satisfaction guaranteed

Have you ever had a product fail you before? Have you just tossed it and moved on or do you try to work your way to a free replacement? I’m the latter person. If I have a product that is either of value, or hasn’t had much use and it fails on me I’m the first one to get on the phone requesting a replacement. I wanted to share a few different instances with you to encourage you to always call first if something isn’t working properly. You never know what the outcome could be!

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Last year my 4 year old crock pot started leaking. Massive puddles under it every time I used it. Turns out there was a huge crack throughout the entire ceramic bowl of it. I called the company and told them the situation. I explained that I felt a crock pot should last longer than 4 years and that it could have been a serious fire hazard because the liquid was being heated directly from the heating source causing it to burn and smoke.

I was asking for a replacement one, and if they couldn’t do that I would have settled for a high value coupon for a new one. Initially they said they could give me 10% off a new one of my choice and free shipping. I wasn’t satisfied with that so I kept pushing, stating that it’s only a few years old and should not have cracked from the heat. The representative spoke with a manager and came back stating that they would replace it in full and upgrade me to one of my choice. She gave me about 10 to choose from. I selected one that was larger and had more functionality. In the end I got a better crock pot, shipped directly to my house at, no charge to me.

Three days earlier I was about to toss it and go buy a new one, but then decided to call about it just to see what they said. I’m sure glad I did!

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In the past year I’ve purchased quite a few cans of Krylon brand spray paint. Many of the cans I purchased didn’t have nozzles on them which meant a return trip to the store (that was out of my way) to get new cans.

I decided to write them, letting them know I was a loyal customer and used their brand a lot, though lately was disappointed with the situations occuring. Within two days I had a response and an offer to have 4 cans sent to me in colors of my choice. I was thrilled by that and will continue using their brand because they recognized the problem and took action to keep a loyal customer on board.

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My other recent product replacement wasn’t actually mine, it was my Mom’s but I took the lead on contacting the company. She had purchased (at Home Goods) an OXO Brand dish brush, one of the ones that you fill with dish soap and push the button to release it. A few days after she purchased it the button that releases the soap got lodged into the handle part. I reached out to OXO, explained the situation and they kindly sent a new brush within a week. I offered to send the broken one back but they told me not to worry about it.

Three perfect instances of getting what you paid for. I hate to purchase something, have it go wrong and be out the money. Sometimes, it’s not even about the money, it’s just the principle. You bought it, you had expectations, it failed you. Not all companies are going to be great like these ones were but it never hurts to check first. Be honest though, don’t ever try to embelish a story of what happened or the type of product you started with. Honesty gets you a lot further. Good luck!