Jason rescues Best Buy by making good with 2 plush penguins
The corporate folks over at Best Buy owe a big thank you to Jason, one of their Community Connectors. And I'll be standing in line right behind them with my thank you.
Jason single-handedly resolved my issue regarding my Madagascar 2 DVD and plush penguin purchase. And he did so in exactly eight days.
What's even more important to note is that I did absolutely nothing to remedy the situation myself except to write about the saga on my blog. Jason found me. Not the other way around. In fact, here's the exact comment Jason left on my blog post:
Dear Patric,
I'm Jason, Community Connector for Best Buyr. We frequently review our customers' blog and forum posts to gain insight into their experiences to identify areas of improvement.
Valentine's Day is a special occasion for many individuals and I am sorry to hear you were unable to get your son a plush penguin. I realize it can be frustrating when you do not receive the service you expect and I am disappointed we did not meet your expectations. I would like to invite you to discuss this issue with us further by emailing me at . Please reference issue number 57801142 and we will do our best to assist you.
Sincerely,
Agent Jason
Community Connector
Here's what happened next
Let me give you a quick overview of what transpired after Jason left the above comment. First, I emailed Jason as he instructed so that he would have my email address available for easier communication. Jason immediately responded and let me know that there was a chance he could get the plush penguin to me from the Best Buy warehouse. All he asked was that I give him my Best Buy account user name so he could place the order on my behalf.
Jason stated that if he could find the penguin, he would immediately order 2 of them. Little did Jason know that I have two sons and this would ultimately be a blessing for me (ever try to give just one of your children a bonus gift?) Jason went on to mention that if all else failed he would issue a $25.00 Best Buy gift certificate to me as a gesture to how sorry he was for not getting the penguin in the first place.
Again, I am including one the paragraphs, verbatim, from Jason's email so you can see how empathetic he was to my situation:
Please respond to let me know how I should proceed with this for you. I cannot guarantee the item will be available, but I will do my best. If in the end it turns out I cannot get the item to you, I will gladly send you a $25 Best Buy Gift Card so that you and your son can pick out another item. I know with kids things do not always mean as much if they have to pick something besides their first instinct, but hopefully if this turns out to be the case you can find something to make him happy.
My next communication with Jason was him telling me that he thought he found 2 plush penguins at the Greenwood store (my hometown) and that he immediately placed an order for them. Soon after, I received an order confirmation email proving that Jason was doing what he promised. Unfortunately a day later I received another email indicating the items were out of stock and unavailable.
I didn't have to lift a finger
Before I even had a chance to respond, Jason told me he noticed the items were no longer available at the Greenwood store but that he thought he found some in the Best Buy warehouse. Again, he placed an order on my behalf and once again, I received an email order confirmation. But this time, the order confirmation was followed up by a ship notification email letting me know the plush penguins were on their way via UPS!
Oh, and did I mention that Jason credited my account for the original purchase that I made that started this whole mess?
Holding my breath
At this point, I was still holding my breath wondering what would show up on my doorstep. I was working when I heard the UPS truck pull up in front of the house. I quickly ran to the door and tore open the package. There they were in all their glory... two plush penguins!
What shocked me even more was that each penguin was packaged with a special holiday edition Madagascar DVD. This clearly proved to me that Jason was willing to do whatever it took to make me happy.
Everything done right
In summary, here is how Jason rescued Best Buy and turned me back into a believing customer:
- He found me on the Internet and made first contact (how's that for the power of blogging?)
- He apologized, was empathetic and promised to make things right.
- He did all of the work and followed-up through each step of the process.
- He refunded the full purchase price of my original order.
- He delivered on his promise to make things right, despite having to ship me 2 boxed DVD and penguin sets, worth about $20 each.
- He went above and beyond by ordering 2 penguins when I originally only ordered 1.
Well done, Jason. You have my sincerest thanks. Now I wish everyone could have seen the looks on BOTH of my sons' faces when they found the plush penguin I placed on the pillow on each of their beds.
My older son asked me, "Dad, how did you do it?" I looked at him and replied, "I didn't. Jason did it all for me."
