One of the demolished cars was a 2004 Hyundai Elantra that the owner had just finished paying off, and on Friday Hyundai gave him a new car.

Luckily the incident was caught on a security camera, so if you haven't seen it yet, here ya go:

The 62-year-old driver returned to the scene of the crime—she was a member of the gym—last week, where she was identified by a gym employee with a special interest in solving the case. The Globe and Mail writes, "She was identified when an Extreme Fitness staff member, whose own car had been crushed in the Oct. 22 incident, spotted a similar-looking SUV in the parking lot again Wednesday morning [October 28] and called police."

The Elantra owner, Todd Jamison, was surprised last Friday by a Hyundai representative in the parking lot:

...when colleagues called him into the office on a pretense, he found a shiny 2010 Hyundai Elantra in the lot along with a smiling Hyundai representative. ""We wanted to help the guy," a Hyundai spokesman told TheStar.com. "This was our random act of kindness."

Either that, or it's the best viral advertising video for both BMW vehicles, and Hyundai customer service, that I've ever seen.

"VIDEO: Hyundai steps up to remedy world's worst parking job" [Autoblog] (Thanks to GearheadGeek!)
"Woman charged after parking escapade becomes viral sensation" [The Globe and Mail]
"'Worst parking job' victim given car" [TheStar.com]

Kelly says:

My mother has a Canon Pixma printer that she bought a year and a half ago, and uses it so much she goes through 4 cartridges a month (2 black, 2 color). She loves it and is dependent upon it for her work. However, the paper feed died a week ago (about 2 months after the warranty ended). She looked up support forums and contacted support, and both she and I did everything we could to try and resolve it. I remembered referencing an article on Consumerist about Canon's awesome support for cameras (which we used to help us get a point and shoot fixed for no charge), and so looked up Canon printer on Consumerist. I found http://consumerist.com/5384182/canon-replaces-lazy-readers-printer-6-months-out-of-warranty.

I showed my mom the article and the Consumerist site, gave her some tips on talking to the customer service reps (garnered from reading your articles), and voila! The customer rep was patient, helpful, and nice - and is shipping out a replacement printer for free, even though it's a couple months out of warranty.

Between the camera replacement, the printer replacement, and how much we love our Rebel XT DSLR, Canon has customers for life. I hate my current printer, and I will be buying a new Canon printer in the next month. And I wouldn't recommend anything else!

So kudos to Consumerist and Canon!

Thanks!!

Oh, we love it when a reader is able to replicate an above and beyond story. Yay!

I recently bought a NeatReceipts unit on Woot for $75 ($150 MSRP). I've wanted one for a while, and the price was hard to beat. Before buying it, I looked at the NeatCo website to verify which product I was getting; and I noticed they offered two versions: Mac and PC. I assumed it was the same hardware and that I could just get a copy of the Mac version of the software later. Bad consumer = me. The unit arrived, and I opened it and plugged it in. My iMac didn't recognize the scanner and the bundled software was Windows only. After more thoroughly reading through all of the support docs on the NeatCo website, I realized the Mac and PC versions were truly two different products. My heart sank, but I emailed NeatCo support anyway. To my amazement, they (next day) gave me a link to download the Mac version of the software with a serial number to register it and offered to ship me a replacement scanner (Mac version). I happily agreed. A little over a week later, my Mac edition NeatReceipts scanner arrived. Return shipping for the Windows version? Pre-paid.

I could not be happier with the speed and friendliness of the support I received, especially considering the mistake was mine. NeatCo rocks the party.

I just connected the scanner a few minutes ago and started my first batch of receipts. I cannot yet vouch for the product, but if it's even half as good as their customer service, it should be fantastic.

I recently received a $15 rebate from a purchase made at newegg.com. The rebate came as a Visa prepaid debit card through Citi Bank. This weekend I used the card for a purchase at OfficeMax. The purchase came to $15.93, so I told the cashier I had $15 on a card (which he referred to as a gift card), and handed him the card and a $1 bill.

He swiped the card and told me the charge went through, then handed me back the card and the $1 bill. At first I assumed I had simply misheard the price or remembered the amount of the rebate wrong, but today I noticed the receipt said the card now had a $-.93 balance. I immediately expected this to turn into a horror story- overdraft fees on a gift card, customer service nightmare- but it was not to be. I called the customer service number on the card and was told by the CSR that their policy is to automatically cover a small amount of overage- I think the CSR said $5- as a courtesy. I was told I did not have to pay the 93 cents, and would not incur a fee.

This was definitely a pleasant surprise, and I have now come away with a better impression of both Visa and Citi Bank. It may not quite be above and beyond, but it is an experience worth sharing.

No, it's not to the level of "above and beyond." Still, it's nice to hear that the bank has such a friendly policy.

The question is, who eats the extra $5? The bank? Perhaps the unredeemed amount (not to mention fees) on thousands or millions of other prepaid cards more than makes up for any overages.

(Photo: pstardesign)

Joy says:

This weekend, I had plans to fly from Philadelphia to Fort Lauderdale. When I got to the airport, I had trouble checking in. I went to the ticket counter for help and it was there that I discovered I had accidentally booked the tickets from Baltimore, NOT Philadelphia. I was horrified and shocked; visions of hundreds of dollars danced in my head. I explained my apparent stupidity to the attendant and asked how I could get to Fort Lauderdale. After some intense clacking of keyboard keys, she told me if I ran, I could make a flight that connected through Atlanta.

I ran.

When I got to Fort Lauderdale, I stopped by the ticket counter to arrange the return trip on Wednesday. I explained what happened and that I needed to return to Philadelphia, not Baltimore as reserved. Apparently surprised by the ineptness of some travelers, the attendant had me explain a few times. Once she understood, she clacked her keys for a while and told me she thought she could help but needed to call her supervisor. After a little while, she waved me over to her station and told me she could return to me to Philadelphia for $500. I gulped and as I figured out how I would cough up the extra funds, she asked me to wait a moment. With a bit more clacking of keys, she told me there would be no charge.

I have no idea why these two ticket counter attendants took it upon themselves to help me out of such a stupid mistake, but I really appreciate their assistance. The situation was entirely and completely my fault, yet they fixed it for me. Frankly, I was shocked; in an age when airlines charge for everything from extra pretzels to water bottles, I was completely floored that my ticket was corrected at no charge. But more than that, I'm grateful. I haven't flown Airtran very many times but if this is any indication of the level of service provided, Airtran is becoming my preferred airline.

Everyone who has heard this story has been equally amazed by the service. Traveling via air has become so miserable that to receive extra service and a little bit of mercy makes all the difference in the world.

The best part of this story is that they were nice not once but twice. This means that AirTran has at least two different people working for them that are kind to others.

(Photo:Flying Photog)

I needed a USB->serial adapter for a consulting project I was working on. I called ahead to RadioShack to make sure they had those in stock, and they did, so I went to the store. The ability to return this item if it didn't fulfill my needs was important to me, and I was assured I could return it easily. However, when the item rang up, it rang up as "software", meaning it was un-returnable once opened (exchange only). The CSRs present expressed incredulity at this policy, seeing as how I was purchasing a cable. They checked with their manager, who verified that I would indeed not be able to return the cable once opened. To make a long story short, they went way beyond what was necessary to ensure that I got what I needed - to the extent of calling the nearby Best Buy for me when my cell died.

I'm obviously not going to mention where this RadioShack was, or who the CSRs were, because surely their management would frown upon sending a customer to a competitor. I'd just like to say thank you to them for their honesty and in doing more than necessary to get me what I needed. It's not often the needs of the individual are put before the needs of the corporation - and CSRs that actually help a customer are rare.

Had Chris not already redacted the location of this store, we would have removed it for the employees' own safety. Now, we're no communists and don't deny that a store's purpose is to sell stuff. But it's nice to hear of employees acting in the consumer's best interest. Chris will think more kindly of Radio Shack in the future when he is in need of other widgets.

RELATED:
More Insider Tips When Buying From Radioshack
RadioShack Sells Defective Pre As New, Gets Caught
More Insider Tips When Buying From Radioshack

(Photo: Mike Hepp/Penn Can Mall fan site)

Back in March, my Canon Pixma MX300 personal printer broke. I bought the printer in April of 2008, alongside the purchase of my iMac. When it broke, the printer would continuously report that there was a paper jam when there was no paper jam, and would refuse to function in any way. I checked online on some forums and found many people having the same issue,but I never got around to actually fixing the printer due to a combination of time restraints, laziness, planning a wedding, and running a small business among other things.

