Day Nineteen: When free is worth more than you think

Allison and I finally made it to Long Island for the holidays tonight and as soon as we got settled my father-in-law started to tell me about a recent hinge fiasco. One of the hinges on a corner unit cabinet in the kitchen broke, and Mark has been on a hunt to find a replacement. He called around and it seemed like no one had the hinge in stock so the project was going to have to wait until after the holidays. He decided to swing by Lowes to see if he could figure out something that would work.

He went to the kitchen department where an employee offered to help him. After realizing that the hinge was just more complex than anything they had in stock the quick-on-her-feet employee pulled out a box of hinges from a recent department remodel. She told him to feel free to dig through and see if he could find something that would work. When he found a hinge that he thought he might be able to make work, she helped him dig through and find its mate. She told him not to worry about it, they were going to get thrown away anyways. While Lowes might be experiencing a social media disaster this week, the service they offered went above and beyond to solidify a customer relationship that is probably more valuable than they even realize. My father-in-law probably spends a small fortune on tools and landscaping supplies between home and work…he does have his reputation of “king of the leaf blower to uphold.” I can guarantee that the next time he needs some random building supply, Lowes will be on his radar in a way it never had before.

Similarly, I recently had an amazing stay at Felix Hotel in Chicago. For those of you who don’t read along last week I did BOSà RDUà ORDà BOS with late nights and 6 am flights in each city. By the time I got to Felix I had essentially been awake for 2 full days. I landed at 8 am but didn’t have my first session until 4pm and had a ton of work to do. I knew that Felix had an early check in policy that charged you something like an extra $50 for checking in between 12 and 3pm. I rolled up to the front desk at 8:30 am and asked if there was anyway that I could pay more to check in earlier. The front desk clerk told me that my room was available and not to worry about paying extra. I ordered amazing room service for lunch and after a long night of testing one of my co-workers and I hit the hotel bar. I mentioned that I was going to pick up a nice bottle of whiskey for my dad for Christmas. The bartender overheard me and started pouring mini shots of all of their types of whiskey so I could decide what to buy my dad (We decided on something by Buffalo Trace). I was so impressed by both employee’s abilities to read my needs and provide me with exactly what I needed before I even knew I needed it.  I am in Chicago every few weeks and this was my second stay at Felix, I can now confidently say that it is my hotel of choice in the Chicago area.

When free backfires

So free doesn’t always work out quite the way you would expect. I had to pick up one last Christmas present…a real live book with pages. For my personal use I love the kindle + library combo…old books with pages, the newest digital books when I don’t. However for a gift that I didn’t realize I wanted until that day, in person shopping at a brick and mortar was necessary.  I looked to see if Barnes and Noble had my book in-stock, and every page I clicked on offered their new “Pick Me Up” service. They told me that they had great news for me, they thought my book might be in stock. They would hold the book for me so I could go straight to check out. I decided to try it out and see how the service worked. I gave the service my name and phone number and was informed not to come to the store until I received a text that they had fulfilled my request. They said this should take about an hour.

Four hours, and no text, later I decided to just head to the store. As I pulled into the parking lot I got a text that informed me that unfortunately the book I requested isn’t in-stock.  I was already in the parking lot so I decided to run in and see if I could find something similar. Wouldn’t you know it, I found the book I was looking for, in the section it should have been in. The service failed, and if I wouldn’t have already been in the parking lot I would have just paid for express shipping for the book on Amazon and Barnes and Noble would have lost a sale…but in the scheme of things no big deal right?

That was until I checked out. The guy who checked me out was super tender, he asked me if I was able to find everything I was looking for. I told him my story about the “Pick Me Up” fail, and he apologized…perfect…all was right with the world, until his manager who had only overheard half of our conversation butted in by informing me that online and in-store prices were different.  What?! We were not even talking about the price. So I told her my story, about how I almost didn’t come in.

Manager: “Oh that happens all of the time.”

Me:  “Oh it just seems silly to offer a service that is going to convince your customer not to come to your store.”

Manager (as she was walking away):  “We have humans looking for the books, what do you expect?”

I now officially hate Barnes and Noble, this free service and the customer service disaster that ensued makes me never want to go to Barnes and Noble again.

Free really can be used for good or evil…so tread lightly!

Have you ever had a free product or service that tipped your perception of a brand in either direction?