Way Beyond – Excellence in Customer Service

So, you want customer loyalty.  You’d like to enjoy the benefits of positive word-of-mouth, the single most powerful form of advertising.  Here’s an idea: strategically organize yourself around customer needs and interests.

Two ways that Bed Bath and Beyond has earned my family’s loyalty:

1) Absolutely no-hassle returns

On two separate occasions, years apart, and in different states, Bed Bath and Beyond has gone WAY beyond.  The most recent experience involved an $80 Cuisinart coffee maker.  We’re not sure when we bought it – maybe four or five years ago … who knows?  Who cares!?  Bed Bath and Beyond sure doesn’t.

One morning, my wife flicked the “brew” switch and was met with no brewing and the smell of burning plastic.  Not wanting to throw it out, she offered it up to Bed Bath and Beyond for return to and refurbishment by Cuisinart.  With no receipt, no evidence that we purchased it at a Bed Bath and Beyond, and no idea when we’d actually purchased it, the customer service person directed her toward the coffee maker section of the store, had her pull a brand-new version of the same model, and exit the store with it.  No paperwork to fill out – just a brand-new coffee maker.

A few years back, we enjoyed an identical experience with a $40 or $50 tea kettle – owned it for several years, traded it in for a brand-new version of the same model when the handle came loose.  No questions asked and no paperwork required.

That’s an experience worth talking about.  Design a policy that provides that experience to lots of people and you’ve created a word-of-mouth machine.  Before writing this, I told the story to at least a dozen people with enthusiasm.  You can’t buy that kind of advertising.  At worst, it cost them $60 (or whatever their purchase price from Cuisinart is).

2) Nearly no-rules coupons

Bed Bath and Beyond issues lots of coupons (typically 20% off) and lets you use them quite liberally.  Just about the only restriction: you can’t combine them for 100% off an item and some brands sold in-store opt out.

Expiration dates?  They don’t matter.

Only got one coupon?  Take 20% off the highest-price item you’re buying, not the lowest.

Multiple coupons in a single transaction?  No problem – it’s encouraged.

When they show up in the mail, hang on to those Bed Bath and Beyond coupons.  Next time you need a new set of towels or you want to give a dozen Snuggies as gifts, bring them all in and enjoy 20% off every item you buy, provided you’ve got that many coupons.

Important to note: the prices are reasonable with or without the 20% discounts.  In contrast, Kohl’s seems to mark up many items in order to have them constantly “on sale.”  Also in contrast, Kohl’s spends a ton of cash on prime-time television.  Bed Bath and Beyond gets by and even thrives on direct mailing of coupons.

Other observations

In general, the store is reasonably well organized.  It’s got enough solid sections (kitchen tools, cookware, appliances, glassware, bedding, towels, carpeting, etc) to bring you in, each with a reasonable range of brands, styles, and price points.  Plus, they’ve got a ton of unexpected items between sections (think: “who-invented-that!?” type gadgets).  It’s often a pleasant, entertaining and productive shopping experience.

I’d never have expected to write this kind of a post, but a store that will have me walk in with a years-old, non-functioning product and walk out with a brand-new one without any questions or any paperwork is serious about their customers … and that’s something I appreciate.