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.
