The other day someone asked me what Elves and Angels thought Customer Service is.
I was a little surprised by the question, so I said please give me a day or so to give it some thought and I will answer your question.
After thinking about it, I was still at kind of a loss as to how to explain it.
Finally I decided to explain it through real life situations, leaving the situations, and the response to them, to explain just what we Live, in regards to Customer Service.
It seemed that this was the best way to do it, as many times customer service, is just a nice slogan.
So here we go. I will share with you all, real situations that really happened, and the way in which we responded.
Hopefully after seeing what Customer Service means to us, it will help you decide if you want to do business with Elves and Angels.
#1. Mrs.Jones orders a Jenny Kitchen from us. We ship it out the Same day as the order is placed. It travels to Texas and is delivered on the porch, UPS sends us delivery confirmation. A day later Mrs. Jones calls all shook up, and says that it was not delivered, and she is concerned that her granddaughter will not have a Christmas present.
Response: We called her immediately and asked if she had checked every where, and asked others about the delivery. The answer was yes. We checked immediately with UPS and they said indeed it was delivered. We called her back immediately and assured her we would send her a new Jenny's Kitchen that same day, and said don't worry, it will be there in plenty of time. A day later she called us and said, my neighbor picked it up, and we have it. After sending 2 kitchens, now we need to pay to have the second kitchen shipped back to us. The 3 shipments to Texas cost $135.00, and we get $169.00 for Jenny's Kitchen. Does it really make sense to get $34.00 for Jenny's Kitchen?
You bet it does! Why? Because decisions like this define who you are as a person, and what your business actually is, as compared to what you Chirp about it being. This is Real, the other is just Talk.
#2. Mrs. Doolittle orders a Julianna's Kitchen from us, and also orders our very popular "Little Chef's Set". It was a few weeks before Christmas, we were very busy, and lo and behold, someone forgot to include the "Little Chef' Set". Mrs Doolittle calls up and wants to know what can be done. We call her back immediately, apologize for the mistake, and offer to send her the " Little Chef's" set, and add our Tableware Set to make up for our mistake. Mrs. Doolittle was very pleased. Does it make sense? You bet it does. If you make a mistake, make up for it. You will remember better the next time, not to do it. This improves Customer Service. This defines who you are, and what your business is. It is simply the best advertising you can buy at Any price! It is also the Right thing to do.
#3. Mrs. Dooalot buys a Sylvie's Kitchen from us a week before Christmas. We ship it out the same day. She gets it a few days before Christmas and is thrilled. The only problem is that the cabinet doors were broken in shipment. Our fault? No. We get almost no damage. She wants to know if there is anything we can possibly do, as this was the main gift for her daughter. The answer is yes we can. We will send you new doors Next Day Air today, and they will arrive before Christmas. It cost $58.00 to ship them. Why not just say, we will ship them sometime after Christmas when we get around to it? Because this is your customer, you are in business to create for, and serve those that buy from you. Does it make sense? Yes it does. You don't ignore people, and don't let them down if at all possible!! This defines you, and your business!!
#4. Mrs. Willowtree called the other day and had purchased our David's Play Stands and Canopies. She said they were both beautiful, and extremely well made. She loved them. The problem was that her son Johnny Willowtree, liked to get up on the seat, jump forward, and try to hang on the Canopies. One time when Johnny did this, the Canopy snapped and broke both Canopies.
Our Canopies are beautiful, and they are solid, as they are made from local hardwood. However they are made to support a play silk, and to create a beautiful play space. They are not a jungle gym.
She was sorry that it happened and wanted to know how she could possibly fix them. I explained that the Canopies were never made for this and that if they were used that way, they could break. I said we would send her both Canopies and dowels to replace them. I did however say that Johnny could not do that anymore. She asked when they would ship. I said they ship today. She was pleased. She asked how much they would cost and I said, "they wont cost anything". She was more than pleased. Was this our fault? No. Were they poorly made? No, they just are not a jungle gym. Does it make sense to replace them for free? Of course. It defines who you are and what your business is!
#5. Mr. Oceanside called today and said that his son loves to hammer things. It seems that Sunny Oceanside pounded the life out of the cooktop on a Julianna's Kitchen. Sunny's Dad wanted to know what to do with the beautiful play kitchen. I said that we would ship him a new cooktop today, and it would be good as new. He was pleased and when he said how much will it cost. I said, it is free. He thanked me. Does this make sense? Yes! You have to take care of people. It defines you and your business. It is solid, and people can rest in that.
#6. Mrs. All In A Tither called today. It seems that Mrs. Tither ordered a Sylvie's Kitchen from us in plenty of time to get to her by Christmas. We shipped it the same day as we got the order. It would arrive there 3 days before Christmas. When Mrs. Tither checked the status of the order 3 days before Christmas, she was Shocked to find out it was in Bangor Maine and never had gone any further!!
We immediately checked into it. UPS said maybe the label had been ripped off. Great! Mrs. Thither is beside herself. We call her back and inform her that we are sending her a new Kitchen UPS Second Day Air, and it will arrive on Christmas Eve. Was it our fault? No. Did it make sense to spend $189.00 to ship it second day air? You bet it did. You always take care of people. You don't let them down. You Always go the extra mile. It defines your business.
