This is not an advertisement. I have not been compensated in any way. It’s a completely unsolicited testimonial.
A few years back I heard a program on NPR about a product that really caught my imagination.
“Stasher and Modern Twist: Kat Nouri” - - Guy Ray, How I Built This, NPR
The episode tells the story of entrepreneur Kat Nouri who creates a line of reusable, food-safe bags out of desire to cut down on single-use plastic in day to day living. The product line she created is called Stasher. You may have seen their adverts you scroll on the internet. They are made of food-grade silicone and look like this:
They are easy to wash, have a great seal, can go in the freezer, the microwave, even the dishwasher. You can use them for sous vide cooking if that’s your thing. Yes, after listening to this program I was convinced they were worth a try and I put a small set on my birthday wish list. My top reason was a great desire to stop putting plastic wrap and plastic bags in daily lunch boxes. All the other uses sounded fine but it was all the lunch waste that was killing me.
My husband’s first response was. “Please don’t put those things in my lunch box. I might forget and throw them out.” Well, he is to be forgiven. He bought them for me and he knew they were not cheap. We had the long talk about single use plastic waste. He has adjusted.
I can honestly say that I am one hundred percent satisfied with my Stasher bags. They do everything they say they will do. And it turns out that they do one additional thing that was life-changing for me. You can make microwave popcorn in them.
No more overly salted, dripping with chemical flavoring, single use bags of microwave popcorn for me! I followed the directions and used the medium sized stand up bag as recommended.
Photo from Stasher Bag web site
You would be amazed how much popcorn I have gone through since then. Until one day I noticed a tiny tear in the side of my well used Stasher bag. And I thought, “oh, dear!” But I kept on using it. Eventually the tiny tear grew into a sizable rip and I was forced to admit I had a problem. A replacement would cost me 23.99. Ugh.
It took me a while to realize that this wasn’t the typical experience for this product nor had I done anything wrong. It was a flaw in this particular bag and perhaps the company would remedy this situation. I didn’t pin a lot of hope on this. But a polite and earnest business letter can often do a lot of good.
So, at 2:27 pm on February 16th I sent an email to the Stasher bag people.
And at 2:34 pm I had a response from Anne, Customer Experience Hero, containing an apology and easy instructions on how to get a free replacement. It arrived less than a week later. (In a plain brown recyclable paper wrapper.) They also gave me some ideas on what to do with the damaged one so it wouldn’t go in a landfill.
Friends, this is nothing short of a miracle. This kind of customer service is truly exceptional. Can you imagine what the world would be like if this kind of interaction were a regular occurrence? I should add that the creator, Kat Nouri, eventually sold the company to S.C. Johnson, so some credit is due there for backing a creative product with excellent consumer support.
I’m not sure that I have ever written about a commercial product on the blog. And I probably wouldn’t have if it hadn’t been for Anne, Customer Service Hero. Some experiences are worth celebrating.
Have you had a customer service experience worth sharing lately?
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