How to 'build' great customer service!


When I was kid I used to love building things with Lego. So I was heartened to read a really charming story about how their customer service department recently helped a seven-year-old boy called Luka who lost a Lego piece. The company could have just ignored his email altogether. Or they could have offered to replace the missing piece if he paid for it.

But instead, they went well beyond the call of duty to help him, and as a result, Lego has gained priceless positive publicity, both in the mainstream media and on social media sites such as Twitter.

This is not only a lovely story, but it is also proof of the great benefits of devoting a bit of extra time and energy to customer service, in order to gain positive PR coverage, and to enhance customer retention rates.

This is what Luka wrote:

Hello. My name is Luka and I am seven years old. With all my money I got for Christmas I bought the Ninjago kit of the Ultrasonic Raider. The number is 9449. It is really good. My Daddy just took me to Sainsburys and told me to leave the people at home but I took them and I lost Jay ZX at the shop as it fell out of my coat. I am really upset I have lost him. Daddy said to send you an email to see if you will send me another one. I promise I won't take him to the shop again if you can. Thank you.


The Lego Customer Service Department replied:

Thanks for sending us an email!

We are very sorry to hear about you losing your Jay minifigure but it sounds like your dad might have been right about leaving it at home. It sounds like you are very sad about it too.

Normally we would ask that you pay for a new one if you lose one of your minifigures and need to have it replaced. My bosses told me I could not send you one out for free because you lost it but, I decided that I would put a call into Sensei Wu to see if he could help me.

Luka, I told Sensei Wu that losing your Jay minifigure was purely an accident and that you would never ever ever let it happen ever again. He told me to tell you, "Luka your father seems like a very wise man. You must always protect your Ninjago minifigures like the dragons protect the Weapons of Spinjitzu!" Sensei Wu also told me it was OK if I sent you a new Jay and told me it would be okay if I included something extra for you because anyone that saves their Christmas money to buy the Ultrasonic Raider must be a really big Ninjago fan.

So, I hope you enjoy your Jay minifigure with all his weapons. You will actually have the only Jay minifigure that combines 3 different Jays into one! I am also going to send you a bad guy for him to fight!

Just remember, what Sensei Wu said: keep your minifigures protected like the Weapons of Spinjitzu! And of course, always listen to your dad.

You will see an envelope from LEGO within the next two weeks with your new minifigures. Please take good care of them, Luka. Remember that you promised to always leave them at home.

Richard, Lego Customer Service

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But this doesn't appear to be an isolated incident for Lego. Social media sites such as Twitter are full of messages from other customers saying that they've had similar experiences. And Lego’s outstanding customer service department have further enhanced their reputation by thanking people for sharing their stories and for the compliments on Twitter.

What a fantastic example of the benefits - to both customers and businesses - of devoting time and energy to providing excellent customer service.