A lot of companies talk about customer-centricity but very few take it as seriously as Morton Salt.
As a matter of course, food manufacturers offer 800 numbers, online forms and perhaps online chat services that give customers an opportunity to sound off. However, first, the customer must navigate through a tedious call center “tree”, fill out a long form, or wait far too long between chat sequences only to have the problem minimized by a customer service representative (CSR) or dismissed in a letter from a corporate executive.
Denial is a legal strategy that helps avoid and minimize lawsuits and quite frankly customer service representatives have heard it all before: There’s a bone fragment in the sliced turkey or the frozen pizza packaging is defective. As a matter of course, food companies will often send out a coupon for a replacement product but few will actually involve customers in resolving a product defect.
Morton Salt recently received a complaint and its response was considerably more than “Yeah, uh-huh. We’ll send you a coupon.”
The complaining customer claimed to have been a long-time user of its Nature’s Seasoning product and wanted to know whether the product formulation had changed or whether there had been some manufacturing mishap because the product had an unusual smell and taste. The CSR asked the customer to describe the product defect in detail and asked if the head of quality assurance could follow up. The customer agreed. The CSR then sent the customer a couple of replacement coupons along with a post-paid package so the product could be analyzed by the quality assurance department. When the customer received the envelope, the product was returned to the manufacturer. About 4 -6 weeks later, the customer received a letter from the head of quality assurance identifying the problem and stating that as a result of the findings the company was going to switch suppliers of the ingredient that had caused the problem. The customer also received a couple more coupons with the letter of thanks.
In doing all these things Morton Salt demonstrated three things customers generally seek: 1) They’re listening to customers; 2) they value and are not afraid to take action on customer feedback; 3) customer lifetime value is worth going the extra mile.
Would Morton Salt have retained this customer if it had merely said “Yeah, uh-huh” and sent a single coupon instead of several? Maybe. After all, that’s what food manufacturers typically do. Moreover, the customer claimed to be a long-time user of the product.
Instead, the company chose to be remarkable. There apparently was a real manufacturing issue that was not only acknowledged but addressed. It’s response is a stark contrast to the typical “Dear Sir or Madam” letters form that sweep real and received issues under the carpet. Likely, this particular customer’s complaint was neither the first nor the last if suppliers are being changed but at least by listening the company identified and resolved a problem and dealt with it responsibly.
