Connecting with customers is essential to customer loyalty and satisfaction. It takes a special company, and a special representative, to really make that connection one that makes the news and touches hearts.
Luka is a little boy at the age of 7, but is the customer in this case. He saved up all of his money and bought a special Lego set. After taking one of the Lego characters to the store, it unfortunately was lost. These things happen. But, Luke wasn’t about to give up. He wrote a letter to Lego to see if he could get a replacement.
Now, so far, this story isn’t too special. Yes, he’s a cute kid and many kids and customers write letters to companies when they need some help.
What is so special about this story is the response that he received from Lego. Here is a copy of that letter he received from Lego’s superstar representative Richard. Richard wrote that he had spoken to Sensei Wu, a master from the Ninjago line.
Luka,
I told Sensei Wu that losing your Jay minifigure was purely an accident and that you would never ever ever let it happen ever again.
He told me to tell you, “Luka, your father seems like a very wise man. You must always protect your Ninjago minifigures like the dragons protect the Weapons of Spinjitzu!”
Sensei Wu also told me it was okay if I sent you a new Jay and told me it would be okay if I included something extra for you because anyone that saves their Christmas money to buy the Ultrasonic Raider must be a really big Ninjago fan.
So, I hope you enjoy your Jay minifigure with all his weapons. You will actually have the only Jay minifigure that combines 3 different Jays into one! I am also going to send you a bad guy for him to fight!
Just remember, what Sensei Wu said: keep your minifigures protected like the Weapons of Spinjitzu! And of course, always listen to your dad.
Not many companies bother to respond to letters, much less respond on such a personal level. This is a stellar example of not only following up, but following up consistently with the branding of the company and making a true connection with the customer. You bet your last dollar that Luka and most folks that read this story won’t go out of their way to do business with Lego or buy their products at the next opportunity to do so.
Bottom line… When you get a letter from a customer, respond to it. And don’t bother to send a canned response. Folks just don’t like those. Go ahead and use a framework response if needed, but customize it as much as possible. Use the sender’s name and reference their specific issue in the way they described it, not just your internal “issue or reference number.”
How many of you can site an example as great as this one? Unfortunately, I bet it won’t be too many of you. If you have one, no matter what role you played in the situation as the customer or company, please share below… I love hearing stories and examples of companies that do things well.
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