I recently purchased a bike from Mission Bicycle Company. I wanted to share a great experience I had when something went wrong. Shit happens – how companies deal with the shit is what sets apart the great ones from the other ones.
Mission Bicycle Company is based in San Francisco. I placed the order online using their easy build your bike configurator. Since I’m in Chicago, they had to ship the bike UPS.
When I received the big box, there was a 4” hole/tear in the side. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but after I finished removing all of the well-packed packaging around the bike frame itself, I noticed a large and deep gash in the paint all the way down to the metal down tube. The tear in the box lined up with the gash on the bike. The bike was clearly damaged in shipping.
I sent an email to Mission with some pictures of the box and the damage and asked them what to do next. They wrote back quickly and asked me to give them a day to think about how best to handle the situation.
The next day I got an email from them. They said sending the whole bike back would be overkill since the only thing that was damaged was the frame. Further, the bike was ridable – it was just a paint problem – so sending the bike back would mean I didn’t have a bike for a week or so. They didn’t feel good about that.
So here’s what they did: They called up a local shop (On The Route) and arranged to ship a new frame to them. Then one of their bike techs would drive down to my office and swap the frames and reassemble the bike for me while I waited. All of this at Mission’s expense.
They went above and beyond and took care of the problem with virtually no disruption or inconvenience on my end. That’s incredible customer service. I’m a happy customer for life. If you’re in the market for a great custom bike, check out the good people and products at Mission Bicycle Company.
@ggwicz
on 16 Aug 11So true. Great story.
Adolfo Neto
on 16 Aug 11Great story.
Max Schmeling
on 16 Aug 11It may have cost them a little more than most companies would have spent on customer service in this situation, but they gain a customer for life and free marketing on a popular blog…
Great customer service pays off.
pj christie
on 16 Aug 11That’s what Klout can do!
John Zimmerman
on 16 Aug 11Hey Jason,
Do you have any pics of your bike? I’ve been looking into building one from Mission for a little over a week now, but haven’t pulled the trigger.
Casper
on 16 Aug 11Great story, you did right by them by sharing it on here Jason.
Funny how reciprocity works; It’s when you give unselfish gifts, that you truly get something back. When you give “gifts” and expect something back, it’s just business.
JF
on 16 Aug 11John: See their Flickr stream for more photos than you can handle.
Adam
on 16 Aug 11I had something that sticks in my head happen with Bodum a few years back. I ordered a new French Press and the wrong part was placed in the shipping box. Contacting them and asking about return/exchange policies, I was told that it was their mistake, keep it, and they sent out my correct order, including 4 Bodum coffee mugs and sent it next day air mail.
After that, I can say, not only do I pimp Bodum every chance I get (see attached comment), but I’m also a customer for life.
Anon
on 16 Aug 11Theory: Matt Linderman doesn’t blog any more
Derrick
on 16 Aug 11That’s great, anything extra that may have cost them, has more than been made up in word-of-mouth goodwill, and 100,000 people reading this post.
Curious, Did they know who you were when they did all of this?
OnLooker
on 16 Aug 11Mission has a Green Lantern bike!!! Hot Damn!!! I know what I am ordering for Xmas :D
C. Silva
on 16 Aug 11The sad part is that most companies (mainly large ones) should take care of their customers, but they don’t. So when I hear a story like that, I wonder if these companies will eventually realize that increasing their market share won’t make any of their customers happy.
Pete
on 16 Aug 11Just curious. . . would Mission Bike do this for every customer or just customers named “Jason Fried.” based in Chicago?
Christophe Maximin
on 16 Aug 11Same question as Pete.
I always try to provide great customer service, but if I ever had one named “Jason Fried” in Chicago, I would probably go wayyyy further than the extra-mile. So, even if I don’t doubt the general quality of service from MBC, your story isn’t really representative I’m afraid.
Philipp
on 16 Aug 11Really great story. Sad fact, though: Sometimes you’re really treating your customers to an extent they won’t get anywhere else, going to lengths and costs just to fix problems they usually caused themselves.. and they still complain, don’t pay bills, threaten to sue you and/or insult you for causing them trouble. I help them through hard times anyway and just take it with a friendly smile, when they start randomly flaming around, but sometimes I wish customers would also show some respect and love to the small companies, where real humans care and read their mails :)
Shawn
on 16 Aug 11Great story Jason. We just brought Mission Bicycle onto our platform and we’re pretty stoked. Great products. Great people. If you get a chance, follow them on Ourtisan. http://goo.gl/OUJxN
mriegger
on 17 Aug 11You know I just read Jason’s Inc. article about how customers judge you by how you react to your own mistakes. This is a nice story that really drives the point home.
Gary Sevounts
on 17 Aug 11Thanks for sharing the story. It is great to see such a wonderful customer service. I am looking for a bike for my wife – will check them out.
I recently had a shockingly good experience with a tech company. Almost half a year ago, I got a call from GoDaddy asking what was the reason I was not using some of the services I paid for about 4 months prior. The caller offered me help and when we agreed that I don’t need these services after all, she offered a refund for the last 4 months I was not using the service.