Fast forward to Wednesday night, October 14th. My schedule is free! I had recently needed the scanner on my MX300 and realized I was unable to use it due to the paper jam issue, so I knew I should really find some time to fix it. So on Wednesday night I took the printer apart as much as I could, sprayed it clean with compressed air, checked the feed sensors, and made sure that the paper feed path was completely clear. I reattached the printer and it is still reading paper jam.

Despite knowing that the extended warranty expires after a year, I decided a call to Canon for assistance might be helpful as this seemed like a fairly common issue based on the search results I found. After almost zero time on hold waiting to speak with someone, a CSR named Bill answered the phone. We discussed the issue and I described the issue, and the measures I had taken to resolve the problem. He explained that unfortunately, the product was out of warranty and checking the sensors and paper feed was pretty much the only resolution he could offer. I didn't really mind, as I explained that I knew it was 100% my fault that I had not contacted them regarding the issue, and was about to hang up when he decided to speak with his supervisor about the problem.

He put me on hold, and then his supervisor named Glenn answered the phone. He asked me to explain the situation again to him, and after again explaining that the measures I had taken were the best I could do he asked me to hold for a moment while he discussed something with his manager. After a few minutes of waiting, Glenn came back on with the good news that despite my warranty being up for over 6 months, they were going to replace my printer for me, and best of all that they would do it free of charge. He took my information and explained the process to me and hung up.

Thursday I received an email from Canon saying that my replacement printer had shipped, and that it was a Pixma MX330, which is an upgrade from my current printer. The printer arrived on Friday afternoon, a brand new, upgraded MX330 with Bluetooth, and instructions to return my printer.

I just wanted to express my gratitude and thanks to these two individuals who clearly went above and beyond to make sure that I was a satisfied customer with their products. Not only was my printer warranty plenty expired, but they replaced it for free, with an upgraded model, and I received the replacement 2 days after the initial call. Thanks to Bill and Glenn, I will most definitely continue to purchase Canon products in the future.

Great service on Canon's part. While this may have had more to do with the known issues with that particular model of printer than a broad corporate policy of generosity, it still clears the paper jam in our heart.

A few weeks ago, I purchased an online gift certificate to squishable.com for my girlfriend Ana for her birthday. She e-mailed me and told me that she wanted a Squishable that was one price rank above the gift card and that she had no problem paying the difference. But when she tried, the system was giving her some form of error. So I went online and decided to just place the order for her and this way pay the difference myself. I found that the error she was receiving was the shopping cart rejecting the purchase for no apparent reason. I thought that perhaps since the cost difference was around $8, the system was rejecting an under $10 order.

I contacted Squishable and told them the situation, asking for a possible alternate method of purchase fulfillment. One of their staff got back to me less than 24 hours later, told me they apologize for the problem and will get their programmers examining it immediately. On top of that, the staff member (Aaron) thanked me for pointing out the problem, and credited my gift certificate the difference needed ($8.26). I went to order again, entered the GC code, had a $0 balance and finished the purchase. Now my girlfriend has her Squishable Tortoise and I strongly recommend Squishable.com for those who significant others like incredibly large huggable plushies =)

We're an equal opportunity site here, Jonathon: a large number of our readers purchase our own incredibly large huggable plushies, too.

Consumerist is a very critical site so when I see something extra from a company I feel like should give credit where credit is due.

On the day of my flight, I missed the boarding cutoff at JFK but ticket agent Orniston called down to the gate to see if they would let me in. They wouldn't, and the next available flight was about a ~$500 fare difference. With patience and humor, my man Orniston checked with his supervisor and got me on it for only a $40 fee. Score!

The bathrooms at Terminal 5 seemed a lot cleaner and brighter than the usual. There was free no-BS wifi and a plug-in table - no hunting for spare outlets and crouching like a laptop hermit required.

The Captain gave a good pre-flight announcement that was actually friendly and funny instead of just trying to be. I swear the flight attendant did a sort of sashay dance down the aisle as she checked to make sure everyone's belts were tightened.

Flight was smooth, seats were spacious and I enjoyed 36 channels of real cable, especially the soccer channels. We landed 45 minutes early. On the return flight there was a lot less legroom and my TV kept cutting out. Otherwise, good to go.

A++++, would fly again!

(Photo: Seamus Murray)

...Walmart? Above and beyond? That can't be right. Let's take a look at that email again.

We never heard back again from Polaroid. Tried to track down some executives in customer service there, using an email address guesstimator I found referenced on the Consumerist even, to no avail. I presume that Polaroid either actively hates me, or simply does not care. Or maybe they're too busy not making Polaroid cameras.

But get this...a few days later, I got a call from the local Wal-Mart where we bought the TV. It seems that, although it took a little while, the emails I sent to Wal-Mart corporate actually *did* get noticed, and they had a manager at the local Wal-Mart call me.

He *honestly* seemed like he wanted to help. I know...freaky. And he went through lots of different "let me try this" on their apparently stone age computer systems with me on the phone. Eventually getting nowhere, but he said "we'll keep working on it." Which I figured was some analog of "we take this very seriously" so I wasn't holding my breath.

But then it gets weirder. Or curiouser, whichever you prefer. They call me *again*. And this time, they tell me they found the receipt. Apparently, they actually had somebody, or somebodies, sit down and sift through all of their Black Friday sales and find my effing receipt for me. Then they printed it out, and put it in a nice envelope, and asked me when it would be convenient for me to come and pick it up.

*I know* [/craig ferguson]

Somehow I managed to traverse this wildly warped reality to the customer service desk at the local Wal-Mart, faxed it to the 3rd party service provider, who then apparently accepted it and JUST TODAY I got the UPS return label to send it in for warranty repair.

My mind is, like, on fire...man. I cannot even tell you how much I dislike Wal-Mart, granted their various shenanigans as have been well documented on the Consumerist and elsewhere. I have to plead guilty to a little bit of schadenfreude at cherry-picking their loss-leader on Black Friday to stick it to them a little bit.

But now...now...they have gone way over the top to make sure I am a satisfied customer. It's like...I don't even know who to dislike anymore. The evil empire of W-M...treating me like they care...like they value my business...like they're human. It's...just too much to take.

I...I... There's a Target right across the street where we usually shop. I mean, Target sucks less than W-M, right? Right? DAMN YOU WAL-MART!!! DAMN YOU AND YOUR ACCEPTABLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!

Seriously. I don't know what to do. In the words of the ever-wise Sweathog alum John Travolta, "I'm so confused!"

Anyway...it looks like we're out of the woods. But I don't know if I'll ever be OK again. Some things just shake you to the core...make you question your basic beliefs.

Well, any organization can slip up and hire a compassionate and competent employee or two. We're very sorry about Kaleb's existential crisis, but delighted that he was able to get the help he needed to have his TV repaired.

(Photo: Clean Wal-mart)

The anonymous blogger sent out an EECB to Microsoft complaining that his territory was ineligible for Windows 7 party packs, and was rewarded with the object of his desire. He writes:

A very courteous email arrived explaining reasons why the Caribbean region was not covered in the promotion. The official line was a mixed bag but was satisfactory although ultimately disappointing. I was not expecting to be graciously offered a USA Party Pack for gratis though! I submitted my delivery details as requested and sure enough today I received a giant box from Microsoft the contents of which you can see in my unboxing pictures below.

The goodies are actually very nice, especially the Windows 7 tote bags, perfect for the Cayman Islands for the beach! Also included were Windows 7 branded napkins, a puzzle pack; the pieces come together to form a wallpaper image from Windows 7. There was also a pack of Windows 7 playing cards, a colour poster and of course the piece de resistance, a FULL copy of Windows 7 Ultimate Edition (Steve Ballmer Signature Edition). What I was not expecting though was the Anytime Upgrade to Ultimate Signature 64 bit edition. A nice bonus!

As they say, ain't no party like a Microsoft party, cause a Microsoft party don't stop. If you want in on this action, apply here.

