How a Protein Bar Changed My Life
Ok the title may be a little dramatic, but at least it changed my day.
I order my favorite protein bars online. They're called RX Bars, and are made of all natural ingredients. I know, I know - it's fascinating. Just bear with me - there is a point to this story.
I went online to order a box, and right when I submitted my credit card info, my internet froze. I waited a couple minutes, but never received a confirmation email. So, I ordered another box. I know what you're thinking - you can't WAIT to hear what's going to happen next.
About 20 minutes later, I received not one, but TWO confirmation emails that I had ordered TWO FREAKING BOXES OF PROTEIN BARS. (That's not even the best part of the story!)
I emailed them immediately letting them know the situation. Within 12 hours, they responded with these exact words:
"Just went to cancel your order and I didn't catch it in time. Both orders are on their way out to you. Since we couldn't cancel in time, please feel free to keep the second order, on us. I just issued you a refund for $18.78 (the amount of order #100204099) and that amount should show up on your statement in 3-5 business days."
How could you stop reading this story after that exhilarating piece of information?!
But seriously - this company doesn't even know if I was telling the truth. You typically give a company 24 hours to get back to you, and they got back to me in less than half that time. They didn't ask any questions. They immediately issued a refund even though my order had already left their warehouse.
This is what I call excellent customer service. They were kind, time sensitive, and completely took care of the issue. The timing of my internet going out was by no means their fault, but they still took full responsibility.
I love their product, which is why I was buying from them in the first place. Still, the competition is fierce - there a handful of other protein bars I'm sure I would enjoy just as much.
The difference is that they treated me with the same dignity and respect as they would their biggest clients (Amazon & Whole Foods, to name a few). They did not want to lose my future business, even if it meant they made no profit this time around. For that reason, I will continue to buy their product.
This whole story is basically a roundabout way to show the importance of the customer service on the individual sale. Sure - everyone in sales wants the biggest, most profitable account. But we have to remember that small sales add up and can become life-long accounts if you treat them with the same respect and diligence you treat your bigger accounts.
**Plug of the week: Dale Carnegie's Sales Advantage Course. We only offer this course 4 times a year, so save your seat today!
I guess I'll throw in some free advertisement for RX Bars since they're pretty awesome too: buy them here!
As Kevin Plank, founder and CEO of Under Armour, says, "don't forget to sell shoes and shirts."
In other words, don't forget about your everyday buyer and never underestimate the power of the individual sale. You never know, they may go writing a blog post about your company.
HANNAH OUT!