When was the last time your company’s customer service department made  a “random act of kindnesss?” Well, for Constant Contact, it was just the other day, and I was the recipient of their generosity.  Here’s what happened…

On Tuesday evening, I got a direct message (a private message) on Twitter from Constant Contact saying:

“Could you DM me a good number to reach you at? I’d like to give you a call about your account. :) – Marisa”

Intrigued, I called back right away.  Marisa informed me that she was going to give me a credit for one month of service, which for me is worth $40.  Why?  Just because! Wow, how nice!  So, yes, it could have had to do with my earlier tweet that said “Yea! @constantcontact now works with Chrome!!”  But, still… I didn’t expect any response from Constant Contact about my tweet, not to mention a gift!

Very smart move, Constant Contact.  I have always been a big fan of Constant Contact, but when you give someone something free, particularly unexpectedly, you make a stronger advocate out of them.   In addition, because I thought it was so nice, I posted something on Twitter, Facebook and am obviously writing this blog post.  The Facebook update got 3 “likes”, and I’m sure there were many more of my 1,000 Facebook friends and 8,300 Twitter followers who saw my posts, but didn’t comment.

Wow, check it out! @constantcontact just called and gave me a free month on my account! Hanukah came early this year. GREAT #customerservice

November 23, 2010 8:16 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@bostonmarketer

Rachel Levy

Then, because I was still so impressed the next day, I posted again about Constant Contact’s new Chrome interface and got 2 responses…

@bostonmarketer They added Chrome support!?!?!? Wooo Hoooo!!!!! cc: @constantcontact

November 24, 2010 1:00 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@mikeconaty

Mike Conaty

@bostonmarketer Nice I was getting annoyed having to use I.E. to access

November 24, 2010 1:08 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@CaronElectric

Max ServiceManager

So, for $40 Constant Contact got a more committed and loyal customer, 5 other interactions with the brand, and countless other people knowing about the situation.  Priceless.

Have you seen other companies do this? Are there any other advantages you see of customer service departments doing this?

Did you ever think your UPS guy* would make an impression on you? I didn’t.  Until I starting getting packages delivered from Michael at UPS (I actually don’t know his name.  Shame on me.  I will ask next time**).  You see, I live on the 3rd floor of my condo building, in addition to the two flights of stairs outside the building.  When Micheal buzzes me with a delivery, here’s how it goes:

BUZZZ

Rachel (into intercom): Who is it?

UPS Michael: It’s UPS with a package delivery.

Rachel: Should I come down or are you coming up? (I ask HOPING he’ll say he’s coming up.  And, guess what? He ALWAYS does!)

Michael: No, I’ll bring it up! (with enthusiasm)

BUZZZ (as I buzz him in)

But this doesn’t happen with every delivery I receive from UPS or any other company.  Sometimes, they wait down there for me to come all the way downstairs to sign for the package.  But, every time, Michael says he’ll come up, and does it with enthusiasm, like he loves his job and loves bringing packages door-to-door to customers.

Once I was walking around my neighborhood with a friend, and I saw Michael.  I told her, “That’s my UPS guy.”  She asked, “You KNOW your UPS guy?”  She’s right, most people don’t know their UPS guys.  They’re as non-descript as the brown uniforms they wear.  But, Michael I remember and recognize when I see him.  Last week, he delivered a package to me.  Same story.  And, when he came to the door, he said, “I’m the nice one.”  I laughed, and confirmed that he is “the nice one”, and how much I appreciate that he brings the packages up to the door.

So, kudos to Michael!  But, why is it such an anomaly that someone would need to be “the nice one.” Have we come to expect “not-nice” for service these days?  How difficult is it to take that extra step (or three flights) to make a customer happy?  I would argue, not very difficult.  The better service that sticks in people’s heads, is usually worth the effort of a smile, extra time or expense of giving them a nice experience. And, an experience that they may share with their friends. Or come back for more often. Or purchase more.

*When I say “UPS guy”, please assume I’m also including women.

** Update: I finally got another package delivered, and found out his name is Chris Bergeron.  Thanks Chris!

(Photo credit: Package delivery)

What do you think?  Have we come to accept “not-nice” as the norm? How important do you think it is for companies to take that extra step for service?

Dunkin’ Donuts left a bad taste in my mouth.  Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Dunkin’ Donuts. I have been going there quite frequently since I’ve been job searching because I’m out and about a lot, and it’s much more reasonably priced than Starbucks!  Anyway, today I had a bad experience.