Windows 7 Party Pack Unboxed! [StuffIWrote]

She was not only so nice as to do better then the 50% she offered be a full refund of over $125 outside the return period, told me I can keep the 2nd book they sent me for my issues (she suggested donating to a library or giving to a friend), as well as processing the refund BEFORE I even send back the copy they do want back.

So Amazon in my opinion has gone well above and beyond not only trying to get me the book again next day, but offering me a full refund outside their policy, and letting me keep an extra copy! So I wanted to say great job with customer service Amazon and keep it up.

It's up for debate exactly what use a second copy might have to Robert, but it was still a nice, courteous move by Amazon. Instead of being bitter that Amazon sent him two defective books, screwing up his schoolwork, Robert is gushing about the company. CSR managers take note.

(Photo: Tengaport)

The ice cream company Bruster's Real Ice Cream offers a free second scoop of ice cream when its raining or snowing. About two weeks ago, I was at the state fair when it began to rain. Excited, I decided to head for my car in order to grab a free second scoop of ice cream. Unfortunately, I slipped in mud, breaking my leg in two places. I never made it to Bruster's. From my hospital bed, I wrote an email to Bruster's, requesting a free second scoop of ice cream once I had regained the ability to walk.

I received a response from the owner of the local Bruster's the next day, asking for my address so he could send off a gift card for a free first scoop, no purchase necessary. Pleased, I replied with my name and address.

The next afternoon I was at a follow-up appointment with my doctor. I got a phone call from my sister, who told me that a Bruster's delivery van had driven up to the house. A man from Bruster's had come to the house to wish me well, and to drop off FOUR pints of Bruster's ice cream.

Bruster's, in this one motion, has earned my brand loyalty forever. I tell my story to everyone who comes to visit.

We can't help but question the wisdom of abandoning a state fair in order to get a free scoop of ice cream (state fairs are awesome) but are delighted to hear that Bruster's has pitched in to help Michael get the extra calcium he needs to heal his leg. Yeah. That's it.

(Photo: diaper)

The incident began when a gun-toting Gibson confronted the Marine, Lance Cpl. Richard Grimes, and demanded that Grimes drive him to a nearby ATM and withdraw some money. Grimes instead checked his balance, and told Gibson he didn't have enough money in his account to do a withdrawal. That's when Gibson's stomach apparently began to rumble. As reported by WTOC in Savannah:

"He started freaking out and demanded that I take him to McDonalds to get food," said Grimes. "I took him through the drive through and ordered him a Big Mac, fries, and a Hi-C drink and then I drove up to the next window."

Grimes mouthed "911" to the drive-through attendant, and the assistant manager recognized Gibson as a guy who "usually comes in the restaurant and causes problems for us." McDonald's staff told Grimes and Gibson to pull up to the next window and wait for their order. Instead of getting a burger and fries, Gibson was greeted by police, who arrived within three minutes. Grimes credits the McDonald's staff with saving his life. "If it weren't for them, I'd probably be dead right now," he told reporters.

We're thrilled for Grimes, and have no sympathy for Gibson. But we can't help wondering about two things. First, what ever happened to the meal Gibson ordered? Grimes paid for it, afterall. And second, Hi-C? What's that all about?

McDonald's employees help save a Beaufort Marine's life [WTOC]

Just wanted to shout out some great customer service from Thermos. My
Thermos Travel Mug lost its rubber bottom, making it pretty unstable.
They're not that expensive, but I hate to throw away $19 of working
metal for lack of a $1 rubber bit. I emailed Thermos about getting a
replacement part. Jamie at Thermos replied and told me they didn't
have replacement parts available, but to send it in to warranty
repairs, and they see what could be done. I dropped it in the mail
and waited, hoping they'd ship it back with a new rubber bottom.
Nothing happened for a month, so I got in touch with Jamie again and
asked if they had it and what was going on. Jamie could find no
record of them having received it (thanks USPS! no tracking number of
course. Why spend $20 shipping something that costs $20?). She
talked to her supervisor, and they are now sending me a replacement
mug, no charge! That's way above and beyond. Anyway, great customer
service, and the Thermos Nissan mugs are the only ones that I've ever
had that didn't end up leaving coffee stains on all my white shirts.

Whether it was the postal service or Thermos themselves who lost Brent's mug, it was very kind of them to replace it, and earned them praise from an already loyal customer.

Technically, this shouldn't be considered "above and beyond." This should be what all businesses do when a customer has an issue, but Matt was so surprised and pleased that he just had to write about the experience.

I stopped in and filled up my motorcycle using a credit card. My bill came to $7, but when I got home and started to plan out my weekend fun and expenses I noticed that Hyvee had pre-authorized $75, which was over 10x what my gas cost. As I did this Friday on my way home from work and authorizations tend to take until the next business day, I expected the $75 to be tied up through the entire Labor Day weekend. I was a bit frustrated about this, so went to their website and fired off a complaint about it, fully expecting it to go into some black hole of complaints or at the most get a half-hearted apology. I explained that although I understood the reasoning for it (most pre-auths are for $1, so some people will use cards with only a few dollars on and fill up and drive off), the amount was a bit excessive, and I'd rather spend my money with gas stations that don't pre-authorize for excessive amounts as they obviously need the extra business to make up for the extra cost of people taking advantage of the system.

Much to my surprise, I got a phone call from HyVee the next business day. They personally apologized for the inconvenience and even though I claimed I wouldn't return to HyVee, they offered me a $25 gift card for HyVee gas or groceries. They didn't even try to convince me I should return, they offered me the gift card with the expectation that I wasn't likely to ever buy gas from them again. Not only that, they explained how their processes work and explained options that didn't require the excessive pre-authorization. In addition, the pre-auth that I expected to stay on all weekend was updated in less than 12 hours even over Labor Day weekend. Wow. Calling to apologize, offering a gift card to someone they expected to leave them, and explaining all available options. It doesn't get any better than that. I was so impressed that I have backtracked on my decision. Not only will I be going back to them for gas and groceries in the future, but I will be making a point of going there more often.

After revisiting the store, Matt discovered that the store went even farther to prevent similar complaints.

A new twist to this story. I picked up the gift card today, and the manager told me they already ordered signs to put on the pumps to explain charges and how to avoid the charges by paying inside (and they don't make you prepay). They are getting the signs not only at the location I shopped at, but all their gas stations.

I am impressed. Incredibly fast action to not only make it up to me, but actually use the feedback to make sure other people aren't upset.

Well done!

(Photo: Jeff Holbrook)

Last week, I fired off an email to Cablevision voicing my displeasure at their apparent inability to keep up with the competition. I complained about things like the lack of remote access to my DVRs, their hideous interface and their repeated practice of pushing marketing over substance. I also took the time to give credit where I believed credit was due, commending them for their internet and phone services, which in my opinion are solid. To my surprise, within the HOUR I received a call from "Cablevision Executive Relations" confirming that my email had been received and that someone would be following up with me within 72 hours. Yikes. And follow up they did.

Within the 72 hour period, I received an email from a very high ranking individual in product management. He thanked me for my email, assured me that Cablevision was working hard to supply their customers with new technology, and that I should stay tuned. Form letter? Appeasement? I replied, inquiring about the web-dvr technology I'd been reading about. Sure enough, he replied, tipping me off to Cablevision's new feature of being able to access your DVR(s) remotely via the internet. I checked it out, and instantly one of my biggest complaints was addressed and satisfied. I also mentioned my frustration with their On-Demand and Enhanced TV services, both of which have broken up/failed miserably in the past. He checked into my levels remotely and scheduled their head tech to visit my home. The head tech did indeed come out, on time, and checked everything. He was polite, courteous and answered every one of my questions. My levels were on the low end - he changed the connections on the outside of my house and said that someone would have to check the pole, something that would happen within a few days. Sure enough, when I arrived home after work the next day, a Cablevision tech was working on the pole. That night, I did everything I could to make my converter box/DVR fail. It could not be done.

I implore you to share my story with the Consumerist Universe. I never expected a reply, much less the intense, excellent customer service I was given. It's difficult, if not impossible, for me to recall a better customer service experience. Don't get me wrong, they're still on the hook - they've promised me better technology and I'm going to hold them to it - but they have genuinely made me feel that they value my business, and that goes a long long way.

