This is not so much a tale of an online purchase gone wrong as it is a shout out to a company that seized an opportunity to gain a customer for life.
My wife wanted some Ugg Boots but didn’t want to pay Ugg prices. She found out she could save a load of cash by buying them at UggBoots-Offer.com. Um, you know the old adage, if it sounds to good to be true…? Well, they sent two left boots. In the “returns” section on their site, it states you have pay for returns. To China? They don’t give a return address or phone number on their site, and they have not responded to our many “let’s solve this together” emails. In short, we’re screwed. (Yes, we’ve cancelled the debit card and are actively seeking a right boot – size 7, chocolate, classic tall).
What have we learned? One, Ugg Boots are often counterfeited (but there are ways to tell). Two, the Ugg Boot company is awesome.
Ugg is well aware of the counterfeiting issue, and they went out of their way to assist us. The customer service rep rattled off a bunch of helpful links to help solve the problem, including a site where we might find a rogue right boot. She also offered a %15 discount on any Ugg purchase from their site. This was an incredible gesture to make amends for a company with which they have no affiliation. I can’t speak for my wife, but as of 6 pm last night I am now a passionate Ugg brand advocate.
Ugg went beyond empathy and actually provided solutions. And they clearly demonstrated that they know their customer (brand revitalization principle #1: it starts with them), even if it was a reluctant customer who tried to get out cheap.
Condoms, even if you’re in love, are a pretty functional product category. Check out how Zazoo, a Belgian-based company, employs fear in advertising its brand, reminding us that functional purchases really can be driven by emotion. Revamping a brand so it connects on both an emotional and analytical level with consumers is an important step in revitalizing a faded brand image.
