Everyone always complains about bad customer service, but rarely do I hear when someone has an awesome experience with a company. So I thought today, I’d talk about the awesome customer service I received yesterday, as well as some not so great service.

First up is the not so great service from Groupon. I accidentally bought the wrong deal. Oops. I was just trying to be a good little wifey and order the training course hubs wanted before I forgot and it expired. The problem was that he sent me the wrong link, and I didn’t see his chat that read “wait” before I completed the order. No big deal. They have a 7 day return policy on unused vouchers. I emailed their support service yesterday, but I have yet to hear back from them, and it’s getting dangerously close to the end of the 24-hour response time they claim to have.

But the awesome customer service I received from Zoya more than made up for it.

Last week I ordered some nail polish. I was super excited to receive the shipment, but imagine my surprise when I opened the box to find this:

The top of the red polish bottle had snapped off, and the entire thing emptied. There was flaky, glittery polish everywhere. I emailed customer service, explaining what had happened and asking for a replacement of that particular color. (If you’re curious, it was CHYNA.) I also mentioned I had pictures if they needed them.

Within the hour, someone from Zoya contacted me via email. It wasn’t a canned response; it didn’t have the cold feel of someone who was following a script. But here’s why their customer service stood out to me: She asked to have the photo not only to obtain authorization to send me a new bottle, but also to “help them determine what may have caused the damage so they can attempt to take preventative measures for future shipments.”

If she had just asked for a photo, I would have sent the closeup of the broken bottle to prove I was telling the truth and been done with it. But because she took the time to explain why else they wanted the info, I sent her all three photos and described the condition in which it was sent to me.

It didn’t take her long to get back to me, and when she did, she informed me that they were sending out replacements for all 5 bottles. I’m not sure if the information I provided shed any light on the problem, but I’m very happy with the way they handled the ordeal.

Have you had any great customer service experiences?

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Every day on my way to work, I drive past an old farmhouse. Adjacent to the highway and among an area filled with industrial parks, one would think this farm seemed out of place. But it’d been there for over 100 years, and seeing it so often in my everyday life, it had a way of fitting in.

Every October, there were big signs advertising pumpkins for sale. More than once I thought it would be nice to buy a couple pumpkins from them. Maybe I would have if I were outgoing enough to pull off the road and walk up to someone’s home. Or maybe I would have if, you know, I actually carved pumpkins. Whatever the reason, I wish I had.

Because this morning the farm was gone.

A few springs ago, there were many hand painted signs along the highway that read SAVE OUR FAMILY FARM. The city wanted to build a bridge over the highway and remove the last set of lights in a roughly 30 mile stretch, which is apparently what’s happening right now.

I was conflicted then, and I’m still conflicted now. At what point should the greater good of society come before an individual family? Sad story aside (Mrs. Fischbach is in her 90s, and farming is what her family knows), when does it become okay for the city to take someone’s property? Is the answer based on a necessity to expand? The number of accidents at a particular intersection? I don’t know what the right answer is.

It had been so long since the signs were up that I had completely forgotten about it. I didn’t think twice when traffic cones were in place and the street lights were missing yesterday evening. But this morning I drove by and took a double take at the spot where… Hey wait, wasn’t that house there? I must have zoned out. I’m confused because the road’s torn up. It had to have been there. *cranes neck* Oh, shit! It’s gone!

Whether the decision is right or wrong, I’m sad that it had to come to this. Also, I don’t know the extent to which the farmed operated, but it’s a shame to lose a family farm when corporate farming and Big Ag are so corrupted.

I’d post before and after pictures of the farmhouse, but I don’t have any. Instead here are some local news links concerning the farm:

• http://www.startribune.com/local/north/111500644.html
• http://brooklynpark-brooklyncenter.kstp.com/news/news/brooklyn-park-family-fights-save-farm/92044
• http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2010/12/27/brooklyn-park-farm-highway-169-county-road-30-intersection/

I wish the Fischbach family the best in this new stage of their lives.

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I just signed up for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Really, I don’t know what I was thinking, but because I had fun completing the 30 Days of Thanks, it couldn’t be much different. Also, there was a deadline on the sign up, so I was all like, ZOMG MUST SIGN UP BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!

I’m not choosing a theme for this challenge because… let’s be honest. This blog has never had a theme. Why start now?

Now to think of “A” and hopefully post it before they boot me out.

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