Exceptional Customer Service

I was going through my digital "Letters" folder the other day, when I found a real gem.

The letter was about a flashlight I had purchased in 2009 as my wife and I were preparing for our month-long African honeymoon. It wasn't just any flashlight, though: it was a Ledlenser P5. It looked just like this one...

... only my version wasn't rechargeable, and I recall paying closer to $50 for it at the time.

It was a really great flashlight: compact, incredibly durable, relatively light, and very, very bright. But I somehow misplaced it after we returned from our honeymoon. And by the time I found it several years later, the battery inside had corroded and couldn't be removed.

I wrote the letter below after contacting Ledlenser via a form on their website; the only thing I expected was an answer as to whether there was any way to remove the corroded battery and salvage my flashlight.

Scott Smith, a representative from the company, replied to my inquiry via email. He wrote, "There isn't a really good way of getting that battery out. The best thing to do is send it in and I will get it covered under warranty."

I thought that was very kind of Scott, but I explained that the flashlight was far outside any reasonable warranty period. Scott told me that it didn't matter: he said he was happy to send me a new flashlight.

And when he realized I was a Canadian who had accidentally contacted the company via the US website, he gave me the address of Ledlenser's Canadian distributor, instructed me to send them the damaged flashlight with a letter explaining the situation, and assured me it would be handled.

So I wrote this letter:

And, sure enough, a few weeks after I sent it to Ledlenser's Canadian distributor, a brand new flashlight arrived in my mailbox.

It would have been completely reasonable for Ledlenser to tell me there was nothing they could do for me. After all, the purchase had been made long ago, and the damage was due to my own neglect. It really wasn't Ledlenser's problem.

But companies that strive to deliver exceptional customer service don't fall back on "this isn't our problem." They do whatever they can to address it.

And in this case, that meant sending me a new flashlight, even though they were under no obligation to do so.

I don't know the margins on Ledlenser's products, so I can't reasonably say what it would have cost Eastern Outdoor Sales to replace my flashlight. My best guess would be $25 in cost-of-goods, and another $5 in shipping.

Was that $30 worth it?

From a financial perspective, you might argue that it was not.

After all, the issue was clearly my fault, so refusing to help would have been a reasonable response and likely wouldn't have generated any negative PR backlash. And given that flashlights aren't products that most people purchase more than once or twice in their lifetimes, the risk of losing a repeat sale was negligible.

But from a marketing perspective, that $30 was an investment in the brand.

Because I was delighted with the company's response, and I think of them every time I use my flashlight. Whenever a flashlight comes up in any conversation, I have the opportunity to tell this story and sing the company's praises. And if I do ever need another high-end flashlight? There likely isn't another brand I'd even consider.

Exceptional customer service doesn't just happen.

It requires companies to invest time and money in ensuring customer expectations aren't just met, but are exceeded.

Here's the good news: it may not take nearly as much time or investment as you might think.