Mama was right

My mama always told me that there ain't nothing wrong with writing a good old fashion letter if you have a problem and need it fixed. I have seen the fruits of her labor and am a believer. She once got our road paved with her letter writing campaign and media assault on our County Commissioners. Then there was the time the Uniden phone exploded and burnt a hole in the carpet, a well written letter and a few phone calls and the house was recarpted in exchange for the explosive phone.

With everything each of has going on, taking the time to write a letter isn't always feasible. There are too many companies turning a deaf ear, because let's face it there are a lot of people out there who want something for nothing, and therefore customer service ain't what it use to be. However, I made the time recently and not really because I expected something in return. I saw something and it disturbed me, many of you may find it amusing I was bothered by it, but I didn't think what I saw portrayed the chain in the light it should be and I thought Corporate should know. Paint me surprised with what happened next, customer service is alive a well and liquid goodness will be enjoyed by me.

Recently on a grocery expedition to Kroger with Wayne and Hadley (This could possibly be my least favorite activity in the whole world, Wayne's need to comparison shop and shift me to the Kroger Brand of Mac N Cheese when only Kraft will do and Hadley's inability to sit still, drive me absolutely mad, but that is a rant for another day.), Wayne offered to treat me to a Starbucks, I'm sure in an effort to make me more pleasant as he leisurely strolled the store comparison shopping. I accepted and off I went to Starbucks, so conveniently tucked in Kroger (I love this Marketing scheme, fabulous!!!) Anyhoo, I attempted to order my usual, a Cafe' Mocha with two extra pumps of Mocha and whip creme, the barista and I were having communication difficulties, as I spoke English and not his native youth muttering. You see he was an interesting sort, obviously interested in body art, but probably not old enough to commit to actual tattoos, as he had drawn all over himself with an ink pen. There were intricate designs up both of his arms, on his hands, and on his neck. It was clearly ink pen, it was smudged in many places. This fascination with ink pen art was not what caused me alarm, it was what I realized he had inked across his knuckles as he handed me my coveted Cafe' Mocha. Each knuckle contained a letter and when you put the letters together, they said DROP DEAD. Clearly, this was an individual with a lot to say and for a moment I paused, was I taking a drink of death. I am still here, so obviously not, and I couldn't let my Cafe' Mocha go to waste. So the following day, I crafted an e-mail to Corporate expressing my concern about how he was presenting himself to the Starbucks public and that I didn't think it reflected positively on the Company. Imagine my surprise when I got the below in the mail along with a real letter (not a form letter) from a real person apologizing and offering the enclosed two vouchers for two complimentary drinks of my choosing. Thank you Starbucks, for taking the time to read my letter and offer an apology, I certainly got a lot more than I expected and thank you Mama for teaching me a well crafted letter is not wasted. Liquid goodness, here I come!!!!!!!

Have any of you had a situation where you wrote a letter to a company and saw results?