One of the best feelings as a consumer is the, “Wow, you didn’t have to do that but I’m so glad you did” feeling. Like when a customer service rep rewards you with a coupon just for calling in with a question, or when the cashier slyly gives you a discount you didn’t earn. Or when a garbage crew worker sifts through the trash to rescue an unopened birthday card and return it to its rightful owner. [More]
above and beyond
Sanitation Worker Rescues Discarded Birthday Card From The Trash, Returns It To Recipient
By 2.24.14
UPS Has A “Circle Of Honor” For Drivers Who Go 25 Years Without An Accident
By 2.19.14
Considering your average driver — the person who doesn’t spend her entire workday behind the wheel — can barely go a decade without getting into some sort of fender-bender, it’s an accomplishment when people who drive all day, every day in a large brown truck can go decades without a ding on their driving records. [More]
Clothier Sends Daughter From Minnesota To Costa Rica To Deliver Pants In Time For Wedding
By 2.18.14
There’s customer service, and then there’s sparing no expense to make sure your customer’s wedding isn’t ruined by flying your own daughter to a tropical destination so she can hand deliver the groom’s pants. That’s called dedication. [More]
Jansport Still Wowing Customers, Fixing Broken Backpacks
By 2.5.14
Over a year ago, we shared with you a tale of consumer joy from a Jansport backpack owner who sent his bag to the company in a pizza box and got his worn-out backpack replaced with an even nicer one. They’re not all about swapping old backpacks for new ones over in Jansportland, though. Sometimes, all you need is a replacement zipper. [More]
Nalgene Assumes I Made Mistake, Warms My Heart
By 1.17.14
The people who make Nalgene water bottles assumed that J. made a mistake, and J. doesn’t mind at all. “Empower every employee to make timely decisions and do what is right for our customers,” reads the note that the company sent along with his order. What wonderfully empowered thing did they do for him? [More]
Home Depot Worker Swoops In To Save Falling Baby
By 1.16.14
So imagine you’re working at the store one day when out of the corner of your eye you see a baby about to fall to the floor from atop a shopping cart. Would you be fast enough to save the day? [More]
Comcast Tech Saves Two Lives In Same Week
By 10.22.13
It’s no secret that most Consumerist stories about Comcast service techs are not positive, but there are still plenty of good, hardworking folks toiling away for Kabletown and its affiliated contractors (kontractors?). Take, for example, the California tech who recently stepped up to save the lives of two separate individuals in the span of a single week. [More]
Here’s How A Craft Store Should Handle Customers Who Seek Hanukkah Merchandise
By 10.8.13
Julie has followed the recent tsuris over Hobby Lobby’s new store in New Jersey and its lack of merchandise related to Hanukkah or other Jewish holidays. She had a similar dispute with competing big-box craft store Michaels, but resolved it in a different way. Instead of taking to the Internet, she wrote to the company president. The response was not what she had expected. [More]
When Verizon Unlimited Data Glitch Didn’t Glitch, They Help Me Out Anyway
By 10.4.13
We were happy to hear that Verizon Wireless decided to let customers who were able to upgrade their phones at a subsidized price while keeping their unlimited data plans keep those data plans. What happened, though, if someone thought that they were able to exploit that glitch and Verizon downgraded their data plan anyway? [More]
McDonald’s Gives Me Free Post-Workout Smoothie When Card Machines Are Down
By 9.20.13
Here’s a heartwarming consumer experience to close out the week. It happened at… McDonald’s? Really? In need of post-workout refreshment, Matthew stopped in a nearby McDonald’s for a smoothie. He doesn’t carry cash, but McDonald’s accepts debit cards for small transactions, so no big deal. Right? Not when the card machine is down. [More]
Disney Cruise Line Went Above & Beyond To Help Save Our Child’s Life
By 8.27.13
There’s nothing like the fear of having a sick child and not knowing what’s wrong — except maybe if your child is ailing on a ship off the coast of Alaska, hundreds of miles from the nearest onshore medical help. Consumerist reader Dan wrote in to share a very scary experience that could’ve turned out a lot worse, if not for the kind crew of the Disney Wonder. [More]
Garmin Replaces Heart Rate Monitor Out Of Warranty, Delights Aspiring Marathoner
By 8.22.13
Runners really, really like their GPS wristwatches, devices that calculate distance traveled as well as what time it is. It’s safe to assume that they might still like them in the year 3013, too, if anyone happens to be gift shopping. Allison has one, and explained to us how wonderful Garmin was recently when something went wrong with a mere accessory to her GPS. [More]
How Harris Teeter Paid Me To Eat Ribeye Steaks
By 8.13.13
“The adage you get what you pay for holds true with Harris Teeter,” notes reader Gunnar. Yes, he says, they charge more than their grocery competition, but their stores are pleasant, their employees competent, and their selection of merchandise is good. What he didn’t know is that they also have a generous return policy when the butcher cuts your steaks up badly. [More]
Simple Human Replaces Self-Destructing Trash Can In Simple, Easy Transaction
By 7.26.13
Sure, a foot pedal lid trash can is a pretty mundane household item, but try going without it after you get used to having one. Annemarie’s Simple Human trash can jettisoned a part when she stepped on its pedal one day. It had a year left on the five-year warranty, so she called up the company. Maybe they could replace the lid? [More]
With Bacon And M&Ms, Resort Makes Couple Feel At Home
By 7.17.13
When making a hotel reservation online, there’s a box where you can type in any special requests you have for your stay. Do you need down-free pillows? A cot, if the hotel doesn’t charge extra for them? You could ask there. One vacationing Redditor, though, took the opportunity to see whether anyone reads that box at all. [More]
Sam’s Club Takes Back Ancient Desk Chair, Delights Customer
By 6.27.13
People come in different shapes and sizes, and companies make products to fit us. Well, the products are supposed to. Reader Chris got a wonderful desk chair designed for people who are, as he puts it, “big and tall” for Christmas. Christmas 2011. When it broke, he was stuck: surely the warranty was up and the retailer wouldn’t take it back. Right? [More]
Alamo Drafthouse Gives Out Free Movie Passes Over Alarm That No One Complained About
By 6.19.13
To some people, the Alamo Drafthouse chain of movie theaters may be best known as the place that created the greatest anti-texting PSA ever, but for one Consumerist reader, it’s also the company that won him over by proactively responding to a minor annoyance without anyone having to file a complaint. [More]
Calphalon Matches Old Pan To New Lid, Sends It Along For Free
By 6.14.13
The warranty on Calpahlon cookware is pretty good, but doesn’t cover accidental damage or breakage. So Kenneth wasn’t expecting much when he contacted them to find out where he could buy a replacement lid for a discontinued pan. They figured out which lid went with his pan for him…then sent it to him for free. [More]