So did Cablevision solve all of David's problems? Not yet. We can't be entirely sure that they'll follow through, but as David said, taking the time to respond immediately and address his concerns showed that Cablevision does value one little customer like him.

His TV is about 5 years old, and earlier this year it stopped working. Although it was out of warranty, he called LG Electronics "on a whim" and to his surprise, they extended his warranty to cover the cost of repairs.

The repairs didn't take. Tim says the 3rd party repairman's last words to him were, "I just put in the parts. You'll have to call LG." So he did.

We called LG again thinking they would say that they've given their best effort and apologize and we'd be on our way. Not so. Again, rather than making us feel bad at all the next conversation shocked me... it was along the lines of this: "We're so sorry Mr. Heuer you've had this problems. We don't want to inconvenience you anymore. We'd like to replace your TV with a new one."

In case you didn't hear it, that was the sound of me picking my jaw up off the floor.

Not only did they offer to replace it, but they gave him 3 models to choose from.

Tim summed up the experience by writing, "This whole process has really just been simply amazing to me. I cannot believe how this company is really taking customer service seriously."

"Great customer service follow-up: LG Electronics" [Method of failed] (Thanks to bmccormack!)

I wanted to write you about a really positive experience I just had with Amazon.com. Below is the email I sent to them, and their fast and unexpected response. I really did not expect to get anything from them due to the circumstances of the item lost, but thought it was worth a shot and they came through beautifully.

My email to Amazon:

I recently placed the order referenced above for the book "Ariel." On Friday, August 29th, the day of the book's arrival, I experienced a break-in at my home and the thief stole my mail from the mailbox (among other valuables). I would be happy to email you the police report # if necessary, the mail is listed among the stolen items. Is it possible for me to get another copy of the book free of charge? I understand that this is an out-of-the-ordinary situation, I would be more than willing to pay S&H for it. Thank you.

Amazon's response, less than 24 hours later:

Hello, I'm sorry your shipment was lost. Because of the circumstances surrounding your order, I've made an exception to our standard policy and placed a new order that's listed below. We'll ship it to the same address as soon as possible. I've also upgraded the shipping method to One-Day Shipping at no additional charge. There's no charge for this replacement order. We look forward to your next visit. Best regards, Prasath C.Amazon.comWe're Building Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company

Despite what the CSR told Sarah, it seems as though they way the company handled her misfortune was the rule rather than the exception. Remember that time Amazon replaced the stolen Wii?

Regardless, it would be foolish to expect a free replacement if a thief should strike. If your package gets thieved, remember to be nice to your Amazon CSR and don't give him or her any reason to think you're being dishonest.

(Photo: mod*betty)

I wanted to give you some feedback on my experiences this evening.

I made many calls to inform many banks of my travel plans. I want to convey my thoughts on two of those conversations:

1. 40 minutes on hold with Bank of America. I hung up as I lost all my patience.

2. 40 minutes speaking with Amber Beyer. It was, without question, the best customer service experience I have ever encountered. Not only can I tell that she is a very kind human being but she was so knowledgeable about all your products. To clarify, Amber did not only know about all your products, she knew the smallest details about every process as well, even things that would normally fall out of her territory as a bank rep. Such knowledge is invaluable when needing the correct information. And it is very rare skill. I work in the credit markets and I have dealt with countless reps at various banks spending more time letting them know the incorrect information they were giving out than getting the customer service I deserve.

Amber went above and beyond what I ever experienced with a support representative to ensure that I had all the facts about travel, card usage, bank usage etc. before I went overseas. Not only did she reconfirm my assumptions that Schwab is literally the best bank that exists but she also inspired me to apply for more products that your bank offers.

If that wasn't the best possible customer service possible I don't know what is. Call was answered in less than 4 rings, friendly personable service that disseminated sentence after sentence of kind advice and factual information and inspires the customer to seek out more service from your bank.

Amber should be commended and I am super happy to know that should I need any assistance overseas I have her information.

My only suggestion is that Schwab open up more branches!

The key phrase here is "inspires the customer to seek out more service your bank." Happy customers are repeat customers, and as this email and post shows, become good will ambassadors for the brand.

(Photo: Sara. Nel)

Such was Xavier's experience when he searched for a replacement to his out-of-warranty MacBook battery. His feel-good story:

I realize that there are many positive Apple stories, but I would say this one is a bit above and beyond even for Apple, well, after a few hoops.

I purchase a 15" Apple MacBook Pro in September 2007. Around July 2008, I had an issue with my battery and had it easily replaced at the Michigan Avenue Apple Store. Fast forward to a year later, and my battery began acting wacky. Obviously realizing that the original 1-year warranty on my MBP had expired but thinking the replacement battery carried its own 1-year warranty, I took it into the Apple Store in OakBrook, Illinois. Unfortunately, I was informed that replacement parts carried only a 90-day warranty, and although the part was indeed defective, I was out of luck regarding any complimentary replacement. Annoyed, but realizing I am extended another year of warranty through my credit card, I went home to start the process. My credit card company required proof from Apple that my battery was indeed defective and not just 'out of juice'. I was out of the country for a few weeks, so I wasn't able to get to an Apple Store until Sunday. I arrived at my appointment to the recently opened Apple Store in (redacted) fully expecting to leave with something saying that the battery was bad and a new retail battery purchased by me so I could be reimbursed by my credit card company. I explained what I needed to Sam, the Apple "Genius" helping me. He performed a check on my battery and told me that even though I was outside my warranty, there was no reason my battery should not be able to hold a charge since it was 'so young'; it was indeed defective. He said as long as they had the battery in-store, he'd replace it on the spot free of charge. Luckily, they did, and he did! Very happy was I leaving the store with a new battery and all my money!

Maybe the Apple Store guy would still have replaced Xavier's battery had he gone into the store with an Apple chip on his shoulder and figurative guns blazing, but I wouldn't bet on it. It speaks to the old Wind and the Sun Aesop fable.

Just had a fantastic customer service experience with Tivo that I want to share with you and your readers. I love my Tivo and just like they say, I could never return to normal tv again. I have been a loyal customer for 3 years, and have even bought my folks a Tivo through my account.

Recently I noticed that my regular billing cycle was costing me 18.95$ a month. As an avid consumerist reader I should've known better than to just shirk off auto-payments and know what is being debited from my account. I logged into tivo and saw that they have been charging me 18.95$ a month for the last year and a half (when my service plan ended) while only charging my folks' Tivo at 10.95$ a month for the same level of service.

I picked up the phone with a calm, polite and collected attitude and was greeted by the cheery Yasmina. She informed me of how I was being charged their baseline price from when my Tivo subscription had ended, 18.95$ a month, though now the costs were 12.95$ a month. She agreed it seemed unfair but her only resolution was to sign up for a new contract to take advantage of the new price-scheme. She then passed me to Cindy in Advanced Customer Service. Cindy was great - we chatted about the rainy weather in Indiana where she lived and worked and the heat wave in NYC.

Without me even once referencing my conversation with Yasmina, Cindy solved my problem. She cut my monthly service fee to 12.95$ price scale AND set me up with 3 months free service as a 'thank you for understanding.' All those tips about being polite with CSRs paid off for me. I even beat her to the punch and asked for the customer survey, and she was so pleased to hear that!

Thanks Tivo for your great customer service and thank you Consumerist for arming me with great strategies to make my CS trek less daunting - and surely much more enjoyable for both Yasmina and Cindy!

Yay! Good service, a company that sees the point in keeping longtime, loyal customers!

(Photo: mightyb)

I had a negative experience flip into a positive one by venting my frustration to an online form I expected to go nowhere.

Yesterday, I ordered online from Dominos. I ordered a pizza, breadsticks and a 2-liter of Sprite. When the delivery guy showed up, the order was missing the Sprite. He apologized and advised me that the store had no more bottles of Sprite, so they substituted a Coca-Cola instead.

Rewind to about a year ago when the same thing happened to me at another location. At that time, someone from my office grabbed the delivery so I had to take the issue up by phone to the store. "I don't drink Coke, so I don't want this. I'd either like you to pick it up or not charge me for it." That location declined both and the charge was taken up with my credit card company, and all was eventually corrected (I wasn't charged for the incorrect order).

