Cody says:

I just wanted to let you know that Logitech's service department gets an A+ in my book. Nearly a year ago, I purchased a Logitech Harmony 880 universal remote from an Amazon reseller. I purchased a refurbished model, which offers no warranty of any kind. Well a few months ago, the remote would not take a charge any longer.

I called Logitech support, and they quickly determined that either my battery or charger were no longer functioning properly. Long story short, I received an e-mail the following day from a rep named Allan stating that while my remote offered no warranty, he was going to send me a brand new remote the next day, free of charge. Even better, he didn't require me to return the defective unit. As it turns out, it was the charger that was bad. I've now got two remotes, one for each of my entertainment setups.

Only one charger, but that's no big deal since a charge lasts a couple of weeks. I couldn't be happier with Logitech. I will continue to be a loyal Logitech user for all of hardware needs, thanks to Allan's fantastic service. I just wanted your readers to know that they can have 100% faith in purchasing Logitech products!

Kind of gives you a warm fuzzy feeling, doesn't it?

About two months ago, I went on a business trip with two colleagues that featured a layover in Memphis. We stopped and had breakfast at a restaurant at the airport. We made the error of not informing the waitress at the start of the meal it would be separate checks. She separated them after the fact, I charged mine to my American Express card. When I got back, I submitted my receipt for reimbursement, and kept a copy for myself.

Fast forward about two weeks. When my electronic statement was ready, I noticed that the charge from the restaurant was three times larger than it should've been. I guessed that someone fouled up and submitted the entire tab on my card. I filled out an online dispute, grabbed my copy of the receipt (from my expense report), and set it aside.

A week later, I received a letter from AmEx, informing me that a temporary credit had been placed on my account and asking for additional information. Unfortunately, life got the best of me, and I missed the deadline to submit my copy. I thought for sure I'd be on the hook for it (based on the way that most credit card companies approach customers).

Saturday, I received another letter from AmEx, which I assumed could easily be summed up as "No paperwork, no credit; too bad, so sad."

Instead: "We have determined that the inquiry was correct, and the credit has become permanent." They had reached out to the restaurant, confirmed the error, and I "won"!

While I don't recommend doing what I did (in terms of forgetting the paperwork), I want to give AmEx a public round of applause. When I was growing up, my dad always told me that AmEx was infinitely better than the other credit card companies. This validates it.

Hooray! It's nice to hear a happy story.

(Photo: kajatl )

Reader Eric says:

Consumerist,

This is why I love netflix. They had a shipping problem on monday. They didn't make excuses or just try to slide by. They fessed up, and without my even saying a word to anyone at netflix, I receive this prompt email telling me that they are sorry and are trying to make amends. This is an example of good customer service.

Eric

We're Sorry Your DVD Was Delayed

Dear Eric,

As you may have heard, our shipping system was unexpectedly down for most of Monday. We should have shipped your DVDs but were unable to. Your DVDs were shipped today, Tuesday, March 25th, instead.

We are sorry for any inconvenience this has caused. We will issue a 5% credit to your account in the next few days. You don't need to do anything. The credit will be automatically applied to your next billing statement.

Again, we apologize for the delay and thank you for your understanding. If you need further assistance, please call us at 1 (888) 638-3549.

-The Netflix Team

The funny thing is, if they hadn't sent this, I would have never noticed a delay.

But I think it's important to recognize companies that are getting it right.

Thank you,

Brad

Got this message in my inbox today....apparently Netflix had some shipping problems and they delayed the shipment of my movie by one day. Big deal, right? I probably wouldn't even have noticed it, since I barely have time to watch my Netflix movies anyway. Well, Netflix still found it appropriate to give me a credit on my account because of the problem. Apparently they think that *they* should be the ones to be charged late fees, not their customers! Just another reason that I give them my business instead of Blockbuster.

Reader Ryan says:

This is great service. I wasn't even aware there was a problem, and yet they fessed up to it and gave me a discount that I didn't even ask for (or frankly, think was warranted). Good work Netflix.