I was leaving a Salty Legs Networking Group meeting in Harvard Square and was heading to Watertown for a networking meeting.  I desperately needed coffee, so I stopped at the Dunkin’ Donuts on JFK Street.  I took the coffee to go, and got back in my car.  I was 10 minutes away from the Dunkin’ Donuts by the time I took my first sip (had to let it cool down!) and realized that not only was it not the Hazelnut coffee that I had ordered, but it was SO burnt, I couldn’t even keep it in my mouth without wincing.  Ugh, I really needed my coffee.

Next thing I knew, I saw another Dunkin’ Donuts in Brighton.  I thought, “Oh great!”  I’ll run in and they’ll give me a new coffee!  I asked the first employee I saw, and he said I’d need to speak to the manager.  She came over, and asked what I needed.  I told her, and she asked, “it was a different Dunkin’ Donuts”?  Yes, I told her.  “Oh, we can’t take back the coffee from another Dunkin’ Donuts because we’re a franchise, so we run separate businesses.”

Are you serious?  OK, I do understand that franchises are each individually run, and each owner has their own profit to manage.  But, surely they, or certainly Dunkin’ Donuts corporate office, would understand the benefit to the entire system of franchises of making a customer happy for the sake of keeping a strong brand perception? For probably less than 20 cents, they could have made me a very happy person.  But, instead, I am mad at Dunkin’ Donuts.  Doesn’t their corporate office hear this a lot?  Don’t they have some sort of policy for their franchisees, that they should take returns like this?  Or don’t they have a returns budget?  Or, just training to the management that treating their customers with care is one of the most important things they can do?

So, needless to say, I left there with a bad taste in my mouth.  Literally.

Has this happened to you before with Dunkin’ Donuts or a different franchise?  What do you think?  Do you agree with me?

Update: I received emails from Dunkin Corporate and the franchise where the bad coffee came from (but not the one who wouldn’t replace the coffee):

• Corporate to me (2/2/09) – Good afternoon! I’m the Supervisor of the Consumer Care department here at Dunkin Donuts Corporate. I read about the experience you had at two of our shops. I want to thank you for taking the time to voice your concerns. We work hard to maintain the highest standards in guest satisfaction; it appears we’ve let you down and for that we apologize. I wanted to reach out to you to further discuss your experience if possible. Please feel free to email me or call me. I look forward to speaking with you.
• Me to Corporate (2/2/09) – Thanks for getting back to me.  I don’t want to make a big deal about this personally, but I’m in marketing so am always thinking about how companies represent themselves.  The DD product is great, but I was turned off by how the brand was represented.  If I have had this experience, I’m guessing others have as well.  I understand it’s difficult from the franchise perspective, but the way I look at it, is the consumers are the most important part of a business, so it’s worth figuring out how to not make this an issue.
• Corporate to me (2/2/09) – We appreciate any feedback both good and bad about the service at our shops so thank you for getting back to me! I’d be happy to forward your comments to both store owners as well as the corporate field employee who oversees the stores in the area. Also, if you would reply with your mailing address, I’d like to send you a letter so you know your comments have been shared with the appropriate people as well as a gift card as a ‘Thank You’ for sharing.
• Me to Corporate (2/2/09) – I am most curious about your thoughts on the issue.  Does corporate consider the franchisee’s response an acceptable response?  I understand the challenge, but I’m sure there’s some way to make it better for consumers…. track where the original store was, and have a tally going of where the bad coffee comes from, ask the person to fill out a form so you can reimburse them at a later date (will prevent ppl from taking advantage), etc.  I’m curious to your thoughts on this.
• Corporate to Me (2/3/09) – Thank you for your response.  Our franchisees are independent business owners and strive to provide a great customer experience. However, unfortunately there are times like yours when a customer may be dissatisfied with their in-shop experience.   Consumer Care is here so customers can give us their feedback, both good and bad, providing us the opportunity to share their comments and requests with our franchisees and operations team, so they will use the feedback to improve future customer visits.  Rest assured we have notified the franchisees and the operations managers of both of the stores you visited.  As a brand we work very hard to ensure every Dunkin’ Donuts’ visit is a good one.  We hope you come back and try us again.

Good work Dunkin’ Donuts.  I still think there should be a procedure in place to allow someone to get a replacement at another store, but at least their Cusomer Care department is receptive, customer oriented and courteous.  Thanks!