Have I made all these stories up? No, only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.
Do I want you to say great, well done, well done!! No, I don't want you to say any of that. I want to define our business and what Elves and Angels is, and Isn't.
Actually by now you are probably tired of listening to me, but I must explain.
I am an Eastern Orthodox Christian. I believe in a King and a God. Not one in story books, but a living one, in the person of Jesus Christ. I believe that He is my King. I am His lowly servant. I know that to be a servant, is to serve those that He sends into my life. I also know that the work of my hands, is the work that I offer as to Him. How I deal with people, is how I deal with Him. What I am willing to do when asked, is what I am willing to do for Him.
To be real, and not imagined in the mind and intellect, this relationship must be Lived. If we Live it and don't separate it into boxes in our life, we find that it actually Gives Life, and Is True. In order to find out if snow is actually cold and wet, we need to dive into it. When we do, we find that this is true. It really is the only way.
I am not asking anyone to believe this. That is your business. I just wanted to explain what is behind the examples that were offered as being customer service. In short, we are not nice people! We are simply in a Relationship!
Thank you, David Smalley for Elves and Angels
#3. Mrs. Dooalot buys a Sylvie's Kitchen from us a week before Christmas. We ship it out the same day. She gets it a few days before Christmas and is thrilled. The only problem is that the cabinet doors were broken in shipment. Our fault? No. We get almost no damage. She wants to know if there is anything we can possibly do, as this was the main gift for her daughter. The answer is yes we can. We will send you new doors Next Day Air today, and they will arrive before Christmas. It cost $58.00 to ship them. Why not just say, we will ship them sometime after Christmas when we get around to it? Because this is your customer, you are in business to create for, and serve those that buy from you. Does it make sense? Yes it does. You don't ignore people, and don't let them down if at all possible!! This defines you, and your business!!
#4. Mrs. Willowtree called the other day and had purchased our David's Play Stands and Canopies. She said they were both beautiful, and extremely well made. She loved them. The problem was that her son Johnny Willowtree, liked to get up on the seat, jump forward, and try to hang on the Canopies. One time when Johnny did this, the Canopy snapped and broke both Canopies.
Our Canopies are beautiful, and they are solid, as they are made from local hardwood. However they are made to support a play silk, and to create a beautiful play space. They are not a jungle gym.
She was sorry that it happened and wanted to know how she could possibly fix them. I explained that the Canopies were never made for this and that if they were used that way, they could break. I said we would send her both Canopies and dowels to replace them. I did however say that Johnny could not do that anymore. She asked when they would ship. I said they ship today. She was pleased. She asked how much they would cost and I said, "they wont cost anything". She was more than pleased. Was this our fault? No. Were they poorly made? No, they just are not a jungle gym. Does it make sense to replace them for free? Of course. It defines who you are and what your business is!
#5. Mr. Oceanside called today and said that his son loves to hammer things. It seems that Sunny Oceanside pounded the life out of the cooktop on a Julianna's Kitchen. Sunny's Dad wanted to know what to do with the beautiful play kitchen. I said that we would ship him a new cooktop today, and it would be good as new. He was pleased and when he said how much will it cost. I said, it is free. He thanked me. Does this make sense? Yes! You have to take care of people. It defines you and your business. It is solid, and people can rest in that.
#6. Mrs. All In A Tither called today. It seems that Mrs. Tither ordered a Sylvie's Kitchen from us in plenty of time to get to her by Christmas. We shipped it the same day as we got the order. It would arrive there 3 days before Christmas. When Mrs. Tither checked the status of the order 3 days before Christmas, she was Shocked to find out it was in Bangor Maine and never had gone any further!!
We immediately checked into it. UPS said maybe the label had been ripped off. Great! Mrs. Thither is beside herself. We call her back and inform her that we are sending her a new Kitchen UPS Second Day Air, and it will arrive on Christmas Eve. Was it our fault? No. Did it make sense to spend $189.00 to ship it second day air? You bet it did. You always take care of people. You don't let them down. You Always go the extra mile. It defines your business.
Have I made all these stories up? No, only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.
Do I want you to say great, well done, well done!! No, I don't want you to say any of that. I want to define our business and what Elves and Angels is, and Isn't.
Actually by now you are probably tired of listening to me, but I must explain.
I am an Eastern Orthodox Christian. I believe in a King and a God. Not one in story books, but a living one, in the person of Jesus Christ. I believe that He is my King. I am His lowly servant. I know that to be a servant, is to serve those that He sends into my life. I also know that the work of my hands, is the work that I offer as to Him. How I deal with people, is how I deal with Him. What I am willing to do when asked, is what I am willing to do for Him.
To be real, and not imagined in the mind and intellect, this relationship must be Lived. If we Live it and don't separate it into boxes in our life, we find that it actually Gives Life, and Is True. In order to find out if snow is actually cold and wet, we need to dive into it. When we do, we find that this is true. It really is the only way.
I am not asking anyone to believe this. That is your business. I just wanted to explain what is behind the examples that were offered as being customer service. In short, we are not nice people! We are simply in a Relationship!
Thank you, David Smalley for Elves and Angels
