It’s our policy, so deal with it.

Ever work with a vendor that is so stringent on their policy that they forget who keeps them in business?

A few years ago, my wife wanted a brand new entertainment center (no, not with the big screen). I went to a local furniture store and bought her a unit that I had to assemble. That was okay, because I had a Saturday to do it.

I was traveling at the time, so I didn't really have time to waste, but I could spend a Saturday. When we bought the entertainment center, we also bought a new freezer, a new couch, a new chair and a new desk... not a small purchase. The entertainment center was just a small part of the "package."

When I got home with the box and opened it, I found that four of the largest peices were crunched... not dinged, not scuffed, but crunched. There was no way to salvage. I was less than satisfied.

I took the unit back to the store and asked for a replacement... reasonable, right?

I guess not.

They told me that I needed to contact the manufacturer, wait two weeks for the replacement and I would be set.

After ten minutes of arguing, I finally said, "Let me put this in terms you can understand... if I don't get a replacement right now, you can keep the freezer, couch, chair and desk and I'll take my business elsewhere."

I got the replacement.

The bottom line: your policy stinks if it causes your customer grief.

I found a great blog on this from WordSpeadsQuickly who points us to Olivier Blanchard. Making Your Customers Happy is Good Business makes this point pretty well. In my opinion, it is all about the customer experience. Let me know your experiences... good and bad. If we caused the bad, let me know and I'll fix it for you. Afterall, how can we have a good business if we don't make our customers happy.