dancing horses

dancing horses

Thursday, February 22, 2018

Customer Service

As you know I tend to not buy a lot of things for my horses.

(FYI saddle pads don't count - they are totally required. )

I do my very best to buy local as much as possible. I like to support the local economy and I really enjoy the relationship that grows by returning to the same place. But sometimes I simply cannot get what I'm looking for locally- either because it can't be ordered in or because the price is prohibitive.

Prices in the U.S. are usually much better. Much much better. So when Ed was visiting his brother who has a house in Arizona I ordered some things from Riding Warehouse.

One of those things was the Freedom Feeder slow feed hay net. I was very disappointed in it- within a few weeks it had some holes in it. I wouldn't describe my horses are hard on things and I also happen to think that if you make something for horses to eat from you should assume that it needs to be tough.  So I went on the website and left a negative review. After that I shrugged and looked into other options for a hay net.

Two days later I received an email from Riding Warehouse. They had read my review and wanted to make sure that I knew about their return policy. They accept returns for up to one year after purchase. I hadn't really thought about it- I accept that if I order from the U.S. returns are not worth it.

But I spent a lot on the haynes so I spoke to Ed and we figured it would be worth it to mail it back and then apply the credit to something to go to his brother's (who will be coming to visit in the spring).

So I emailed back and said I would return it. Immediately I received another email asking if I needed a return label.

Oh, really? I can have one? Yay.

So I emailed back and said sure. Also, I was in Canada. Was that a problem.

Turns out that it was- they do don't do labels for Canada.

But let me quote the rest of the email:
"Due to the custom fees that are associated with getting an international return back into the states, returning the net will not be necessary! 

You can expect for an email containing an electronic copy of the store credit issued for the hay net to be emailed to you in the next 1-2 business days. Please note, this credit does not expire and is eligible to be applied to any future orders that you may place with us.

Let us know if you have any further questions or concerns and we will be happy to accommodate your requests. 

Our team hopes that you have a wonderful week~

Maddie :)"

So, to recap: I wrote and review and received a store credit with no need to return my net. 

And the next day I received my credit voucher. Maddie is my new best friend. 

The older I get the more I value and appreciate good customer service. While I will still continue to buy local as much as possible. 

I am so very impressed with the level of service from this company. 

You're planning to shop more aren't you? 



23 comments:

  1. It’s great how that all worked out for you. I think I’ll check out their site. Thanks for the review.

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  2. Wow. That is amazing. I hear such wonderful things about Riding Warehouse and they are always my first stop when I shop.

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  3. I recently found Riders Warehouse and liked the service I have received from them as well. I can't wait to learn more about you and Steele.

    Please feel free to visit my blog as well: https://fearlessriderreturns.blogspot.com/

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    1. Thanks. I will check out your blog for sure.

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  4. Excellent customer service! Also, good to know about the freedom hay nets - nets in general make B angry and she's horrible to them, so I'll give those ones a pass for sure.

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    1. I was very annoyed. I’ve replaced it with a handy Haynet from Canada. We shall see. Carmen is not a fan of them but totally needs them.

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  5. That’s impressive and smart on their part. I’ll give them my business.

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    Replies
    1. Customer service is so key to getting people back.

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  6. I've had really super customer service experiences with them (3 or 4 since I discovered them and started shopping there about 2 years ago), so now they're my go-to when I'm shopping for something I can't get locally! So glad you had a good experience as well! (Well, with RW's customer service, not so much the nets)

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  7. You can't get this with your credit, but these nets are amazing. A friend has had hers for over a year without any issues.

    https://orangeslowfeeder.com/

    The only issue is that the holes are pretty big (1.75") and that might not work for you. They are very tough, however, albeit expensive.

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  8. I like the HayChix nets, they are very tough and durable and come in a variety of sizes. They are pricey, but I have several that are over 10 years old and still in great shape. The company is good to work with so you may want to check out their shipping policy.

    https://haychix.com/

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    1. I did check out haychix a long long time ago. I forgot about them!

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  9. The CS at Riding Warehouse is really the best part. They stepped up and replaced a broken part on my bridle when the manufacturer refused to do so. They will really go out of their way to make customers happy.

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  10. What amazing customer service!! I'm very impressed.

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  11. CS is SO important, and I was probably overly happy reading this post. RW is one of my favorite companies, and this experience reinforces that.

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    Replies
    1. I'm glad that you have had good experience with them too.

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  12. This is awesome! I have had similar experiences with Riding Warehouse and Stateline Tack. Actually, I sent 3 saddles back to Stateline, and though it took some time, that was all it cost me - time. I even got to keep the "valued customer points" I racked up for buying three saddles with Stateline.

    Working with the general public can be intense. Anytime I find someone willing to not just hear me, but believe my plight I consider it a win. That said, I also try to give shout outs whenever possible to servers, customer service reps, and drivers that are all doing a good job.

    Just for fun/to make someone's day, I love when there's a "Call to report my driving" person driving in front of me. Sometimes, if they're considerate/ not speeding, etc. I will call to just say something nice about them. Usually, the person on the other end of the phone is shocked. I guess they don't get "nice driver" reports very often. I don't know? I just think we all do such a good job of recognizing what is wrong that when something goes right, it is worth it to appreciate that, too.

    Shout out to you and Maddie reaching such an awesome solution. AND shout out to Riding Warehouse for empowering their people with the right "tools" to fix the job.

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