[Previous entry: "Can't give them credit for customer service"] [Main Index] [Next entry: "As seen on Slashdot"]

05/02/2003 Archived Entry: "Little things are important--like knobs"

I've recently inherited a house. The air conditioner, a jumbo window model from Carrier, is operable, but the mode selector knob is broken. Although it can still be used with judicious use of a pair of pliers, I wanted to get a replacement knob.

It turns out that Carrier understands a key tenet in customer service: Don't sweat the small stuff. Even though this air conditioner was made over a decade ago, it won't be a problem for me to get the knob. In fact, Carrier will send one to me at no charge. They make replacement knobs for all their room air conditioners available for free, just for the asking. Their web site offers instructions for requesting new knobs online.

This is how you make customers happy. A small, inexpensive part that would be hard for service centers to stock, creating a logistics nightmare... is instead centralized and turned into something that makes customers feel "taken care of." This kind of small gesture is what leads to repeat customers.

Posted by dm @ 06/23/2003 01:01 AM ET

You know, I had a very similar experience with Bose ... I have a pair of Bose 201 Series II bookshelf speakers circa 1987 or so. About a year and a half ago, I blew out the fuses inside the speakers themselves (uhm, oops. Pearl Jam's "Ten" warrants Excessively Loud Volumes!) Anyway, the fuses are a custom job -- hardwired & encased in glass. So I called up Bose, explained the situation to the customer service rep, and all he could say was "Wow, I'm really sorry that happened. This shouldn't happen. I'm going to overnight FedEx you a pair of fuses, and a few extra too, just in case. Is that OK?"

I asked "How much are the fuses" and he laughed and said "Oh, no charge at all. We're just sorry you had this problem with our speakers! If you have any problems at all after replacing the fuses, please, give me a call back and we'll see what we can do from there. (He gave me his name, which I've forgotten by now)"

Now *THAT* is customer service!

I wish more companies would take that lead!

Please read our privacy policy before posting comments.