<p>We recently received great service from several companies. I thought it might be nice to share those experiences. (I have no relationship with them at all). Please add to the list. I hope it grows to be very long! </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Eddie Bauer & FedEx: My d. needed a last minute winter coat for her study abroad. She found one she liked, on sale at EB Outlet, but they did not have her size. With only 4 days until she left, they offered to ground ship her one (for a very small fee). I thought there was no way it would arrive in time, but they assured me that if it arrived late, we could still return it to any EB store nationwide. The salesperson called many other stores (in several states) until she found the correct size. When found, the salesperson at the other store, called FedEx for a return pick up (they had already left their location for that day). I called the store back 2 days later, to secure the tracking number. They searched through their records to find it. When I entered the tracking number online, I discovered it was already delivered (to a less used door)! Kudos to Eddie Bauer (and FedEx).</p></li>
<li><p>Schwab: My d. opened a Schwab checking account to use while studying abroad (no ATM or transaction fees). We also had an account for previous travel. Both of us have had to call for a number of reasons. The phone assistance has always been incredible (short hold times, quick answers, good policies). It is also extremely easy to transfer funds from our account to hers in the event of an emergency.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Costco - only once in my two decades of shopping at many, many North American Costco’s (US, Canada and Mexico!) I encountered a rude associate - at my local store. Needless to say, I no longer see her face at the store, and I shop there weekly! Love their generous return policies, although I do not abuse them.</p>
<p>Nordstrom - they take anything back, no questions asked (I have never returned a worn item to Nordy’s, but I’ve seen people do that all the time). I love that their SAs do not follow you like a shadow, but instead magically appear out of nowhere at the right moment when you have a question (Macy’s - do you hear me?).</p>
<p>Trader Joe’s - wow, what a bunch of genuinely friendly people they have working there.</p>
<p>I ordered an item from the flash sale site, One Kings Lane, which didn’t ship at the expected time. When I contacted customer service they explained the shipment would be delayed and assigned a personal representative to contact me on an ongoing basis to give me a status update. In addition, they sent a personal thank you note with the order as well as a small set of stationery as a thank you for ordering from them (which they apparently do for all customers). I was very impressed.</p>
<p>I’m going to second BB’s choices. Those are three of my favorite places to do business. </p>
<p>Wegman’s - During Christmas, I had overbought some sinful candy that I wanted to have around the house for visitors. It was calling my name and I needed to get the extra bags out of here. I didn’t have the receipt and would have been happy with store credit. The product had been marked down and I was willing to take the reduced price just to get it out of my house. The customer service manager didn’t want to give me the reduced refund. She asked me when I’d bought it, looked up the price at the time, and gave me the full refund. It wasn’t a lot of money, but it was just another example of how they put the customer first. Wegman’s is one of the most well-run companies around. Its a pleasure shopping there.</p>
<p>Maybe it goes without saying, but Zappos is wonderful to deal with.</p>
<p>Since cable companies get a lot of flack, I’ll mention that my experiences with Cablevision (Optimum) have always been excellent–not really service above and beyond the call, but polite, competent customer service folks and short wait times on the phone, plus technicians who show up when they say they will and get the job done. I guess that shouldn’t be extraordinary, but these days it is.</p>
<p>Ann Taylor. Love both their beautiful clothes and their very helpful service. And if you need a different size, they are on the phone just like that to help you find the item anywhere in the country. A pleasure to shop there.</p>
<p>Urbanears! They make really nice headphones. I got a pair for my iPad last year, and my H decided he wanted a pair this year. A week or so after Christmas, I realized we had accidentally thrown a little microphone that was supposed to be attached to the headphones out with the Christmas wrapping. I contacted Urbanears company via their website, and asked if I could buy a replacement. </p>
<p>They asked me if it was included in the package or left out of the box. I told them it had definitely been in the package, and it was totally my fault that the piece got thrown out in error.</p>
<p>So the manager sent me a very nice note, and told me they insisted on sending me the replacement - free of charge, no mailing fee! When it arrived, they included a little paper heart. </p>
<p>A little chain of shoe stores in CA called Footcandy - when I called to inquire about a specific style, they went out of their way to locate a pair for me, it was shipped for free with a nice handwritten thank you note enclosed with my order.</p>
<p>Nordstrom lover here. Very consistent good service, and taking things back, no questions asked over the years. Also, will ship you things for free, if they don’t have your size at the store.</p>
<p>Another for Nordstroms - although their service is excellent and their merchandise superb, what really wins me over is that they refuse to put up Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving.</p>
<p>I bought a pair of very expensive (to me) “comfort shoes” at Nordstrom’s just over a year ago, for a trip abroad. I found (on the trip, to my dismay) they weren’t comfortable at all and have hardly worn them since. But I can’t bring myself to take them back…should I get over that? Nordstrom’s will really take them back? (I just threw out the box last week.)</p>
<p>Garnet Hill and Sierra Trading Post. I order almost all of my clothes from Garnet Hill, and we order almost all of our camping supplies, shoes, boots, slippers, mittens, etc. from STP. They both have such super fast shipping, wonderfully easy exchange and return policies, and friendly and helpful customer service reps. Sometimes I think that dealing with them is too good to be true. :)</p>
Ditto! We order lots from Amazon.com. Because I would rather drive dull pencils through both eyes than shop, I did the majority of my Christmas shopping on Amazon.com. Everything arrived when promised, sometimes even before.</p>
<p>I live on an island and shopping isn’t that easy here. I just started ordering some staples from Amazon, like paper towels, pharmacy items, and a particular kind of organic mushroom soup broth we like. So easy! If you spend $50 or more, shipping is free. I ordered on Wed. night and paper towels were here Friday. Why have I been hauling all this stuff over here on the ferry? Better prices than here on the island and delivered to my doorstep!</p>
<p>The Saks at Prudential Center, Boston. They can’t do enough to help find just the perfect item, and I always receive a handwritten thank you note after any purchase, no matter how small. My favorite sales associate even calls me when something I tried on goes on sale - yet, no pressure to buy whatsoever.</p>
<p>Lord & Taylor up there with Nordstrom’s. I also have found that the Barnes & Noble in Union Square staff to be very helpful and accommodating, especially as compared to the late Border’s which must have specialized in unhelpful and knowledgeable sales staff. Zappo’s is great as is Crate & Barrel and Land’s End.</p>
<p>Correction to previous post… regarding Border’s, I meant the opposite of knowledgeable sales staff. Another place to avoid entirely however is Buy, Buy, Baby. I had had terrible service there and for people who are dealing with young families, many with lots of questions about what they need to buy…there isn’t anyone at least at the store of 7th Avenue & 25th Street in Manhattan that seems to know anything. Actually I think they prefer you to order online if you go in with a baby registry to select a gift and have it either delivered locally or wrapped to take with you.</p>