Planet Bike & Customer Service

I just want to tell a tale of extraordinary customer service. A few weeks ago, I purchased a small bike tube pump. Like every typical male, I tore the thing out of the box, and started to use it without reading the instructions. I accidently unwound the wrong part, which made the inside pieces fall from the pump to the floor. "Oops" (dumb male voice).

I tried to put it back together several times, but with so many small pieces, it was trial and error over and over again. No luck.

Exhausted, I emailed the manufacturer to explain what had happened. The pump was only $10 or $15, so I was prepared to have to buy another one if need be.

I swear, within an hour or so, I received a reply from Planet Bike. Not only did he explain how to put it back together again, but he included a scanned picture he drew of it's reinstallation. Now that's customer service! I was so impressed with the details and the turn around time of the reply.

I wrote back to tell him just that, and I wrote an email to the owner of the company to let him know how happy I was with the service. Nowadays we all tend to bitch and complain when customer service is not up to par. Yet, how often do we tell a manager or owner of a business about the great service we receive?

Do yourself 2 favours:
1. If you need bike parts, buy them from Planet Bike, 25% of their proceeds go towards bike advocacy groups! Very cool folks indeed!
2. Try to let a store/restaurant/bar/etc. manager know when you've had great service. It'll make their day, the staff member's day, and you won't feel like a schmuck.

www.planetbike.com/

Cheers.
D