Customer service has improved over the years thanks to the advent of the internet and social media. Companies are now able to receive feedback and improve their business in ways like never before.
In a story out of Malaysia, customer Timothy Tiah suffered two instances of buying milk from diary company Farm Fresh that tasted “off” the moment it was opened. Tiah published his frustration in a blogpost calling for the boycott of the diary brand.
“Super angry,” he starts. “…Some time back I had just bought one of these and when I poured it into my cereals and started eating I realized it tasted really funny. So I spit it out and tried it on its own. True enough. The milk had gone bad...”
He went on to describe the two incidents that he had to throw away his cereal bowls and the rest of the milk upon discovery of the weird taste each time.
His post caught a lot of attention and attracted several comments from readers who also experienced the same problem. It eventually led to the company’s official response on the matter.
“Dear valued consumers,
Recently there have been a spate of complaints about our Farm Fresh milk curdling and turning sour. Initially we had thought the problem was due to less than ideal handling on the retail level. At the same time, we were also doing everything to examine our operations at the processing level. We then discovered that a very small amount of our yogurt had somehow gotten into two of our filling lines. That explains the slight curdling of the milk and the sourish
taste, without the the typical spoilt milk smell.
We have since isolated these two filling lines. We truly apologize for the inconvenience caused and we understand that this has caused some consternation for you, our valued customers. The curdled product, though it may seem disturbing, was basically an unintended version of “yogurt milk”.
We are thankful for your prompt feedback, and we want to assure you that we are constantly doing our best to ensure the highest quality standards so that you can continue to enjoy the freshest quality milk from our farm. Our apologies again, and thank you for your continuous support.
Further to this, we would like to offer all customers a refund for any bottles of Farm Fresh milk purchased which were not up to the desired quality. Please email us at custsvc@farmfreshmilk.com.my indicating the number of bottles purchased and the total retail price.”
While the company’s website statement is a response in itself, what came next surprised Timothy: Loi Tuan Ee, The CEO of Farm Fresh Milk sent him a very personal email.
The message touched Timothy so much he responded with a positive note, acknowledging the CEO’s apology with a promise to return to drinking Farm Fresh milk again. He also asked that instead of sending him a replacement or refund, the company can send the two bottles of milk as a donation to the nearest shelter.
The CEO of course, topped that simple customer request by doing the extra mile and sending 12 bottles of milk to the home for the elderly and a bunch of Farm Fresh milk products to his office as well.
This thoughtful action made a complete turn-around of the situation and is a perfect example of customer service done right. In Timothy’s latest article in Tech In Asia, he commended the CEO’s gesture as it obviously left a lasting impression:
“Loi truly inspired me. At a time of crisis he kept his calm and dealt with tough situations like this with humility and sincerity. Why I say sincere? Because after I had replied him and said I would clarify he didn’t need to go the extra mile to send me something, or to give 12 bottles to the old folks home instead of two,” Timothy said.
“I don’t know if I could have done better than what Loi did. He turned a crisis into an opportunity. I would love to meet Loi one day and I’ll take up his offer to visit his farm. Not just for the cows, but for the man behind the cows. “ he ended.
Written by Ryan General, NextShark.com
