On 12/17/2010 7:17 PM, David Nebenzahl wrote:
Another in the Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due series:

Just got a package today. No, not an Xmas present, but it might as well
be. It was from Gardner Bender, the electrical tool company.

Called them last week to tell them about my GB automatic wire stripper
that didn't work correctly. It's a very nice tool, and it does strip
wire nicely, but mine doesn't snap back the way it's supposed to, and
even after taking it apart and reassembling, no joy. So I called their
toll-free #, explained that I bought the tool a couple of years ago
(after getting one that I had to return to the store right away because
it didn't work properly), and asked if they had any repair sheets on it
on-line or some such.

Anyhow, long story short, the guy took my name and address and said
"We'll send you a replacement". That was it. No more questions, no
grilling. Just "expect it in about a week".

Sure enough, here it is. But get this: they didn't just send me a
replacement. They sent *two*. Brand-new. Both working perfectly.

So I gotta say something good about them here. Even though GB is now,
like most American companies, just a shell that ships product made in
China, still, they've got the customer service part *down*. Which is
quite refreshing to see, and deserves bringing to people's attention.



I've been finding that customer service is really the focus of most
businesses for....the past two or three years? I can't complain about
many, although cheap products remain a problem. Just purchased a junk
Oster "rice cooker"...more like a burnt mush maker...at Target. I was
on my way to daughter's home for t-giving, and the store is midway, so
not easy to return it. Purchased a different model locally, which works
as it should. I emailed Target because I consider the first one
dangerous - no time or temp control, just "automatic", and it boiled
over. It is a puny little thing, and whatever number of "cups" of
capacity marked on the box is misleading, as the "cup" measure provided
is not a standard 8 oz. cup. Target tried hard, and will pass my
complaint along to their folks who buy appliances.

When people aren't spending lavishly, being more careful, then customer
service becomes more important.