5 times outstanding customer service truly saved Christmas

For many of us, Christmas means attending family get-togethers, exchanging thoughtful gifts, enjoying great food, and watching Home Alone way too many times. Of course, challenges occasionally pop-up during these joyful days – a lost or stolen present, a misprinted mass ad or an illness can easily shake up the regular festivities.

Luckily, with some kindness, out-of-the-box thinking and a sprinkle of Christmas magic, even the worst day can turn around. In this post, we’ve gathered five stories where outstanding customer service saved Christmas in unexpected ways.

1. The Grinch, the gift, and the contact center miracle

Imagine this: You’ve figured out your son’s dream Christmas present and manage to order it just in time before the holidays. However, three days before Christmas Eve, you realize the big present – a $500 PlayStation 3 – hasn’t arrived yet. Checking your order’s status, you find out something rather surprising: not only has the package been shipped, but it was already delivered to your apartment days ago and signed for by one of your neighbors. When you knock on her door to collect your son’s gift, she tells you that she put the package in the hallway. Suddenly, you realize the pricey PlayStation 3 must have been stolen.

This exact scenario happened to Joe with his Amazon order. Knowing he had no way of replacing the gift in time, he called Amazon’s customer service as a last resort, knowing he could hardly blame them for the Grinch’s crime. But to his surprise, the agent he contacted was able to save the day and a little boy’s Christmas. Not only did he arrange a new PlayStation 3 for the customer, but he also upgraded the shipping to make sure it reached him before Christmas- all free of charge!

Image source: https://theadamskilt.com/news/how-the-grinch-stole-christmas-a-real-life-edition/

2. Email saves Lego city – and Christmas

It’s not just adults who lose toys; sometimes, it happens to kids as well. Take 7-year-old Luka, for example. He was very proud to show off his new LEGO Ninjago Ultra Sonic Raider Set and took the figures everywhere he went. Then, on one fateful day, against his dad’s advice, Luka brought one of the figures (Jay ZX) along on a shopping trip. Somewhere along the way, Jay ZX fell out of Luka’s pocket, never to be found again.

The little boy wrote an email to LEGO’s customer service, explaining the situation and asking to send him a replacement, promising he won’t make the same mistake again. Shortly after, he received an answer that made his day – and won LEGO a lifetime customer. Richard, the customer service representative, wrote:

“Luka,

I told Sensei Wu that losing your Jay mini figure was purely an accident and that you would never 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 mini figures like the dragons protect the Weapons of Spinjitzu!’

Sensei Wu also told me it was okay 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 mini figure with all his weapons. You will actually have the only Jay mini figure 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 mini figures protected like the Weapons of Spinjitzu! And of course, always listen to your Dad.”

And if you wonder what happened to Jay ZX, let’s just say the store found two extra helping hands for the holiday rush. 

3. A personalized offer Santa would approve of

Ever wonder how Apple keeps track of why people return products? They write the reasons on sticky notes and put them on the items. With this practice, they make sure to catch any recurring issues and production defects early on.

One week, Apple’s product team turned its attention to the returned iPad 2s, manually reviewing each post-it note. Among them was one that simply read“Wife said no,” which the employees (and even two VPs) found amusing. The team decided to send back the iPad 2 with a second note saying, “Apple said yes.”

4. Developers from Santa’s nicest list

When this Redditor’s son was recovering from a 9-hour liver transplant surgery, video game company Bungie (most known for the Halo franchise) decided to surprise the young fan in the hospital with a few special gifts. The developer team brought him a card signed by the entire studio, a Halo shirt, and a helmet based off of the main character, custom-made to fit the boy.

According to the father, his son was pretty excited to show his new helmet to any doctor or nurse that came to check up on him, and he was “a different person after their visit.”

Image source: https://imgur.com/a/Xdjdj

5. The most festive customer service hotline

Did you know that the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD, previously known as Continental Air Defense Command) has a Santa tracking radar so that people all around the world can follow his journey?

The tradition dates back to 1955 when a newspaper invited children to phone Santa Claus. However, the number in the ad was misprinted, and the Continental Air Defense Command Center ended up receiving the calls. Colonel Harry Shoup, who was on duty that night, quickly realized the mistake so he decided to play along and provide updates for the children on the whereabouts of Santa. Ever since then, dedicated websites, mobile apps and social media updates keep people informed about Santa’s arrival in their respective regions.

Christmas: Officially saved

We hope you found these stories inspiring – one day, maybe you’ll save one of your customers’ Christmas, too. For similar content, check out these posts as well:

• Crazy contact center facts you didn’t know you needed in your life
• 3 spooky contact center stories for Halloween
• 3 fun and useful customer service training games