Beyond Thankful and becoming Grateful!

This time of year people really start to examine there lives and list out the things they are thankful for. This year I am moving past thankfulness and going to grateful. I think being grateful has deeper meaning and is longer lasting. I don’t want to just be thankful for what I have in my life, I want to keep a reminder of all the wonderful  things, people and opportunities I have.

It is so easy to get down on yourself or something going on in your life. It often takes a big smack in the face of a wake-up call to see that there are others that don’t even have what you have. Perspective is a big thing to keep in mind when you are working on being grateful.

I have recently been working through some personal things and I have found great relief in reading some of the blogs I follow and hearing their inspirational stories. Their courage and the courage of others they have surrounded themselves with just amazes me. I have found hope in their words, and their generosity just amazed me.

Thankfulness is for a moment in time and gratefulness is lasting. Let’s work on being grateful in our lives so that we have have the joy year round and not just for one month or so.

ePantry – another customer service expirience

I had to come back to add in another amazing customer service experience. ePantry! I recently signed up to give this service a try. In case you are unfamiliar with ePantry they are an online supplier for home cleaning and personal products. They setup a schedule of deliveries based on your usage of products so that you never have to think about when you need to pick up laundry soap at the store, it just arrives at your door step. ePantry is also a eco friendly company.

So, I had found a post about giving this company a try with a $10 credit and a free gift for signing up and I figured why not give it a try. They offer brands like Method, Mrs Myers and Seventh Generation (I love them all!). I went on and made a few selections and adjusted a few things then closed my computer to come back a bit later. When I came back to the order I reviewed quickly and then processed the order. I was so excited when the box arrived (although I didn’t get the joy of opening – my husband was expecting a different shipment which had something he had been waiting for so I can’t blame him). The package came in very nicely packed to ensure no products leaked during shipment, I was very impressed. As I was unpacking the items and checking things out I realized that a few things had come in a scent I wasn’t expecting. My husband is not the most fond of anything in a cucumber scent and I am often sick of that scent after a few minutes myself so it was a bit of a shock that three items had arrived in that scent but I figured that I had forgotten to adjust the scent when I did the finalization of the order. I quickly went online to make sure that my future shipment was set with another scent and saw that my received shipment was supposed to be something different. I sent a note to the company just to let them know there was a mistake. Within a couple of days (I had emailed on a weekend) I received a note back no only apologizing about the mix up but they were sending out replacements in the correct scents and they aren’t even asking for the cucumber scents back, they simply offered for me to gift to another. WOW!

I have now received my additional shipment and I am SO happy with the new scents, definitely going to try to keep using their service!

A little more about ePantry…

Their prices are fairly comparable to those in the local stores (a bit higher but no shipping costs, EVER!) so when you add in the fact that they schedule shipments based on usage need this is very worthwhile. If you are a die hard couponer the prices will not be as good but for me the time saver is worth it.

You can also get referral credit when someone signs up ($10) and they get $10 to apply to their first order as well.

Let me know what you think of the service!

Please note the links on this post are affiliate links where I may be compensated for any purchases you make, thank you for your support!

The importance of taking care of the customer

I have had several opportunities to work with a company on certain product issues lately. Some of have gone very well while others have gone fairly badly. The way each company had reacted or worked with me to resolve the problem speaks loudly on how the company cares about their customers. So here are a few examples of my recent experiences and what I know think of each company.

Munchkin –

I had purchased two stretch to fit window shades through Amazon and started to notice after a few weeks that one was cracking inside the suction cup but it seemed to be still staying up on the window. All of a sudden that shade was on the car floor and in pieces. I sent in an email and had a very quick response that they would gladly sent a replacement and I was also asked to provide a code on the item to help them track the issue. They were so pleasant to work with and I had a real name, not just a customer service email. I have already boasted so much about this experience on Facebook and twitter (where they responded again as a thanks).

This company clearly cares about its customers and will do the right thing to take care of people and stand behind the quality of their product. I will certainly continue to recommend products made by Munchkin and their affiliates! Job well done in my book.

Kiwi Crate –

I saw there was a deal for points to give Kiwi Crate a try. They had a smaller box available as a trial, just pay shipping. I thought this would be great to check out as a gift for my nephew for Christmas as I know he and my sister in law do a lot of crafting together and this would be something right up their alley. I was not having any luck getting the order to place through, I kept getting and error and my order would not processes. I tried on a different computer, tried a different credit card (even though I knew my card was fine as I had just used it) but nothing was working. I finally sent a note to the company and days later heard back with a brief apology and offer to finish the order through them.

Well for one they did not provide much information on what they had in mind for completing the order (was I supposed to send my credit card information over email!?!?). The bigger problem at hand (their site was not working) was no where being addressed.

Sadly I cannot recommend this service as I just did not feel that my information was being handled the best. I guess I will just keep looking for other crafting ideas for my nephew.

Just in these two situations you can see how much of a difference good customer service can really do wonders for not only repeat customers, spreading the word but also first time customers. So no matter what type of business your in, make sure you do what you can to show your customers you care, about them, and about your product and its reputation.