How Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Saved a Customer

I wanted to make public a recent experience I had with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR). My wife, Stephanie, an avid coffee drinker (and a shopping nut, who's probably better suited to be writing a retail blog than yours truly, who looks forward to a trip to the mall with the same enthusiasm as a trip to the dentist), received GMCR's Keurig brand Special Edition Single-Cup Brewer system nearly 10 months ago as a wedding shower gift. Excited at the thought of enjoying GMCR's specialty coffee blends brewed fresh each morning, Stephanie couldn't have been happier. After the long, harsh winter we had in the Northeast part of the country, I can attest that the brewer was put to good use. All in all, the Keurig brewer was a hit, making just the right amount of coffee for our house. And Stephanie was a loyal customer, restocking her supply of the specialty coffee K-cups with purchases at local retail stores. That is, until this summer.The complaints were few and far between at first — it wasn't always brewing a full cup; the coffee splattered out at the end of brewing, leaving a mess on the counter; and sometimes when turning the machine on to “get ready to brew,” it would make a grinding noise and then just shut down — but grew louder as time went on. So Stephanie decided to take action.Her first step was to go to GMCR's website for info. on its warrantied products. After learning that we had a one-year warranty from date of purchase, Stephanie called the customer service phone number listed on GMCR's website (she didn't see an email address to send a message to). After providing some basic information — name, address, phone number, item purchased — her call was transferred to a GMCR product technician. Upon confirming the purchase type and date of purchase via serial number, Stephanie was asked to explain the problems she was having with her Keurig Single-Cup Brewer. The technician on the other end of the line walked Stephanie through some “troubleshooting” ideas, but none of them corrected the problems. Satisfied that the error lay with GMCR, the technician said a replacement would be mailed out to us within seven to 10 business days. Not only that, but in recognition of her troubles, GMCR was throwing in two boxes of its specialty coffee blend K-Cups as well. Talk about valuing your customers and providing exceptional customer service! Not to mention the fact that Stephanie reported that both women she spoke with on the phone couldn't have been nicer and more patient. The whole process took less than 20 minutes. She's now a fan of GMCR for life. It's no wonder that GMCR is one of the fastest growing brands out there today, with 11 consecutive quarters of better than 40 percent net sales growth.Editor's Note: Make sure to check out the Sept. issue of Retail Online Integration, in which GMCR will be featured as the cover story profile (written before my wife's personal experience with the brand). Take advantage of the opportunity to learn from a brand that's doing things right.

Customer Retention

How Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Saved a Customer

Joe Keenan

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Joe Keenan