I have never saw a service like that before. Needless to say, I spent a lot of money with GoDaddy after that episode.
Wolf
on 17 Aug 11Good customer service story, but again, same question as Pete. Not all customers are treated equally.
Nic
on 17 Aug 11@Pete. That’s what took them a day to think about it – Google Jason Fried Chicago…
yueguy
on 17 Aug 11http://80.tc/h5ix Yes ah! Thank you for sharing! I recommend here!
yueguy
on 17 Aug 11Yes ah! Thank you for sharing! I recommend here!
http://80.tc/h5ix
Anonymous Coward
on 17 Aug 11Cynicism is alive and well in the SvN comments! I feel bad for people who can only say something negative (“this was just because it was Jason”) about such a positive story.
Paul Montwill
on 17 Aug 11I can’t load their websites – you killed them with your traffic! :)
Nikroub
on 17 Aug 11Jason pls next time you post something remarkable be assure there is a loadbalancer active on the other end. Their website never loads.
Great story anyway. Thnx
Julie
on 17 Aug 11I am choosing not to believe that Jason’s profile assisted him in this situation. I am assuming this company charges a pretty penny for their bikes and thus there is kind of the expectation that the service should be above and beyond.
The important thing to note, in terms of customer service strategy, is that although they didn’t immediately provide an answer, the company immediately made contact. Most customers are willing to wait for action if they feel they at least have your attention (good things come to those who wait!)
SF Resident
on 17 Aug 11Pete nailed it. Jason, you got the VIP with a huge public voice treatment. But, maybe now the pressure is on Mission, so the net result will be good.
Ross Hudgens
on 17 Aug 11My first thought in reply to the negativity in the comments is that it’s pretty unlikely that some random bikeshop in SF knows who Jason is. However, when you look at the “about” page, their advisors are all tech-centric, and their founder, Zack Rosen, is as well.
http://zacker.org/ https://www.missionbicycle.com/about
Paul
on 17 Aug 11Even if Jason got better CS because of being him, this article will put the Mission in a tight place with other customers. Everybody will win in the end.
Zack
on 17 Aug 11Hello 37 Signals Readers,
I am an owner of Mission Bicycle.
A few quick points:
1) Yes, I knew who Jason Fried was the moment I saw his order, but nobody in the shop knew who he was.
I personally had a very small role in managing Jason’s bicycle order. The decision making and work fell to our staff Jefferson, Kai, Brian, and Sal.
2) Customer service is something we take very seriously at Mission Bicycle. I would encourage you to read the unvarnished feedback of our customers on our Yelp review page:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/mission-bicycle-san-francisco
Look for comments from people who say they bought a bicycle from us. We don’t ask for Yelp reviews, these were all unprompted.
3) UPS damages a Mission Bicycle a couple of times a year. This wasn’t the first time we’ve gone to great lengths to make good by our customers after a bicycle arrives damaged and it won’t be the last.
If you have any questions, feel free to reply here, or email [email protected], or myself directly: [email protected].
-Zack
W. Michael Hsu
on 17 Aug 11Great story. There’s a true difference between standard customer service and a great customer experience. It really takes a fantastic company that is able to think in the customer’s shoes and be creative in their solutions to turn a potentially bad experience into an amazing one where someone writes a blog about it. Good stuff.
Adam Wodo
on 18 Aug 11...and Zack just laid it down.
Jimmy Chan
on 18 Aug 11A good customer service is followed a good promotion :)
N.H.Long
on 19 Aug 11Before you buy something. I think you should refer to their predecessors or Search
Peaches
on 19 Aug 11What is with you guys and these nerd bikes?
El Secreto
on 19 Aug 11Wow! That’s such a good customer service indeed, I wish the bike guys close to my place read your blog and realize what good customer service is and how it helps them to set them apart.
Suzette
on 20 Aug 11Great customer service is good for the business as well as the customer. I have had a great experience with GoDaddy.com. They refunded unused services and offered to help set up future service if there were any problems on my end. A second great business with impeccable service is Nordstrom. I don’t return very often but due to poor manufacturing quality of an article of clothing, Nordstrom refunded the full purchase. The other refund was due to a product allergy and was refunded the full cost as well.
Good article, thanks for sharing. Will check out the bike shop too since I’m a local!
Anonymous Coward
on 21 Aug 11Good customer service is a great asset for any company. But it’s a volatile commodity, as any slip-ups can make tremendous damage. Word-of-mouth now works with blogs, websites, and Facebook, enabling us to reach out to ever wider audiences. Great to see you ‘repaying’ their good service.
Richard
on 21 Aug 11Always great to heart stories like this… Unfortunately they never happen for me.
Bill B
on 22 Aug 11If you’re going to spend a lot of time on a bicycle, why not get one that feels right?
Myself, my main bike’s a floor model from the local bikeshop with a different seatpost/seat and racks added. Can’t really afford to get a full custom bike just yet, but I do have my eyes on a frame from Surly.
This discussion is closed.