Straight Pitches Key To Happy Customers: Turning Delayed Order to Your Customer's Advantage

Good Nature Publishing is a niche publisher of fine art.

I design and publish original poster size field guides to help people connect with nature -- and have a side of love for Dugald Stermer's Anatomy of Baseball, Knuckleball, and Slider.

We usually get orders right -- I assume silence is golden with most customers. As a small publisher, it sometimes happens that I am in between editions on a print and there are delays getting art sent to a customer as promised.

And we have fine friends who just write me once in a while saying "Where's my art?"

So it was a treat to get this love note from a customer on the East Coast regarding her order for Good Nature's baseball art:

Tim,

I just want to thank you for the wonderful customer service you afforded me with my recent order from your company.

The prints I ordered took longer than I expected but were no doubt worth the wait. I did inquire about the order and you told me they were backordered (or something of that nature) and that I would receive them soon.

I did received them but you went above and beyond by sending me an additional set of prints AND a larger print of the Anatomy of a Baseball.

I just want you to know that in doing that you have enabled me to make what was to be a good Christmas gift an AWESOME Christmas gift for my 12 year old baseball star.

By going that extra step you let me know that there is still wonderful customer service in this world. Since my son is an avid baseball player and fan we have contact with MANY other baseball families and once I get these framed I am going to take a picture of the finished product and email all of our baseball contacts and let them know where to go to get their own set for their baseball stars.

Being in retail you know that word of mouth is the best advertising you can get and it comes free. So I hope that by paying forward your good deed that you will reap the rewards of these other families business now and in the future. Thank you again.

Sincerely,

Michele H.


What I aspire to with all people ordering at Good Nature's website who order:

1. Mutual respect

2. Practice golden rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

3. Be candid in communications when things are not going as expected.

4. If you change delivery of a promised product or service, see 1, 2, 3.

5. Send some love - in this particular case an extra print to communicate that while I couldn't deliver the art Michele wanted immediately, I add something to her original order to let her know I cared. Fun how things turn out.