More often than not, I’m writing about companies I don’t appreciate. Whether they ignore bugs and over brag their selection (Hulu Plus) or boost my cellphone service just long enough to shut me up (Verizon), there’s been a fair amount of businesses that have made my list. (Which, right now is a piece of paper that says Verizon and Hulu Plus on it.) But every now and then, there’s a company that surprises me. They aren’t greedy, genuinely care about customers, and if they happen to be draining your wallet unnecessarily, they at least have the decency to hide it.
This honor most recently goes to Kroger, the grocery store giant. The mogul has multiple branches, depending on location; for me it happens to be Dillons.
For years I’d heard Kroger is known for their customer service, but I had no idea just how good it was until I dealt with them firsthand.
The Incident
A loyal customer who loves redeeming fuel points ($.10-$1 off each gallon), I was filling up my tank earlier this month. The pump filled, and then instead of performing its automatic shut off, the gas kept flowing. Out of my car and onto the ground. I told the clerk who said only “OK” and once I pushed the point, that she would report it to maintenance.
A few days later, with a nagging feeling, I told my tale to customer service, which is located on Kroger’s nationally serving webpage.
Their Follow Up
Here’s where it gets good. Within three hours, a manager from the exact Dillions I’d filled up at, called me. He was cordial, friendly, apologetic, and was even able to located the time and date of the incident through their database. But most of all, he was timely. I’ve never been answered so quickly by customer service. This speediness comes in even more impressive when considering the info was transferred from a general Kroger email to my town and branch – a tracking done by their own accord, not by my telling them.
It turned out the employed hadn’t reported the overflowing pump at all, and sure it would have been nice to receive a coupon for the $2-$4 of fuel I watched splash onto the concrete. But every company has questionable college kids working for them; it’s management that matters. Would I still have enjoyed a discount to make up for my troubles? Absolutely. But the manager was just so darn nice that I’m willing to forget this lack of gesture. He was honest, asked questions, and assured me that he would have the issue fixed ASAP. He also promised to work on tact training with his employees. And while I don’t want anyone to get in trouble, it was nice to hear actions for improvement would be taken.
Giving My Support
Overall, Kroger, you’ve impressed the pants off of me. Your customer service is prompt, effective, and so efficient that it got me to write a blog about it. Keep up the good work.
Bethaney Wallace
Bethaney Wallace is a tea drinking, Amazon loving writer and editor. When she's not working to half-run TSR or CKA, she loves reading and looking for new DIY projects.
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