P.S. Congratulations, you made it through the entire story. To reward you and because I already have the original Madagascar movie on DVD, I'd like to make you this offer. If you would like a chance to win one of the Madagascar DVDs (I'm giving away one here and raffling the other off at my sons' school), leave a comment on this blog post and let me know why you think you should win the Madagascar DVD. I'll choose the best comment (based solely on my discretion) on Friday, March 6, 2009 and that lucky person will receive the Madagascar DVD for free. Be sure to enter your email address (in the email field which is not publicly displayed) when leaving a comment so I know how to contact you. Good luck!
20 comments for this blog post so far...
February 25, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Michelle Hartz
Wow, I’m impressed! I love hearing stories like this, and about the power of blogging! Now, if only Amazon would read my blog and give me a Kindle 2… (not holding my breath). Speaking of, I gave you a little link love back on that post.
(Don’t enter me into the DVD contest, I’d rather see that go to someone who has kids.)
February 25, 2009 at 7:04 pm
Ryan Crozier
Hey Patric!
I love it when big companies empower people to do extraordinary things!
If I were to receive the DVD… I’ll give it to my wife for the Children’s Program at Sheltering Wings Domestic Violence Shelter.
February 25, 2009 at 8:07 pm
Ethan Stanislawski
I’m pretty sure the service industry is the first thing to be affected by new media. Complaining about service on a store or at a restaurant is one of the most basic, universally experienced grievances of everyday American life, and when people can complain publicly on the internet, be it on a blog, twitter or facebook, people will see it and lose customers. One one level, it may seem preposterous for Jason to go through all that effort just to get you a couple of toy penguins. But knowing that you’ve already published your grievances online, he saw that a proactive approach would make you more likely to blog glowingly if he succeeded. The amount of time he put in to affect your sales may have not recouped itself, but for all the people who read this blog, and who find the post on Digg (like I did), it probably has already done the work towards a net gain for Best Buy. Bravo, Jason.
February 25, 2009 at 9:44 pm
Kelly Thrasher
Patric~
I have to say Kudos to Best Buy! I am floored by the amazing efforts of Jason! The fact that he not only responded so rapidly but the fact he went to great lengths to make it right. I didn’t know such customer service exhisted anymore! Now days you get the typical I’m sorry for your troubles, and you’re lucky to get that. I can say next time I go to purchase any technology item, I will definitely have Best Buy at the top of my list!
What amazes me is that in time and age, big companies want to know why they aren’t making the profits, ect. A lot of them forget who pays the bills at the store..the customers do! Take care of your customers, and they will in turn take care of you. I’ve always said it’s the little things you do that matter most to people. What did you do last to make someone feel special for no apparent reason? If you make your customers feel special, showing you really do care what they think and respond accordingly they will be back for more of the great service.
I have to say I am floored by the service of the big company of Best Buy… this type of great service is almost non-exhistant anymore. It’s great to hear that Best Buy cares about their customers!
I will definitely share this story with others! They need to know that Best Buy stands behind their promises.
February 25, 2009 at 10:10 pm
bnpositive
I should win the movie because I love the movie. I love Best Buy. My name is Jason, his name is Jason. Oh, and I was raised by penguins as a baby and have a birthmark shaped like Madagascar on my.... nevermind.
February 26, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Michael Welch
Great story. I hate shopping at Best Buy and avoid doing so if possible for a variety of reasons ranging from uninformed and “too busy” sales staff, to hard sell to upgrade and purchase unnecessary add ons. But your experience with Jason has convinced me that maybe their corporate culture has improved. Up to now, hard for me to believe Best Buy is a MN company where the people are very nice.
February 26, 2009 at 11:06 pm
Erik
Great story, and I’m glad to see Best Buy is jumping into the “customer relations through social media” foray with both feet. After I commented on your last post, I received a Tweet (@edeckers) from someone ELSE at Best Buy talking about their commitment to customers and using social media. The story was so cool, I told it at this week’s Confluence Northnetwork event (I was on a panel discussion, talking about Twitter for corporations).
I’d like to say I want to win the Madagascar CD, but after reading what Ryan Crozier is going to do with it, I feel bad about even wanting it. So, if I win, give it to Ryan to give to his wife for the Children’s Program at Sheltering Wings Domestic Violence Shelter.
