Customer Service

Last week Murphy and I were goose hunting in sleet and snow and the zipper on my outer shell jacket broke. This was the second time this has happened so I decided to call the company I got it from. I called Duck Commander and they directed me to Drake Waterfowl, the company that actually makes the jackets. After talking to them they were willing to replace the jacket for free but because of the holiday i wouldn’t see the jacket until sometime after January 4th.  The problem is that I’m planning on hunting a lot over the New Year’s holiday. So…..back to Duck Commander.

I spoke with a nice Southern gal named Becky at their customer service department. Now, this is where I should say that in one way or another I have been working in ‘customer service’ for most of my career. Because of that long experience I tend to have pretty good luck in working with other folks in customer service. My approach is always to be nice, explain myself clearly and to just rely on the good intentions of the company reps. Because of this I usually get problems taken care of when the need arises. So anyway, I explained myself to Becky and I might have also mentioned that I had a blog where I would say some nice things about her company. Becky finally relented and the new jacket arrived on Christmas Eve. I shipped my jacket back and our transaction is complete.

In the world of hunting we all love our gear. If you have the right equipment your hunting experience will be better and you can spend more time in the field. I take good care of my gear for that reason and I am still using items I bought almost 20 years ago. The jacket I had is a great piece of clothing and I depend on it a lot this time of year. Having a quick replacement and knowing Duck Commander cares about their customers will mean more of my business for them in the future. This is why customer service is so important and as a word of advice to you business owners out there, neglect your customers at your peril.

So kudos to Duck Commander and kudos to companies that do business the honorable way.