THE SLIPPERY SLOPE ISN’T ALL BAD

I decided it was high time I bought some new slippers.

My poor old slipper!

I ordered two pairs from an Ebay shop, and when the parcel arrived today, they’d sent the wrong ones. I got straight onto them and they apologised profusely for mixing my order with someone else’s and gave me an instant refund and told me I didn’t need to send the wrong ones back! I’ve now re-ordered the right ones and they are getting them off to me as soon as possible.

This is really excellent customer service! The Ebay shop is Tannery-Direct, if anyone is interested. I sent them the above photo to show them why I am in so desperate need of new ones! I’m literally hanging on by a thread and can brook no further delay!

I had another example recently of excellent customer service from another Ebay shop, this time Hello Vitamins. Six months ago I decided to order my first batch of Vitamin C and zinc tablets from them as they were reasonably priced, and if you bought two packs, you got a third one free, and each pack contains two months’ supply, so they are excellent value. I was coming to the end of the last pack so I ordered some more. They informed me they were on holiday so there would be a delay, but that was fine, and I was happy to wait. Till I had to continue to wait… and wait… Following this up, I saw that they had been despatched and were presumably lost in the post. I got a refund, and contacted them again, only to find that they were on holiday again! I got a reply saying they would get them out to me asap and they duly arrived. I contacted them to tell them that since I’d already received a refund, I hadn’t actually paid for this second delivery. They replied that they were very sorry for all the inconvenience, and I didn’t need to pay for them! How’s that for great service? There was me thinking initially how inefficient they were, and then they came up trumps. I shall definitely be using this company again, and gave them 5* feedback.

So reassuring to know that despite everything one hears these days about the general moral decline and grasping nature of modern society, with everyone simply out for what they can get, there are still good companies out there who just want to do the best for their customers and keep them happy – hoping they will come back again! I’m very happy to support companies like that.

Quite different from the company from which I bought my first high-speed blender. They refused to replace the damaged part and even offered to sell me a special tool to remove it, and to buy a replacement. From the photo, that tool would not have fitted my model anyway. I got really stroppy with them after endless correspondence and demands from them for me to supply photographs. Whatever happened to “the customer is always right”? In the end I threatened them with Trading Standards and they replaced the whole blender jug straight away. I told them I thought their customer service was awful and I wouldn’t be dealing with them again or recommending them. I bought a Vitamix instead, and kept the old blender as a spare – it came into its own when my Vitamix jug started to leak, and because of supply chain problems in the USA and Covid lockdowns etc., there was a very long delay before I got my replacement Vitamix jug. It wasn’t the company’s fault and they were very helpful throughout, and they never doubted my word from the beginning, not demanding photos for evidence but simply said they would replace the part, no questions asked.

If all companies behaved like this, they would build up customer loyalty and do much better! If they weren’t so shortsighted and penny-pinching, they wouldn’t mind bearing the small loss of the odd replacement machine in the interests of customer satisfaction and loyalty. Because Vitamix pulled out all the stops to get me my part, despite all the difficulties, they have ended up doing really well out of me because not only had I bought my machine from them, but I also bought a whole Vitamix kit for our nephew’s wedding present last year.

I love my Vitamix. I use it at least once every day and it has to be the best blender on the market. It’s a big investment, but worth it in spades, especially if you enjoy a whole-food plant-based lifestyle as we do. Today, for instance, I made my normal 1 litre of rehydration drink, some almond milk, and the cashew nut-based dressing for our salad. I also lightly blended the new batch of herb infusion for scalp health and hair growth. I use the machine to make soup, sauces, grinding seeds, making tahini (ground sesame seeds), grinding spices, making the basis for my blueberry overnight oats recipe for breakfast, the marinade for my tofu… these are just the regular things. Together with my fabulous set of Robert Welch knives, this is the best tool in my kitchen.