Reader Elana says:

Sometimes it's nice to see a company do something unexpected. To be honest, I didn't even notice the shipping delay from Monday and wouldn't have. The movie was my husband's. He works odd hours and often doesn't
get to his movies for a week or more, so a delay is no big deal. We didn't complain or contact Netflix. Instead, I was totally unaware of the problem.

This morning, I received this message, the only notification I had of the issue. The approximately $.50 refund wasn't necessary, but it's appreciated!

Good job, Netflix.

(Photo:Marike79)

Mr. Pants writes:

Comcast really went after me to try and keep me as a customer, and I have to admit, they're probably going to do just that. For 1 year.

How is this even possible you ask? How is it, after everything they put you through, that you will even think of giving them another chance?

I'll tell you.

Monday, after I sent my original rant to Comcast, basically saying, "Look if this story helps other customers, great. If not, I won't be surprised considering our experience." I received no less than 4 phone calls from 4 different support managers, directors and even a corporate executive.

An hour and a half after I sent my email I got a call from an executive who assured me they were extremely sorry, and he would make sure my wife and I were well cared for.

Over the course of the day Monday, I talked to all 4 of these Comcast representatives, and had a technician at my house at around 6pm working on my issue. He happened to have a signal checker that NONE of the other Comcast techs have had. He also informed me that there was indeed a signal issue that went from my house back to the pole across the street.

From that point, up until around 10pm that evening I had 2 techs in my house, who proceeded to rewire the basement coax, re-ran the line to the pole across the street, and triple checked the signal from the pole to my TV.

Then FOUR Comcast trucks showed up and started running cable from the pole to the node, over a block away.

At around 10:30, the original support tech called me to say that they had figured out that there was some "equipment running hot" at the node, and they had to replace and retune it.

Whatever that means.

This morning, the regional CS director called me again and asked if everything was fixed. I told her that to my knowledge it was, and she asked what they could do to keep me as a customer. I told her something very nice, and very substantial.

They reapplied all of the payments I had made to my original account, over to my new account again, which totaled around $300. They upgraded my TV package to include twice as many channels and dropped the price to $39/mo. and then dropped my internet service from $45/mo. to $35/mo. for 12 months.

Also, on top of all of this, a free month of everything.

So. I guess I'm going to take it, since it'll be cheaper than everything else out there.

At least for 12 months.

Twelve months from now, we'll see what happens. Provided the current service works for the next 12 months anyway.

I send this on to you, since you posted my first story, I figured it was only fair that I tell you of Comcasts rectal rectify.

Thanks for reading.

Mr. "Fancy" Pants

(Photo:cmorran123)

Dear Consumerist:

Kudos to Lego for prompt, satisfactory customer service!

I was a Lego kid — and now buy bricks for my son. Recently, I bought a set on clearance (50 percent off) from a major toy store; an attached note said that there were parts missing.

In fact, no parts were missing. One piece, out of hundreds, had been made incorrectly. I emailed Lego to explain the problem and received an auto-reply saying "Sorry about that! We'll replace that piece in three weeks."

Sure enough, the right part showed up three weeks later. Happy parent, happy child and complete set.

This is the kind of experience that encourages me to buy Lego products, even though their prices tend to be a bit salty. Bonus? Not made in China — produced in Denmark, Hungary and the Czech Republic, says the box — and no lead paint worries.

Go, Lego!

Best,

Reader M.

P.S. In many years of playing with Lego, this is the first time I've ever come across a faulty part. My childhood collection is still holding its own against the new stuff I've bought for my son. How many other toys can compete with that?

We took a look at the CPSC's recall page to see if Lego had ever had a problem with lead paint and indeed they didn't. They did have one recall last year for a toy truck that had wheels that could detach and puncture people. The recalled truck was made in the United States.

Also, back in 1986, Lego recalled a McDonald's Happy Meal toy because it was inappropriate for children under 3. All in all, not a bad safety record. Your parents' feet, however, might disagree.

