All start-ups experience their share of unexpected problems. It’s how you rise to the challenge that shows your company’s true colors. Here at Smarty, we have a treasure trove of stories about the trial and tribulations of starting a business. We’ve stumbled, for sure, but we’ve picked up and kept on going, always focusing on our victories. Here are just a few of the times our customer service got it right: A Frightful Mistake On Halloween 2014, the Smarty crew was heading out the door for a company bowling party when we got a message from a concerned bride. It was the day before her wedding, and she was reviewing her order when she noticed that we’d made a mistake. In place of chair sashes, we’d sent her table runners. Sure, in a pinch you can turn a runner into a sash, but the problem was that sashes come five to a package and runners come one to a package. She was seriously short on supplies! Since every customer’s party is our top priority, we waylaid our company outing until we could solve this bride’s problem. We got on the phone with Southwest Airlines and FedEx to arrange a one-way flight for the correct items, and those sashes were on the next plane to Maryland. Once they arrived, they were couriered to her bridesmaid’s front door by 11PM the same day. We always aim to over-fulfill our promises and no matter the cost, we’ll never ruin someone else’s event because of a mistake we made. The Great Escape Natalie, a valued B2B customer of ours, had ordered an overnight delivery of Smarty goods for a client’s special event. We boxed up her order and sent it on its merry way...but things took an unexpected turn. It seems that during transit the products had made a break for it. When the box arrived at its destination, there was a huge hole in the side of it, through which 13 tablecloths had escaped, creating quite a problem for Natalie. Not on our watch! Our Smarty Care team sprung into action. Not only did they find a courier to drive the replacement tablecloths five hours to get them to Natalie on time, but they filed the FedEx claim on her behalf. She had enough to worry about! Down To The New York Minute One of our customers in The Big Apple, Julie, placed an overnight order for a big event, but due to shipping problems, it wouldn’t arrive for four more days. So Smarty Care put their heads together and tried to find a solution. As it turned out, Smarty has friends in New York City, so we called them up offering an adventure. We quickly got a taker to be our personal problem-solver. This FOS (Friend of Smarty) was whisked away to beautiful New Jersey, where our vendor packaged up Julie’s order straight from their warehouse. Then our miracle worker grabbed a cab headed straight to Julie’s event. But there were bridges, traffic, and challenges galore. The order braved its way through the concrete jungle and arrived in Julie’s hands just one hour before the event began. Phew! What miracles has your company performed to deliver on your promises? Do you think Customer Service is the most important part of any company?
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