February 27, 2009 at 6:25 am
Amanda Parker
Jason is my brother and he does this for EVERYONE! He is always telling me of the stuff he goes through to ensure the happiness of Best Buy’s customers!! I am so proud of him for working so hard for a company he truly believes in!! I’m glad you’ve had the chance to meet my awesome brother!
March 03, 2009 at 8:42 am
Susan
I am happy you received the penguin(s) for your children. You were lucky to receive such good service.
When my husband was deployed to Iraq, theirs was the one company that would not honor the Soldiers & Sailors Relief Act. Our interest rate, according to the federal government, was to be reduced to 6% (or lower according to individual companies) while my husband was deployed on active duty. Best Buy’s comments to me were that I “was responsible for the debt” and that our interest rate would remain the same. My name wasn’t even on the account!
After arguing the point with Best Buy representatives for eight weeks, I gave up (as I’m sure they wanted) and paid off the bill in full. I also cancelled the account.
Shortly after my husband came home, we moved into a different house. We bought a new television at Circuit City. Stereo equipment came from Ovation & HHGregg. I haven’t gone to Best Buy since.
Congratulations on the positive outcome to your experience.
March 03, 2009 at 8:54 am
Patric Welch
@Michelle: Glad you liked the story. And good luck with that Kindle 2. If you get one, let me know!
March 03, 2009 at 8:56 am
Patric Welch
@Ryan: I had no idea your wife did that. That’s awesome!
March 03, 2009 at 8:57 am
Patric Welch
@Ethan: You couldn’t be more right. The amount of money Jason spent on behalf of Best Buy is nothing compared to the lost revenue they would have had from me and potentially anyone I told my story to. I agree, it was very well handled.
P.S. You made my day by saying you found this blog post on Digg!
March 03, 2009 at 8:59 am
Patric Welch
@Kelly: Even better, this has made a great story on the speaking circuit. I told this story to a group of about 100 people yesterday and they loved it!
March 03, 2009 at 8:59 am
Patric Welch
@bnpositive: Nice try! ;)
March 03, 2009 at 9:01 am
Patric Welch
@Erik: Your story and mine are proof that what they are doing works.
March 03, 2009 at 9:02 am
Patric Welch
@Amanda: I hope Jason is getting the praise he deserves at Best Buy as well!
March 03, 2009 at 9:03 am
Patric Welch
@Susan: Sorry to hear your story didn’t have a happy ending. On a separate note, I’m glad to hear your husband made it safely home.
March 03, 2009 at 12:49 pm
pinky (not the brain)
Congrats on your mammalian victory. I used to work for BestBuy (basically doing your job in the Squad de la Geek). I can see that Jason is a kindred spirit and that was exactly how I liked to treat customers. Unfortunately, the higher ups, both in my store and at corporate, didn’t feel that customers had anything to do with the success of the company. They saw everyone that walked into the store as a walking, talking wallet (both employees and customers alike). I’ve (mercifully) been away from that place for several years now, and it would be amazing if they could have changed their entire corporate philosophy in that short of a time period, but based on your story, it sounds like that might be what they’re doing. For me anyway, the jury is still out, and I don’t intend on patronizing their stores, website, or anything else any time soon, but I’m glad that everything worked out for you in the end.
On a seperate note, if you see fit to send me the Madagascar DVD, I would consider it a severence from BBY and it would make me feel a little better… and my son would probably send you some good juju via the cosmos. ttfn.
March 03, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Amy Parsons
I stopped shopping at Best Buy based on the hoopla of Black Friday. There was an item that my daughter really wanted but they were sold out before I got to the front of the line. Your story has given me a reason to try shopping at Best Buy again. Stories like yours give me faith in retail. My daughters would love the Madagascar DVD. We dance to the music from Madagascar I. It has provided hours of enjoyment and exercise.
Thank you for sharing your story.
March 03, 2009 at 1:58 pm
Angela
I am new to your blog, but I got an email through Noobie and I read both your original blog post and this resolution. I am very impressed, because I have never seen customer service like that before! Having said that, I would love to be entered to win one of the DVDs. I have a 3 year old boy who would just love it. Thanks for sharing your story!
-Angela
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