(Photo:Gaetan Lee)

After a candle she ordered arrived smashed, Marcy called Illuminations and was pleased by their friendly and generous customer service:

I am writing to share with you the outstanding experience I had with Illuminations.com in the hopes that my story will encourage others to confidently purchase their products.

First, I feel it's necessary to point out that Illuminations used to have retail stores in my area, but they have recently scaled back and aside from Arizona, California, and Washington, they're a web-only entity, which is tricky because they sell candles. A large part of what makes Illumination candles superior is the quality of the scents, and to date, we don't have scratch-n-sniff technology on our computers.

I purchased several of their large jar candles as a result of a tip from Bargainist about a sale. These were some deeply-discounted candles; I paid $4.50 for the large jar candle which usually sells for $22.50 - for an 80% savings. In all, I purchased 11 candles.

Alas, one of the candles arrived shattered, despite the frankly outstanding job they did packing the box. I carefully scooped up the larger chunks of glass, and slid it into a ziploc bag with the candle for safekeeping until I could call their Customer Service department the next Monday.

I finally got around to calling today, and spoke with an outstandingly pleasant representative who apologized profusely for the problem. She checked my order and found that the products I had ordered have all sold out since my order was placed, so she immediately offered to refund the price of the broken candle. Additionally, I should just throw the broken candle away, as it's dangerous.

I was completely blown away at how smoothly this was all going, yet I was a bit saddened because I really was looking forward to having the candle. I asked if there was anything I could exchange it for or apply it toward, and she paused very briefly before telling me she would exchange the broken clearance candle for one of the brand-spanking-new fall scents. It's an even exchange with no shipping fees assessed.

I'm thoroughly pleased with this resolution and shortly after our conversation, I received an email confirmation containing tracking info. My new Oatmeal-Raisin scented candle is on its way.

Please let your readers know that amid the myriad sordid tales of woefully inadequate and disappointing customer service policies that proliferate the web, there are some gems and Illuminations shines as a wonderful example of quality products and quality customer care.

- Marcy

American Airlines writes:

Does anyone want to make one of these for us? Follow the Consumerist way! —MEGHANN MARCO

AXA? [Google Finance]

"As of 12 noon today, 12/28/06, I talked to the dealer, Greg James. He promised to make us whole, and provide a comparable car with the same color scheme and option group...He gave me a heartfelt apology. He seemed sincere and genuine. If he comes through as promised, he should get a pat on the back, as legally, he does not have to do this thing."

From Mr. Williams forum post, it seems that the internet backlash prompted the dealer to do the right thing. We suggested he get a lawyer, but we guess public humiliation is cheaper.

"I believe this was a misunderstanding on his part. An occupational hazard. When you have thousands of cars coming through your lot, I think you tend to forget what this car means to the common man. It's the poor man's ferrari; and I don't believe that rich people own these cars. Poor people buy them, after scraping and suffering and working hard for every dollar for years and years."

Awwwww. He loves his car, and his car dealer. Happy ending!—MEGHANN MARCO

More smashed car porn inside...

Vette Update [Corvette Forum] (Thanks, Matt!)

Vicki Sano stands in line at Target, a receipt in one hand and a bag with an outfit that didn't fit her daughter in the other. With a quick scan of her receipt, and the tags on the clothing, the customer service "team member" hands her a refund and she's on her way quicker than you can say "Happy Holidays."

Happy returns keep shoppers coming back [Chicago Tribune]

From the Pittsburgh P-G:

"Alleda Glanton, 54, of Beltzhoover, shook her head about Wal-Mart's decision as her daughter-in-law, Arlene Scoggins, 30, of Beltzhoover, put some baby things on layaway at Kmart.

"They try to push that on you," she said of the credit option. "But if you don't want credit, why should you have to get credit? That's just like everywhere you go, they want you to have another credit card. Working people don't always have that money to just buy it right out."

So, while credit cards are "modern", at Kmart—layaway is here to stay. —MEGHANN MARCO

The layaway will fade away at Wal-Mart as of Friday [Pittsburgh P-G]