Back to the current story — I refused the delivery of the Coca-Cola. Since I paid with credit card, the driver offered to give me cash for the difference. Easily settled, he just kept the cash as tip and I proceeded to enjoy my meal.

When I returned to my computer after lunch, I noticed the online form on the post-order screen for Dominos — If you're not familiar, it has the "tracker" to see your order being made to delivery. At the bottom is a form rating your experience and any feedback. I rated accordingly, noting my issue with not being contacted before the order got here to let me know a part of my order wasn't available.

Thirty minutes later, the delivery guy was back with Sprite in hand. He was advised by the store to buy a bottle from a grocery store and deliver it to me at no charge. Already shocked by that, I then received a call from the store asking about the feedback I submitted online and ensuring my concerns were resolved.

I'm not sure if stores are rated by that feedback that most people, including myself, normally dismiss or if they were legitimately concerned with my feedback submitted. Either way, the minor annoyance that would have left me with some negative feeling about the transaction was flipped over into a really positive one.

Either things were very, very slow at that particular Domino's that day, or maybe some restaurants are now using INSTANT FEEDBACK!

(Photo: KFreon)

I run my computers into the ground. They hardly ever sleep, and parts inevitably break after years of constant use. Because of this, I buy AppleCare, which extends Apple's warranty on all parts to three years. It's one of the only extended warranties that's cost effective and easily worth the purchase price. Try repairing a busted Apple at your local computer shop. It won't be cheap.

Over the past two and a half years, Apple has replaced two hard drives and an optical drive on my MacBook Pro. When the optical drive failed for a second time, it constituted the fourth major hardware repair and, at least according to Apple's semi-official policy, made me eligible for a replacement machine. I called and asked for a replacement, and that's what I got.

The new machine was wonderful, except for the atrociously reflective mirror-finish glossy screen. I spend all day with my laptop, and I occasionally suffer from ocular migraines that are triggered, in part, by glare. Migraines are nature's version of waterboarding. They are torture, and most sufferers go to comical lengths to avoid their migraine triggers. I had seen the laptops in the store and somehow deluded myself into thinking that the reflections wouldn't be as bad at home where I could control the lighting. For me, Apple's reflective screen was utterly unusable.

I called Apple and explained the problem. Surprisingly, the wonderful customer relations administrator who oversaw the replacement, Anita M. in Austin, offered to overnight me an anti-glare film. Worth a try!

The films are notoriously difficult to apply, so I brought it into an Apple Store. A cheerful manager applied the film in about 20 minutes, avoiding the bubbles and dust specks that can ruin an anti-glare film. Still, the film didn't help and the screen was still blindingly reflective. Unacceptable!

Still, there was one final option. The third-party vendor TechRestore has a $200 service that replaces glossy screens with beloved matte ones. Though TechRestore claims their work doesn't void AppleCare, a monitor replacement is a very visible change, and Apple could have easily denied me any future repairs.

I called Anita and asked if I could return the new unit and hold onto my old MacBook Pro in the hopes that Apple would reintroduce an anti-glare option before my AppleCare expired in November. Anita said that so long as I called within the warranty period, I'd be able to request a replacement. I don't really use my optical drive, so living without one wasn't a big deal. Getting a replacement laptop that can spend the next three years running without sleep is much more important. I figured I'd use my capable machine as long as possible, and then if need be, request a replacement in November and void the warranty with the TechRestore replacement.

Today, Apple reintroduced the anti-glare screens as a $50 option on their 15" MacBook Pros. I called customer service, explained my case history, and again requested a replacement—this time with the newly available anti-glare option. Apple agreed, and upgraded me to the anti-glare screen free of charge. They even tossed in two free mini Display Port connectors so I could connect my external monitors.

Did Apple need to replace my laptop? No.
Did Apple need to send me an anti-glare film? No.
Did Apple need to install the anti-glare film? No.
Did Apple need to take back their replacement laptop? No.
Did Apple need to send me another replacement? No.
Did Apple need to waive the fee for the anti-glare option? No.
Did Apple need to toss in two free Display Port connectors? No.
Did Apple need to worry that I wasn't already a loyal customer? No.

Apple didn't need to do anything but repair my broken optical drive; instead, they repeatedly went above and beyond. This wasn't a fluke experience, either. Every single Apple employee I spoke with was efficient, helpful, and thoroughly professional. This was service worth paying for. Thank you, Apple.

Since we've always said that our customers are t3h awesome and we love you all so much, we let a bunch of the free orders go through. Heck, you deserve it, you had a rough day too, right? So enjoy your free—nay, priceless—goodies if you were lucky enough to get here in time. Since we plan on not letting that happen again, we hope you enjoyed our one-time only Swine Flu sale.

Though this happened back in May, the delay doesn't make it any less wonderful. Give yourselves a hug, ThinkGeek, you deserve it!

Swine flu jumps to ThinkGeek server; gives away free stuff! [ThinkGeek] (Thanks to Chris!)

Lindsey had such an experience with Slingbox. A customer service rep went well above and beyond, getting her a replacement for her broken unit even though it was out of warranty and earning loyalty and goodwill along the way.

I'm cranky and my stuff always breaks. I try to stay positive on the phone with customer service reps but usually end up breaking down, so I'm happy to report that I just had a wonderful experience with Sling Media's service department.

I bought my Slingbox Pro almost two years ago at Costco. It was the best to be able to watch live TV from my dorm room. In a story for another day, the sound on my Dell stopped working, and I thus stopped using Sling Player to watch TV on my laptop.

Flash forward to today: I decided to install the Sling Player on my new laptop. I quickly realized there was no connectivity between my router and the actual Slingbox. I browsed through message boards online to see that many other people have had problems with this mysterious loss of connectivity. I called their Customer Service department to report that I had no idea when or how my Slingbox broke, and their rep told me he was very sorry that my 90-day warranty had expired long ago. He also told me that I could pay $29.99 for technical service but that I could not extend my warranty so late in the game. I sighed and thanked him, but he asked me to wait two minutes before I hung up.

He returned in less than a minute to tell me the company is very interested in customer satisfaction, and offered me free technical service. After we spent quite some time pretending I hadn't already performed the typical solutions (plug, unplug, plug, unplug) and that he might be able to help fix a broken piece of equipment, he offered to send a replacement in the mail, completely free of charge, within the next week.

I'll be getting a new Slingbox soon, and I'm so happy with the company that I just purchased the $29.99 Slingplayer app for my iPhone. And sent you this message.

Kudos, Nameless CSR. Is this typical service for Sling Media, or is this rep about to be either fired or promoted?

I wanted an RC Helicopter for no reason other than not having been allowed to have one as a kid. I went to WalMart and ended up choosing the $59.95 Air Hogs model. When it came time to check out, the cashier scanned it and it rang up $59.95 AND $5.88 1-year protection plan. I told her I didn't want the protection plan, just the helicopter. She tries to void the $5.88 charge but the system will only let her void the $59.95. She canceled out the entire transaction and tried again. It still rang up both items and would only allow her to void one.

She called the Customer Service Manager over. The manager tried it as well and it kept forcing the protection plan when the helicopter was rung up and absolutely would not allow the $5.88 charge to be removed - even with a manager's override. They also tried ringing up a second Air Hogs that was priced the same and it also rang up with the protection plan. I told them not to worry about it as there was a Radio Shack across the street that had the same model at (amazingly) the same price.

The customer service manager told me to wait, rang up the helicopter (which rang up with the protection plan of course) then voided it (the system would ONLY allow the helicopter to be voided and not the protection plan) and asked how I was paying. I looked at the total.... She charged me only the $5.88 protection plan and voided off the $59.95 for the helicopter. I told her she didn't have to but she said it was fine. This is perhaps the best $5.88 I've spent in a long time. Thanks, WalMart!

Most excellent. Now, make sure that you have a lot of fun with that helicopter!

(Photo: Locutis)

An anonymous tipster writes,

Back in August 2008 I received a Sunbeam Mixmaster (word) stand mixer from my two wonderful kids. They had saved up some money and with a little financial help from Mom bought me the mixer for my birthday. I loved it, and proceeded to blend until my heart was content. Now fast forward 11 months and many cakes, cookies, breads later the mixer started to show signs of impending death. The 12 speed motor was now one speed, ungodly fast. The power boot button on top of the mixer had become permanently stuck in the on position. This caused the motor to over heat after being on for about 5 seconds.

