A few months ago, SIGG USA announced that the plastic liners of their metal water bottles actually contain the dread plastic additive bisphenol-A (BPA.) Since avoiding BPA is the reason for the popularity of metal water bottles in the first place, SIGG offered to exchange the thousands of the offending bottles for shiny new ones. Many Consumerist readers have written in to share their tales of mixups, confusion, and mysterious $50,000 gift certificates in dealing with the replacement program, but Matt actually had a pleasant experience, and he shared it with Consumerist.

I wanted to drop a short note about the SIGG replacement situation. Late last summer I, like many, sent two bottles in to be replaced, and heard absolutely nothing back from the company about whether or not they had received them, how I might go about getting them replaced, when I might get them replaced, etc. I saw that you had a contact e-mail for the CEO, so I e-mailed him, having nothing to lose at this point.

I was pleasantly shocked to receive an e-mail from Steve Wasik, the SIGG CEO, apologizing for the problem and promising to make it right. He let me know that due to the fact that SIGG asked people to hand-write their info on the form that accompanied the bottles to be replaced, they had a problem with fulfillment due to the fact they had incorrect data for me. Maybe they couldn’t read my handwriting, maybe their data entry people messed up, what have you. He asked me to pick replacement bottles from the SIGG Web store and just e-mailed me to tell me that replacements were shipping tomorrow. On Christmas Eve no less.

Obviously the proof is in the pudding here, whether or not I get the bottles remains to be seen, but SIGG has turned one of the worst consumer experiences I’ve had into one of the best. Companies make mistakes, but the good ones make it right as best they can.

If you’re having problems with your own bottle exchange, you can reach Mr. Wasik at Steve.Wasik.CEO@sigg.com, or steve.wasik@sigg.com.

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