Liz writes that she tried a different type of cat litter from UltraPet, the manufacturer of her regular brand. The new litter didn’t work as well as advertised, and she contacted the company about the issue. They offered her a refund or a free bag of her regular litter, but she couldn’t produce the original receipt. Liz didn’t expect that the company would send along something better instead.

I wanted to share a story of great customer service with you. About a month ago, I purchased a 4 pound bag of UltraPet Trackless Litter Pearls. Normally I use UltraPet Litter Pearls Micro Crystals, but wanted to give the trackless version a shot in hopes that they would actually work to stop my cat tracking them around the apartment. Aside from the tracking issue, I had absolutely no problems with the Micro Crystals in the past. Unfortunately, the Trackless Litter Pearls didn’t work nearly as well as the Micro Crystals had and because of odor issues, I was forced to throw them away after about 8 days (they are advertised as lasting for a month as long as you scoop and turn the litter daily).

I contacted UltraPet via e-mail to let them know that I had a problem with their product and got a response within 24 hours from [A.] She explained why the Trackless Litter Pearls aren’t ideal for some cats and then gave me two options: either she would send me a new 7 lb bag of UltraPet litter to give it another shot, or she’d send me a check refunding my money. Both of these options required me to send her a copy of my receipt.

I hadn’t kept a copy of my receipt but had kept the bag which had a price sticker on it from the store where I purchased it. I replied to her e-mail saying that I’d be happy with a replacement bag as long as was the Micro Crystals and not the Trackless version and attached pictures of the bag in hopes that it might substitute for the receipt. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting much.

She replied to my e-mail and told me that the bookkeepers wouldn’t allow her to send a new bag or a refund without the actual receipt, but that she’d send some coupons my way and hoped that I would remain a customer. Imagine my surprise today when I opened the mail and found a letter containing three coupons for free 7 lb bags of UltraPet litter. That’s 3 times more than what she had originally offered AND is compensation for a bad experience with a 4 lb bag. I was floored, especially since UltraPearls aren’t cheap – a 7 lb bag goes for around $30 at my local pet store.

A. definitely went above and beyond and I am incredibly grateful. She’s got herself a loyal UltraPet customer from now on.

That, companies, is how you keep a customer.

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