Moo.com - Customer Service Done Right

With all the (non-social) networking that I’ve been engaged in recently, I thought the time was ripe to get myself some new business cards. When I originally formed my company last year, I foolishly tried making my own, with a cheap inkjet printer, MS Publisher, and some blank cards. The results were predictably amateurish. In retrospect, I don’t know why I even attempted this – I’m usually a big advocate of outsourcing anything that isn’t a core competency. I suppose my stationery fetish got the better of me, and I was irresistibly drawn to the blank business cards when I spotted them on a pilgrimage to Staples.

Anyway, this time round I decided to do things properly, and order some cards from moo.com. I’ve experienced Moo’s quality products in the past, when John provided me with a voucher for some mini Moo cards featuring photos from my Flickr photostream. Their product range has now expanded, and I opted for a set of these Dr Woohoo Swirls & Curls cards, along with a wee acrylic card holder in which to carry them.

Unfortunately, when the order was arrived, the card holder was missing, and I was disappointed to see that my logo had been slightly cropped by a few pixels on two sides. A small thing, but noticeable enough to remove the desired air of professionalism. Believing that you can best judge a company by how they behave when something goes wrong, I got in touch to report these issues, and true to their word, I received the following response within 24 hours:

Dear Ian,      
Thank you for getting in touch with the MOO Team.      
We're sorry you did not receive the holder. I am resending the holder for you today.      
We're so sorry your images did not come out as you hoped. Some users are experiencing difficulty with certain types of logo uploads, as there is no bleed allowance for the image as it sits on the card. We are looking into improving this feature but in the meantime it's best to provide a border around your design so that it is centred and nothing is cut off.      
I am going to give you a coupon for a free set so you can re-design your cards. Try to place a white border/margin to centre the image and this will solve the problem.      
Just enter this number into the "PROMO" field when you get to the payment section and click “Go”.      
(deleted)      
Please feel free to contact us again if you have further questions.      
Best Regards,      
Miss Fauzia Hussein      
Service Agent – MOO

Things that I particularly like about this reply:

1. I received it within the promised timeframe.
2. The spelling and grammar is perfect.
3. It’s addressed to me personally.
4. The email itself contains all the information I need. None of this “Your ticket has been updated – please log into our portal to read the response” crap.
5. It is signed by an individual, and has an individual’s reply-to email address – no anonymous generic “service@” address in sight.
6. Both issues are dealt with in the simplest and most convenient manner possible for all concerned – immediate despatch of the missing item, and a voucher code to re-order the cards.
7. It contains a concise explanation of why the original cards didn’t meet my expectations, which uses appropriate language and doesn’t patronise me. It goes on to explain what I need to do next time to fix the problem.
8. Despite the fact that the problems with the logo could arguably have been my fault, for failing to include a bleed allowance, there’s no insinuation of my culpability here – Moo are happy to take the hit.

I’ve now received both the card holder and some new cards which I’m very happy with. Ping me if you’d like one!