It’s the holiday shopping season and I’m wondering what’s more important? A good deal, or good customer service?
I thought I knew, but I found myself asking the question again this Thanksgiving. I do a lot of cooking for Thanksgiving, but my family clamors for some store-bought dishes that have become as much a tradition as my cranberry sauce from real cranberries or the from-scratch pumpkin pie.
One such dish is the sweet potato soufflé from Honeybaked Ham. My husband insists that Thanksgiving would not be Thanksgiving without it and, truth to tell, he loves it more than he loves my pie.
It used to be that there were Honeybaked Ham stores everywhere but – at least in my neighborhood – all but a few have closed. The closest store is far enough away that I plan my errands around stopping in the week before Thanksgiving to ensure that I can buy the soufflé before the holiday rush.
This year was no exception and I was dismayed when I stopped by to find the freezer space bare where the soufflé should be. The young woman at the counter told me to return the next day, that the shipment of soufflé would be there by then, but she wasn’t sure what time the shipment would arrive. Not wanting to waste a trip, I called first the next day.
“Did your shipment of sweet potato soufflé arrive yet,” I asked the woman who answered the phone.
“Ma’am,” the woman said, sounding harried and not particularly friendly. “I don’t know what time the shipment will get here, I don’t know if it will include the soufflé, and if it does, don’t ask because we can’t save any for you.”
I was surprised. This was the weekend before Thanksgiving and the store didn’t know when or if one of its most popular holiday items would be in stock?
I went to the Honeybaked Ham site and filled in a complaint. Later, telling my mother about the incident, she said, “Oh, I’ve had that happen before with Honeybaked. They’ll send you a coupon to apologize.”
A coupon would be nice – our New Year includes a ham and the coupon would ensure I was back at Honeybaked – but I really wanted an apology.
The next day, I got one. The manager of the store called, explaining that for some reason the soufflé in their freezer was all past its sell-by date and they had had to empty their inventory and reorder. But the soufflé should be in that day, and they should have plenty.
I went in and, sure enough, the sweet potato soufflé that would make my husband’s Thanksgiving complete was there. I bought it, but as I left from my second trip to the not-close Honeybaked Ham store, I wished I had a coupon to take some of the sting out of the second trip.
So, the apology was lovely. It showed great customer service that the manager called right away to follow up. But the food at Honeybaked Ham is expensive. Will I go back for a New Year’s ham without a coupon? Probably not – in this case, customer service needs to be accompanied by a great deal.
What about you? Will you forgive rudeness if the price is right, or will you pay more for good service?
