Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Catbird: Brooklyn, New York


           Every Sunday night Liz and I would go over to Lauren’s to watch that week’s episode of True Blood. Before the episode would start, Lauren would light a candle from a shop in NYC. As the show would start, smells of incense, Turkish rose and pencil shavings would fill the room. Liz described the smell as a “sexy library”. Because we enjoyed the candle so much, I decided to order Liz the same candle for her birthday.

            I received the package from Catbird at my office. The package was nicely branded with a handwritten note thanking me for my order and to enjoy the candle. Everything was perfect except the candle seemed much smaller than the candle from Sunday nights. I set the package aside and continued with the days work. I ended up reviewing my order later that week and as a result placed a phone call. What followed sold me on Catbird.

            I called Catbird’s store in NYC and told the genuinely kind woman that I had received the wrong candle. She asked for my order number and compared it against their records. She apologized and said that the correct candle would be sent out that day. THAT DAY. She acknowledged that they already had my shipping info and that there was no need to return the previous candle that I had received.

            The call could have gone very differently. The kind woman could have been not nice at all. She could have sighed and acted inconvenienced or given me the third degree on my order. She could have told me that I had to return the candle I had received before the replacement was shipped. That was not the case at all.

            Being in advertising, that kind of customer service strikes me as awesome, yet unfortunately infrequent. Not only did they personalize their package with Catbird stickers, branded tape and a handwritten note, they also turned an honest mistake into a great customer experience. They impressed a random guy placing an order. They helped make a wonderful girl’s birthday. Also, they made our house smell awesome.

            Well done Catbird.