I witnessed a customer service experience that was dear to Saasu’s philosophy. We are very strong on customer service. Even great companies occasionally drop a ball, all great teams do, but the true test is recovery. We keep training, practising and perfecting our customer service game.
A friend of mine recently bought a Shimano reel. It wasn’t a cheap reel, about mid-range. On a fishing trip a short time after the purchase it broke.
Brand Damage
He was bitter, it was expensive and it was going to impact his fishing. He mentioned his disappointment half a dozen times while it occupied his mind. Our conversation from then on was about quality, plastic versus steel and brass parts etc. Is this what happens when you don’t pay $300 for a reel? How hard is it going to be to get a refund or replacement? In short the Shimano brand was damaged badly in both our eyes. We drove the brand further into the ground with massive doses of frustration.
Brand Recovery
The following week he rang a Shimano service centre and the amicable service person at the end of the line said “Don’t worry mate. We’ll fix it for you, just send it in. That reel is covered for 10 years”. My friend asked if it’s going to take long expecting a few weeks or maybe a month. The service person said “only a day mate”. He even talked like a keen fisherman.
My friend posted the reel immediately and got it back that same week fixed. I said to him that minus the days postage each way the service person was actually spot on, it couldn’t have been in their service centre for more than 24hrs.
Shimano Customer = Shimano Sales Person
This raised the Shimano brand back to quality service for 10 years! Most importantly my friend is so impressed with what happened that he said he’s only ever going to buy Shimano from now on because of what happened, it felt like a true guarantee in the old fashioned sense. My friend is telling everyone he sees what happened with Shimano. Not just his fishing friends. He’s an influential person, a talker, and head of sales in a large timber company. He will spend thousands on reels and fishing gear over the next couple of decades.
Smart Shimano. They just got themselves a free sales guy and a customer for at least as long as their 10 year guarantee. So here’s a free plug…
“cheaper to hold onto an existing customer than to find a new one” I forgot all about that critical point. You are absolutely right Jon
I found your blog today for the first time and I have to say that this post was very insightful. In my previous work, we would occasionally make a mistake with an ecommerce customer, and I think we could have handled the situation better. I’ve come to realize how important it is to uphold your brand’s reputation in the eyes of a customer. We all know that it is cheaper to hold onto an existing customer than to find a new one, but it becomes much more meaningful when we experience it ourselves like your friend did.