I couldn’t wait to write about this because my experiences with customer service have been shrinking so much in the past few years – and I’m sure that’s true for many of you out there.  Something about the way business is conducted has become less friendly, less involved, less concerned about what the customer thinks.  Or, in the case of airline travel, not treating the customer as a customer at all but instead as a potential threat to national security.  Not fun.  I’ve also been biased recently by all the potential for commercial dissatisfaction while I was in Egypt – including the time my parents sent me a package and the delivery service demanded something called a “prepaid service charge”, meaning that they’d instituted a surcharge because my parents had paid the shipping fees in advance! 

But that’s not what this entry is about.  Today I get to talk about some GOOD service!

About a week ago my camera stopped working.  I couldn’t get it to turn on.  I tried charging the battery, but the little ‘charge’ light began blinking ominously instead of the usual steady glow that means it’s charging.  I checked the manual.  Most likely scenario: the rechargable battery was dead.

I called Casio up and explained I’d gotten it as a gift last Christmas so I didn’t have a receipt.  After a few questions they told me that even though it was already a couple weeks past warranty they’d send me a replacement battery for free!  

When was the last time a big company did anything for free, especially when it was actually past the warranty date?  I was inordinately pleased.  After a couple days of anxious anticipation my new (free!!) battery arrived today and my camera is now all perky again.  Plus they were really nice to me on the phone and they gave me a free battery even when they didn’t have to!  It was a good day.