My first thought was to try and return it to wherever they bought it, but since it had been almost a year and I had no receipt I knew that was a lost cause. The next step was to call Sunbeam. I guess years of poor customer service from other companies had made me cynical and jaded, so I was expecting a whole lot of "sorry I can't help" or "return it to the store". Well I received neither of theses. What I did encounter was a very friendly CSR (sorry I forgot your name dude) who had me read off my model number, tell him what was wrong, and finally provide him my contact information. After 3 minutes of conversation he informed me that they were going to mail me a shipping label so I could mail my mixer to them. At this point I was appeased, I thought "Ok what does it matter if I have to send it off for repair, its not like I can use it anyway" but as I finished that sentence in my head the CSR informed me to expect my replacement in a few weeks.

Replacement? Woot! That's great! Now I won't have to wait for my old machine to be repaired.

I spoke with the CSR on July 23rd. On July 27th I received the UPS slip to mail back the busted mixer, and 1 day later I received my new mixer! Not only did they have me a new mixer in less than a week, they upgraded me to a nicer model! Needless to say Sunbeam now has a customer for life!

Two things: First, we wish our dad liked to make cakes and cookies when we were growing up. Instead, he liked to "experiment" with omelettes and tabasco sauce every couple of months. Sad. Second, that's some pretty impressive customer service from Sunbeam.

I just had a great customer service experience that I thought I should share with you guys. I bought a pair of V-Moda Vibe Duo headphones with the inline mic for my phone from Amazon.com about a year and a half ago. They came with a nice pouch and fabric covered cables which pretty much prevented them from getting tangled up and fit my ears much better than other headphones I've used. I really loved the headphones and took them with me everywhere I went. As a result, they eventually started showing signs of wear. A small part of the fabric covering the cable came loose causing the wires to become exposed (which was fixed with a little glue), the wire mesh from one of the in-ear buds fell off, and occasionally one of the sides would emit a tiny bit of static. Basically the issues weren't big enough of a deal to warrant buying another pair so I emailed V-Moda for an estimate on repairing them.

Within a day, I received a response by Joanna who asked me to send the headphones in (with proof of purchase) for them to check out. I sent them the headphones and within 3 days of shipping them out, basically the day they got them, I received an email from Josh stating my new pair was in the mail. This took me completely by surprise because I was expecting them to send me an estimate on the repair, not replace them altogether for free! Also, their warranty is only for a year and it is only supposed to cover defects, not wear and tear from constant use. Needless to say, I am completely thrilled with V-Moda at the moment for the awesome customer service they provided. Yes, some will probably say this isn't a big deal since they're only a set of headphones but I paid about $90 for them (a far cry from my usual $12 pair) and I really didn't want to buy another set. Also, the set they sent me was the upgraded version that came out after I had purchased mine so I got a better set then the one I had. The entire replacement process was quick, total time from initial email to getting the replacement was about a week, and I'm ecstatic to be using a comfortable set of headphones as opposed to the Apple ones, which tend to really hurt my ears. Thanks for taking the time to read my email and keep up the great work.

Xavier

Very nicely done, V-Moda! It's not a huge deal, but nice to see a company standing by its products.

Bob writes:

I am writing to let you know about the exceptional customer service I received today from the staff at Amtrak, specifically the agents at the William Walsh regional transportation center in Syracuse NY.

This morning I was called at home by a very friendly Amtrak agent. She was calling to tell me that because of a crash elsewhere on the line, my train was going to be at least an hour late. Before I could thank her for that news (because really, who wants to wait an extra hour at a small rail station) she offered to change my reservation to an earlier and more expensive train for free. At first I declined, but she left her number so that I could call back and check to see if my late train was more than 1 Hour late.

I changed my mind and called back and the agent happily rebooked for me.

At the station, I found out that Amtrak's national call center calls and offers solutions if a train is more than 2 hours late. In this situation the local agents called all of the local passengers on their own initiative.

I got another surprise when I got to the station: the same agent discovered that I qualified for a lower fare on the return trip so they gave me a $5.40 refund!

Thanks to Amtrak and the Syracuse agents for raising the bar in travel.

Well that's certainly unexpected, especially from Amtrak. If only their trains were as fast as their Syracuse agents are nice.

(Photo: reivax)

Ruby writes:

Most companies (including my own workplace) are short-staffed these days, and customer service usually suffers the most. But today I'll like to commend Chantal Cookware for some amazing customer service!

In 2007 I bought a beautiful, bright yellow "Livestrong" teakettle from Bed Bath & Beyond by Chantal. It cost a little over $60, but was well worth it. My favorite part was the whistle - it was extremely loud.... but sadly it stopped whistling over the past 2 years. I've tried the cleaning methods described on Chantal's website, nothing worked, and as a last resort before buying another kettle, I sent an email to the Chantal customer service, asking if there's any way to replace just the whistle. It's been about 2 weeks, I received no response, so I forgot about the email and prepared to head to the store this weekend to pick up a new kettle.

And today, a package came in by UPS from Chantal Cookware. Inside was a brand new, beautiful Livestrong "Loop" Teakettle.

All I sent was one email, a shot in the dark about replacing a part on a product purchased 2 years ago, not under any sort of warranty.

Attached is a photo of the brand new kettle before I even opened the box, big thanks from me and the bunny Toffee :)

Great work, Chantal Cookware! Although, responding to Ruby's email wouldn't have been misread as tooting your own horn.

Michael says:

My grandmother was on death's door, and we all knew that the time would come fairly soon for her to pass on. So, in preparation for the funeral, I dropped off my suit (like many people, I only have one) at Men's Wearhouse for alterations (I've put on a couple pounds since the last time I wore it) on July 11th. The original date that it would have been ready was supposed to be the 23rd, but no one in my family expected my grandmother to hang on that long. I was able to convince them to have it done on the 17th, no additional charge for the rushed job.

Well, she didn't last even that long. I got a call the evening of the 11th that she had drawn her last breath. I needed to be headed to MN from WI on Sunday the 12th. I called up Men's Wearhouse, frantic, expecting that I'd simply be out of luck for the alteration and have to find some other solution, but no! A brief check with the tailor's schedule had my suit moved to the front of the line, and it the first thing they would work on Sunday morning when the tailor got in at 11am, and it would be done at noon. That would leave plenty of time for me to make the 6 hour drive to my parents' house, and saved me from a lot of panic filled scrambling trying to get a suit that fit. And again, no additional charge for the rush, no hassles, no run around, nothing complicated. So thanks Men's Wearhouse for making the already painful experience just a little bit easier.

Our condolences, Michael, and thanks for the story.

Here's his story:

So a few months ago I decided with my workplace being pretty close I was going to commute by bike, and decided to shell out the big bucks (for me anyway) for a quality bike.

The bike I purchased through my bike shop wound up being full of problems. The fretwheel made this grinding noise, the pedals broke, and the top coat of paint mysteriously started dissolving in some spots. My local bike shop did a pretty good job of working out the first two problems but there wasn't much they could do about the paint.

I went to the Trek website and through the standard web feedback page expressed my feelings about the quality of the product I received. A few weeks later I get an email from an awesome Trek employee named Jason saying that the issues I was having were not the norm for their products and that he would like to get my bike back to Trek for evaluation and replace it with a new one.

One email later to tell him which bike shop I purchased it from and a replacement was there two days later. I was floored to have an issue go from problem to resolution with so little effort. I think that these guys deserve a round of applause.

By the way, the replacement they sent has absolutely no flaws and is a blast to ride.

Nicely done, Trek!

Jpodbuild first called his local Sears, and was referred to another number. At the second number he was told to go to the website www.managemyhome.com. There, he searched for an answer to his problem but found nothing, so he called the number on the site. They referred him back to the second number he'd called. Someone at that number had him call a third number, where a person verified his account information and had him call the second number again.

That's when he took the sander with him to his local Sears and asked the employee there to do something about it. He doesn't say how much time passed, but eventually the employee came back, grabbed a new sander off the shelf, and traded for it.

