I am going to come right out there and say it… this is sort of a plug for Chewy.com. If you have a pet, I highly recommend this site for all your furry friend’s needs because of the amazing experience I had with them this week. Here’s what happened:

I ordered Dermot (our dog picture above) some food from Chewy.com a few months back and I had it set to auto-ship every 3 months. I meant to change it to every 6 months because Dermot is 6 pounds and it takes him FOREVER to get through a big bag of food. I forgot. I got an email notification that some food was shipped and a) I don’t need it right now, b) I didn’t feel like storing it and c) I just wasn’t budgeting for a $53 hit on my card (we live a totally debt-free lifestyle…)

I email customer service expecting to have to do a return for a refund which I was completely prepared to do. What I got back… the best customer experience I have ever had. The guy writes back and tells me to keep the food, they are refunding my card AND asks for my pup’s name while thanking me for using their site. The niceties in the email were UNREAL.

I immediately called Chad and was like whoa - how cool is this email? We have referenced it several times over the past week and wanted to share our collective take away. Chewy.com used this opportunity of what is an obvious loss to them as a chance to MARKET their services. They used this interaction not as a loss but as an investment.

I am now not only a loyal Chewy.com user but I will recommend their site to everyone because they take care of their people. That is INVALUABLE for them.

How many times do you get faced with a situation where you have to donate something or lose out because a client needs some more TLC. What is your perspective? Is it a loss and hit to your company? We recommend:

1. Looking for ways you can turn losses or donations into marketing opportunities. Word of mouth is sometimes the best review you can get (think of Yelp!).

2. Easing up on frustration when you have to go above and beyond. Think from a different perspective, how would you want to be treated in that situation?

3. Remember that every client and vendor are PEOPLE first. Stopping to smile more, listen harder, or converse meaningfully is not only good for business but also good for humanity.

Thanks for reading! Share your thoughts with us on out social media’s: @Pulsegroupb2b