How do you feel when someone gives you the benefit of the doubt?
The people at Coles Supermarket in Southern River gave me the benefit of the doubt this afternoon and it felt pretty good.
The last thing a supermarket needs in the rush two days before Christmas is to be sorting out a customer who may or may not have misplaced a bag of shopping. That’s why I think the staff at Coles Southern River deserve to be congratulated for customer service that goes above and beyond the call of duty.
The Shopping Trip
Earlier this afternoon I dropped in to Coles to pick up a few bits and pieces. When I got home I noticed that the multivitamins that I’d just purchased on a great special were nowhere to be seen. Not much of a bargain if you pay for them and then don’t get to use them. I searched the kitchen where I’d put the other shopping. I went through the boot of the car several times. Nothing.
Pauline phoned them to see if the bag of vitamins was still at the register. It wasn’t. They suggested I head back there with my receipt.
I’m sure I picked up everything at the register. I’m sure I completely emptied the shopping trolley into the boot. I’m sure I don’t have the original bag. Having said that, I might have messed up somewhere along that chain or the customer following me at the register may well have a couple of months supply of vitamins for nothing. Either way, I had no proof that I wasn’t simply trying a scam and ending up with two lots of vitamins for the price of one.
Extraordinary Customer Service
The staff at Coles were brilliant. The lady who dealt with me apologised for having to check with her supervisor before doing anything. I completely understood. She doesn’t know me from a bar of soap yet, whether she believed me or not, she chose to do what she could to make restoration for the lost bag. She came back and told me I could just go back into the shop and get the vitamins I was missing. I took them back to her and she sent me on my way with a genuine smile.
Before I left the store one of the other ladies apologised that I had to come back to the store to get it all sorted out. Amazing. As I said to her, I don’t know where along the chain the bag went missing. I only know that the items I purchased didn’t end up going home with me.
So thank you Coles for giving me the benefit of the doubt, for acting so professionally and for doing it all with a smile.
Do you have any stories of excellent customer service? I’d love to hear from you.
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In this scenario within our large family we have had this happen several times. From Walmart to our local supermarket, we were always treated as you were. It’s a very good feeling to be treated like the good customer we are.
Here, walmart has had an usual and confusing bagging system that I think contributes to that issue, I am guessing that I am not the only one that has happened to them, as they seemed to improve on it somewhat.
Barb
Fantastic! I wish more retailers followed their example.
Yes – we received excellent customer service from IKEA. We had, over several weeks, purchased a shelf unit that we added to, bit by bit. On several occasions we found some parts were slightly damaged (due to packaging) or parts missing. We wrote a letter explaining our disappointment, as there is the frustration of not being able to assemble the units on the designated long weekend, as well as the inconvenience of return trips to exchange items. IKEA asked for all the receipts, and then issued a 30% refund by way of apology. We hadn’t asked for that, but were completely chuffed none-the-less!