Posted by Mike Smith :: March 19, 2008 @ 12:21 pm

It used to be that poor service was a rarity. Such an occurrence probably made for interesting dinner conversation since it was so unusual. Now it seems that good service has taken on that role as a recent experience has shown me.

The service came as a result of a warranty claim I made a few weeks back. I had purchased a table and chairs for my deck, along with a patio umbrella. It looked great and was very functional. Within a few weeks of having the set, the umbrella started showing signs of strain and eventually broke. It seemed like the hinge assembly had never really worked properly. Typical customer service experiences made me wonder if I should even bother trying to get a replacement. After calling the customer service number, I was told that I simply needed to write them a letter with some pictures of the damage and a copy of my receipt and they would then replace it.

Yeah, right. I sent the letter, pictures, and receipt and expected a “customers named Mike don’t qualify for replacements” or similar response. Part of me didn’t even expect that much. I’ve become cynical about customer service experiences because time and again I am disappointed by the service that I receive. Within a few days, however, I got a call from the company saying that they had received my letter and that I should expect a replacement any day.

Yeah, right. I’ve heard that before. I wasn’t going to buy into their story until the doorbell rang and my new patio umbrella was outside. Even then, I expected that they’d send me the wrong one. So imagine my surprise when FedEx showed up two days later with a huge box with my name on it. At first, I didn’t even realize what the package was. Opening it and seeing my replacement umbrella, the correct one, was simply amazing. It’s sad to say that I have so little faith in the customer service industry, but this new experience has at least given me some hope.

I find myself telling friends and family about this great service that I received. I’ve even been inspired to write a blog post about it! If you would like to have great customer service to balance out your other experiences, consider signing up with Lending Club. In addition to providing high quality person-to-person loans, they also provide exceptional customer service. You can receive support by writing to contact@lendingclub.com or by calling (866) 754-4094.