Reader Marcy writes to tell us about Illuminations candles and their excellent customer service.

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

Kudos to Illuminations. Not only did Marcy have a pleasant experience, Illuminations swapped a full-price candle for Marcy’s clearance item. (Full Disclosure: We have to confess that we had almost the exact same experience with Illuminations, and happen to be sitting here right now with an Illuminations lilac jar candle by our side. These jar candles are like crack, that’s no lie.)

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