Two different organizations both faced a customer service issue as they each had a customer who was sent a defective product. Each business handled the phone call/email exchange with the customer well, offering to send a new product.

One company sent a new, replacement product right away with the customer receiving it within days. The other took a bit more time, but used that time to double check the replacement product to verify that the customer would not end up with the same problem twice. They took additional steps to ensure that the customer would not call back a second time with the same complaint about the product.

The first organization did not do this. In its effort to send a replacement as soon as possible, they did not confirm that the replacement product wouldn’t have the same issue as the first. So, inevitably, the replacement product did have the same issue as the first. The customer then had to return the item a second time. Now the customer has lost all trust in, not only this product, but also the business as a whole. If the quality control is so poor that the organization sends out defective product after defective product, why would a customer waste their time in ordering? Knowing that they may have to return broken item after broken item, most customers will take their business elsewhere.

If a customer has an issue that requires a return and an exchange, take the time to verify that the new item you are sending them doesn’t have the same issue or what could be a simple annoyance will turn into a customer avoiding your business from now on.