When I asked why I was receiving a new sander instead of some tech help, [the employee] told me that the manager of my local Sears had just made the same convoluted sequence of phone calls. Sears seems to have an internal problem. Eventually she shouted out a colorful metaphor into the phone at the last person she was talking with and then told Baby-face to just give me a new sander and tell me to go home. So… I went home and sanded into the night.

Thanks, Sears?

"Craftsman but not Techmen" [jpodbuild] (Thanks to Dan and Loy!)

Matthew has such a story — of how Verizon mucked up his online and entertainment world when he upgraded to fiber-optic service (FIOS) — and how his follow-up complaint led to him getting three months of free premium-channel bliss... and more:

On July 1, FIOS accidentally cut my service instead of changing names on the account (cause those are equivalent, I guess?). Since then, they've managed to restore my phone service and partially restore my TV service. They still haven't fixed the internet, which is not only hampering my ability to do my job (I work from home a few days of the week out of necessity), but also to watch any OnDemand content or even have a channel guide on the TVs. I've spoken to some really great people at FIOS, especially a tech support guy named Mike, but no one seems to be able to help me. They've admitted more than a few times that the screw-up is on their end, and I just got off the phone with yet another tech, and he has decided they need to send me a new modem, which won't arrive until Wednesday. They won't have one dropped off tomorrow because they have to charge me for that (which is unacceptable and I won't agree to being charged for support at this point), and waiting until Wednesday is really not an option. I just sent an EECB to their executives listed on your site, and I left a voice mail on the telecom president's answering machine, but I was wondering if there is anything else I can do aside for bide my time (which is quite difficult without the internet). I've copied the letter I sent them below:

Dear Verizon,

My name is Matthew Z., and my family has been a Verizon customer for a long time—first with Verizon Wireless, and now with FIOS for a little over a year. Until this past Wednesday (July 1st), everything was great with our FIOS service. On July 1st, our service stopped working completely. Since then, tech support and billing have helped me restore our phone service as well as video (though the guides and on demand content do not work, due to the Internet issue), though the Internet is still not working. The phone number on the account is XXX-XXX-XXXX, and other account information can be provided to you if necessary.

This all started when the name on the account was supposed to change from "Michael Z." to "Amy Z." following the finalization of my parents' divorce. Instead, it seems a disconnect order went in for all non-voice services. When I called on Thursday, support was great, and got my voice service back up. By Sunday, TV and Internet were still not working. Sunday afternoon, I called tech support, and spoke to two wonderful people. The first was a billing Representative named Crystal who helped me sort out the account name issue, and the second was a tech named Mike, who stayed on the phone with me on and off for about 5 hours working through the problems. Mike eventually restored my TV service (again, without program guides or on demand), but alas, he was not able to fix my Internet.

Despite the friendly, professional, and knowledgeable representatives' efforts, they have not been able to help me through this issue. Mike and another tech I spoke with stated that my situation was escalated, but no one can tell me what the result of that escalation was. I was also told that my service would be fixed by noon today. When I got home from work at 10PM EST this evening, service was still not restored. After spending the last hour and a half on the phone with technical support, I am at my wit's end. The last tech that I spoke to said that he wanted to send out a replacement router (even though all previous techs have told me it was a problem on Verizon's end), which wouldn't arrive until Wednesday (which will make it a full week without service), and that's not even a guaranteed fix. He also stated they can't send out techs to my house without charging me, which at this point is absolutely unacceptable.

All I want is for my Internet to be repaired. I have been incredibly patient thus far, but I really cannot go on like this much longer. I love FIOS, I really do. Its absolutely the best Internet and TV package I have ever used. The speed blows cable out of the water, and the picture quality is far better than what we had previously. Until now, I have always been a huge proponent of FIOS, encouraging my friends and their families to make the switch from Time Warner, Comcast, or Cablevision to Verizon. After this experience, however, I feel really let down by what was previously a great service. So I plead with you, please help! I need my service restored! Any assistance that any of you are able to provide will make a huge difference, if only in encouraging me to stick with Verizon. Please call (XXX-XXX-XXXXX) or email me at any time, day or night, if you are able to provide assistance.

A few days later, Verizon fixed everything by rebooting his router from afar, gave him the free premium channels, upgraded the internet service and told him they'd get send him a netbook they're offering to new customers. We bet Matthew will be hoping for another service problem in exactly three months.

(Photo: 20 buckz)

I am one of those few mothers who decided she really wanted to do cloth diapers on her baby. Trouble is, cloth diapering has been out of style for decades, and it's hard to find a local place to buy cloth diapers let alone find someone who actually supports doing cloth rather than disposable. Thankfully, the Internet gives you great access to lots of cloth diapering information from how to do it, what to buy, and where to buy it. I chose to buy from cottonbabies.com because of all the articles and support they have to help their customers be successful with cloth diapering. I just didn't realize how committed they were to helping their customers use cloth until last week.

Last August, two months before my child was born, I bought $600 of a particular brand of cloth diapers from them. (I know, $600 sounds like a lot, but I was planning to use them with a 2nd and possibly a 3rd child, so I bought more than recommended to rotate through them more and have them last longer.) I diligently followed the directions in the care of these diapers from day one. However, they started leaking on me. I read through the FAQs on cottonbabies.com to try and solve the leaking problem. It would work for a few days, maybe even a week, but then they would start leaking again. I did everything they recommended to get the leaking to stop and nothing worked. Finally, I gave up and packed them up. I then wrote them an email in the afternoon of Tuesday, June 30 describing the problems I have had, trying to fix it, and finally just giving up. I honestly didn't expect anything for the diapers because they had been used for 9 months and definitely looked like it. I just wanted to let them know that the diapers I had purchased didn't work.

I received an auto-reply email from them about an hour later stating that they had received my email and they would respond soon. I really didn't think anything about that. I was amazed, however, that a CSR replied with a personal email to me that same evening and asked me to call them the next morning. I'll admit I was hesitant to do so because I figured I would just get the run-of-the-mill try to convince to try everything I have already tried to fix the diapers phone conversation. I was pleasantly surprised. I talked to Angie who just talked briefly to me about the fit (I assured her I had already tried that), and then she promptly asked me if I wanted replacement diapers or a full store credit for them. (She also asked me if I had found any other cloth diapering options that were working for me. I told her I had, but I really didn't want to spend much more on diapers. I appreciate the fact that she was that concerned with my current cloth diapering situation.) Since I was disenchanted with the brand I had originally chose, I opted for the store credit. She had me return my current diapers which I did that morning. One week later (July 8), I received an email stating that they had received my diapers and that I had a full store credit waiting for me. Because of this, I can now try different brands of cloth diapers without feeling I'm just going more in the hole. This company really made me feel like I have a supportive and trustworthy place to go in my often lonely efforts to cloth diaper. Thanks for your help.

Now, that's a company that really believes in the product they sell—even when they aren't the manufacturer. It's the company's dedication to cloth diapering in general that made Rachel's experience so special and earned her trust.
(Photo: terren in Virginia)

Lisa writes:

Recently, my ancient iBook died (again, but that's another story). I'm not in a position to replace it right now, so I installed my equally ancient, but legally purchased and owned Macromedia StudioMX 2004 on my PC. Installation was fine, serial number checked out fine and then I tried online activation: fail. Since I wasn't prescient enough to deactivate the software before my hard drive failed, my iBook was still the active computer. I called the activation hotline, figuring I wasn't the first person who had a hard drive fail. Ann was pleasant but defaulted to "Too old. Can't activate." I cruised around a bit on the Adobe forums where a helpful Adobe employee named Dov told other old software owners that Adobe promised to honor all legacy software with activation, age notwithstanding. His advice was to call back and escalate. I got Ann again who escalated me to Daphne, who said "Company policy. Too old. Can't activate."

I'd love to be able to get a shiny new MacBook Pro and CS4, but that's not going to happen anytime soon. MX2004 worked just fine before my hard drive crashed and I wasn't looking for product support, just activation. On an off chance, I emailed Dov who responded in less than an hour and said that while he couldn't help me directly, he'd pass along my issue to customer care.

Another few hours later, I got a call on my cell phone from Bing who wanted to help. She tried to contact the old Macromedia activation server with no luck; she reserialized my software and we tried again. No dice. She had been so nice and had really tried to fix everything, so I was sad, but content. Then she knocked my socks off: she asked me to confirm the mailing address in my customer record and then told me she was shipping me a brand new copy of Dreamweaver CS4. Full retail, at no charge. We spoke at 7 pm Thursday night; I got the software in the mail today.

