Superior customer service

The problem:

Hello. I just received my order #____ for Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trade paperback boxed set. Since I ordered it new and not used, I was rather disappointed to see that the box and the spine of one of the books were damaged.The tear on the book spine isn't too bad, but the damage to the box is quite unsightly, so I was wondering if it's possible to exchange the set for another (undamaged) one? (Since I'm currently living in Japan, though, I was wondering how the return shipping would work?) Thank you for your time.

The astonishing solution:

Thank you for contacting us about your order. I am very sorry to hear that your set was damaged in transit. I have gone ahead and ordered another set form our new book supplier. They will be shipping this new item to you using international priority shipping. You should receive this package within the next 5-14 business days. I apologize for any inconvenience this delay may cause.

Please do not worry about returning the damaged set to us. If you have no use for them, please consider donating them to a local charity, of finding a friend that may be interested in reading the books.

Please be sure to let us know if there's anything else that we can help you with. Have a great day!

Sincerely,
T--
Better World Books
www.BetterWorldBooks.com

After experiencing the endurance test that Air Canada calls customer service (see my 1/21 and 2/11 posts for full details), I was absolutely stunned by the reply to my email. If I hadn't already decided I would try to make most of my online book purchases through Better World Books, this would have definitely sold me completely on the store! So many stores/services offer a "100% satisfaction guarantee" but very few actually do! But Better World Books is being 100% truthful when they say "We have a very generous return policy."

It's incredible how one good amazing experience with true customer service can make you feel that much less jaded/cynical about businesses in general.

...

So, anyone interested in a cosmetically damaged (I'm really picky about my books when I buy them new) but otherwise perfectly good box set of Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" (The Golden Compass) series? First come, first served! ^_^