and told me it would be okay if I included something extra for you because anyone that saves their Christmas money to buy the Ultrasonic Raider must be a really big Ninjago fan.
So, I hope you enjoy your Jay mini figure with all his weapons. You will actually have the only Jay mini figure that combines 3 different Jays into one! I am also going to send you a bad guy for him to fight! Just remember, what Sensei Wu said: keep your mini figures protected like the Weapons of Spinjitzu! And of course, always listen to your Dad.
As Richard’s letter made its way into social media and generated tremendous amount of publicity for LEGO, the company earned scores of brand evangelists and at least one lifelong customer. All because of one very nice Ninja warrior in its customer service department.
See? Not every encounter with customer service has to end in threats and burst blood vessels. When we post a horrible customer service story we get apoplectic comments—especially if it involves telcos. Anyone with a good customer service story? Anyone?
Meanwhile: Lego accused of racism with Star Wars set.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
January 24th, 2013 at 16:56
I used to have a good customer service story for Globe (complete with me emailing a compliment to the head of the customer service department) circa 2004 or 2005. One of their own made a booboo with delivering a free phone that was for my loyalty reward, but another one got it fixed pronto and had the phone delivered days before the agreed date. The second guy got compliments from me with his direct supervisor as well as an email straight to the head of the department.
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Then around 2007-2008, their customer service started to spiral downwards. I finally gave up and switched to Smart in 2009. Haven’t had a major problem since then.
January 24th, 2013 at 18:48
me and hubby booked a flight to tokyo with ANA. but then a few days before our flight, there was the tsunami in fukushima. we called ANA and asked if they can cancel our flights and give us a refund. and they did! even though it was not in the fare rules that our tickets are reimbursible. it made me love japan even more. and ANA of course. even though i have yet to fly with them.
January 24th, 2013 at 21:16
I could think of several good experiences with customer services (that’s also to say there are a few horrible ones) but on top of the list are:
– Pampers sending a £10 voucher when I left them a feedback about a defective (fresh) nappy. They also sent a free returns envelope so I returned said product with no hassle at all.
– Two complimentary tickets from Vue Cinema when I complained that they FORGOT to put the film on until someone went to ask them to play it (this was The Dark Knight Rises). I told them, “I just found it really strange why someone in the cinema business would forget to run… the film. It would have been understandable had the popcorn been forgotten or something.”
– and finally, I bought a Swiss jumping boy, a wooden toy, during a visit to Jungfrau some five years ago. It was only when we got home to England that I found out that one of the ears was missing. I did comment, maybe it’s supposed to be like this? A nice rep wrote back saying she would send me another one as it should have two ears. I now have two Swiss jumping boys, one with two ears, and one with only one, but at least they both jump.
January 24th, 2013 at 22:00
We love Moleskine notebooks because their excellent binding allows the pages to lie flat without destroying the spine. Some years ago we had a Moleskine whose endpaper came unglued, possibly from the humidity. We took a picture of the ruined notebook and emailed it to their customer service. They mailed us a new notebook.
January 24th, 2013 at 22:25
because I started the day laughing out loud from this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWFfDyupGpQ
here are my comments: @deckshoes – i googled Swiss jumping boy and I didn’t see images of toys. i’m curious now. what is it?
@jessica – did they transfer your words from one notebook to the other too? :)
wala lang… don’t have a positive customer experience to share yet. just had a negative one yesterday and bracing myself for another soon.
January 25th, 2013 at 01:27
a few years ago, i was desperate for some books so i ordered them from amazon. they seem to have been lost because there was such a delay for their arrival. so i sent a mail to their customer service. a few weeks later, my original package arrived then afterwards another package with the same set of what i originally ordered also arrived. i asked them if i should send the second package back. they said i should just keep them since the fees for sending back would be too high. a few friends got free books that day.
January 25th, 2013 at 17:47
@sunflowii
It’s like one of those traditional small wooden toys with a spring to bounce it? As it’s a Swiss souvenir, it has the Swiss flag on the body, its hair and body colour mostly white and red.
January 26th, 2013 at 01:24
My retired uncle in Florida accidentally ran over his camera bag and got his Nikon DSLR camera and some lenses ruined. He called Nikon’s customer service to inquire about the warranty (he was still under warranty), and in a week he got a replacement camera AND a whole new set of lenses. I’m just sharing because he’s giving me the extra lenses that are still good, yehey!