As soon as I can get my shiny new MacBook Pro, I'll spring for the whole web design suite.

Great work, Adobe!

Jim,

Thank you for sending the allergy translation cards I ordered, both the "Strongly Worded Peanuts" cards for China and Hong Kong, as well as the "List of Nuts" cards for China and Hong Kong. However, including cards that I did not order, but that would be extremely helpful for someone who is severely allergic to nuts, is a great example of a company going above and beyond what they normally do in business. With my allergy, which could easily lead to death in an instant, those emergency cards work out to be extremely helpful in the unfortunate event I need to use them.

I will let you know how these cards worked out upon returning from my trip.

Since Michael had ordered his cards as PDFs, it didn't require a lot of resources to enclose extra cards with his order, but it was still a thoughtful gesture and very useful to him!

Brooke was disappointed in the Club, and wrote this amusing letter explaining her disappointment:

Hi,

I hate to have to write a note like this, because I think that you have a terrific concept, but my experience with the Bacon of the Month Club was, well, far less than stellar. I bought a 6-month membership (in December 2008) for my husband, who is a total foodie and was delighted. The "welcome package" is adorable and awesome. The membership itself…not so awesome. For the price, I was expecting/looking forward to a bit of variety (instead, we received applewood-smoked bacon three months in a row – tasty, to be sure, but also repetitive and easily found at our own grocery stores and farmers' markets here in Missouri). We also received a strange, super-preserved Hungarian bacon, which no amount of Googling could explain, and which we alternately described as "orangeish" and "creepy." On your Web site, Bobby Flay expresses his glee over receiving bacon from "very small mom-and-pop suppliers in places like Kentucky, Alabama, and Missouri." If I were to describe this particular bacon in a Flay-esque way, I would say it came from "very large, nondescript bacon factories in places like Kaposvar, Szeged, and Zalaegerszeg."

Needless to say: I don't plan to renew the membership or to give BOTM as a gift to anyone else. But I also wasn't going to write a note.

I changed my mind when yesterday's bacon (the final shipment in the membership) arrived… warm. And bobbing beneath a melted cold-pack. This is probably more a shipping issue, but I wanted to let you know. We threw the bacon out, of course, but it was kind of a bummer to see that the last shipment was completely ruined. At the beginning of our membership, I recommended the club to several friends, and now I feel sort of bad about that, because I have visions of people paying good money to receive sad, half-thawed bacon. And while Half-Thawed Bacon would be an excellent name for a jam band, it is not an excellent business practice.

Thanks in advance for your attention to this matter.

Regards,

Brooke Foster

Dan Philips, "Captain Bacon" of the Bacon of the Month Club, sent this delightfully whimsical reply to Brooke. It was almost enough to make her want to re-subscribe to BOTM if her wallet had been able to support it. Instead, she shared the message with Consumerist, and thus with the world:

Brooke,
I am the owner and founder of the Bacon of the Month Club and your note made me very sad. My life mission is to share my love of bacon and that is the point of the club: To give bacon love. That we failed with you and your gift to your husband is terrible and I apologize. We would be happy to refund the balance of your membership or replace bacons you did not like. Our records show that you've received the following bacons:

January: Vande Rose Farms Applewood Smoked bacon
February: Gatton Farms "Dan's Special Cure"
March: Bende & Son Hungarian Kolozsveri Bacon
April: Johnston County Ham Dry Sugar Cured Bacon
May: North Country Applewood Smoked Bacon
June: Newsom's Old Mill Store Hickory Smoked Country Bacon

Only two are applewood and the North Country is one of my most favorite bacon and I don't think it is widely available and if it is, I'd happily eat it any time.

My Mother grew up in Tennessee on a farm. Her family had pigs and made bacon and ham and sausage and everything else you make from a pig. They were not wealthy but they lived within their means and the farm supported the family. Cured pig was an important staple. She told me that they had a cured ham on their counter of their kitchen every day of the year. They sliced it for sandwiches, used it as seasoning for veggies, cooked with it, made red eye gravy with it, canned it for winter. In order for cured meats to last a long time, as the family needed, as poor southern families need, they developed a tradition of a very salty cure. She told me that they never had refrigeration and kept the hams and bacons out in the kitchen. Most bacon is shelf stable so even if it gets warm, you can simply put it in the fridge and it will return to the way you like it to look. It is not necessarily spoiled, just looks greasy.

My Mother married an orthodox Jewish doctor (another story), left the "holler" in Appalachia where she lived, and they moved to San Francisco where he became a resident. My Mother cooked bacon for us every morning and it was years before he started eating bacon, but he did. In one of the great coincidences of my life, when I was traveling in Illinois, a friend gave me a package of bacon made in the style of that made in Kolozsvár, Hungary. Well not only was my Dad from Hungary, but he was from Kolozsvár. It turns out that Kolozsvár is as famous for making cured pork as is Italy with prosciutto. I never knew about this. As it turns out, it was Katie Couric's favorite bacon when her reporter came to visit us. I fully accept that you did not like it, but in my humble view, it is a superb bacon and we received more fan letters than most bacons. But, you were not alone. There were those who found it too spicy. Also, many of our customers do not like slab bacon so we almost always try to send sliced. But, I don't think our bacons are corporate or soulless. They are the opposite. Again, I fully accept your taste and judgment.

If you have decided to leave, while it makes me sad, I can only accept it. If there is anything I can do to make it worth your while to stay, I would and if I can make your departure more fun and leave you with a better taste in your mouth, I would. May I replace the bacons you did not like?

We do have thousands of happy customers so I like to think that your experience may have been just bad luck and anomalous.

Thanks for taking the time to write and please let us know what you'd like to do.

All the best,

Dan Philips
aka Captain Bacon

Do you hear that? Their bacons have soul. It's a heartwarming, crispy-fried tale of a company wanting to make things up to an unhappy customer. Even if the bacon love story is a canned response, it still makes customers smile and makes the company seem a bit more human.

Bacon of the Month Club [The Grateful Palate]
(Photo: sappymoosetree)

He writes:

A few years ago I'd purchased stainless steel flatware at a wholesale club, and was impressed by how stylish it was. Since that purchase, I'd lost a few spoons, and after a dinner party, realized I needed to try and buy some of the lost pieces. I found the company's website, Gourmet Settings, and found my pattern, but they didn't seem to have any sections about buying things piecemeal, so I thought I was out of luck. I searched ebay and some specialty services to complete flatware sets, but they all seemed really expensive.

I finally emailed Gourmet Settings through their website to find out if I could buy certain pieces of my pattern, and their CS rep, Jane, was quick to write back that they didn't have my pattern as an open stock item. I expected this. What I didn't expect was that Jane then asked which pieces I needed, and offered to send them to me free of charge. I've attached the emails below.

Today my shipment from Canada came in, free of charge, with all of the pieces I asked for in perfect condition. I now have a complete set of flatware, and am blown away. I know the next time I buy flatware I will definitely be getting it from Gourmet Settings.

Jeanpaul initially wrote:

I have two 45 pc settings of the Frame design, and over time Ive discovered that Ive lost a few pieces, specifically the small spoons and one of the serving spoons. Is it possible to buy individual pieces of the Frame design to complete my set? I dont see a place on the website for that, but Im hoping that your company has something in place for piece meal orders.

The company replied the same day:

Thank you for your inquiry.

We don't stock the Frame pattern as an open stocked item – only as packaged sets.

However – I'm sure I can find some teaspoons / and a serving spoon in our ‘odds & ends' bin.

Please send me your full mailing address – and I'll send you what I can spare – with our compliments.

Best Regards,

Jane - GS -Customer Service

Jeanpaul responded:

Wow, that's amazing. I didn't expect to get a response back today, since it's a holiday. Thank you for your quick response.

Here's my mailing address...

To which the company once again replied:

Good morning – I'll see what I can find and get them in the mail to you this week.
We are actually in Canada – no holiday for us…….. so sad!!!
If you need anything else – just let us know.

Thanks.
Best Regards,

Jane - GS -Customer Service

Great work, Gourmet Settings!