I Want Proof You Care

I am a big social media advocate. I love being able to build my personal brand through status updates, tweets, and sharing links between other social media platforms or websites. Many people use social media as another form of entertainment but everything you do, especially online, represents you. It is easy to build (or destroy) your personal brand online.

Recently I read an article from Sprout Social titled, “Customer Support Professionals Share Their Tips on Using Twitter Well,” which talks about the power of using social media for customer service. I have always preached that customer service is one of the most important things you and your company can do to build a positive brand. After reading this article it reminded me of an experience that I had recently.

Just 3 weeks ago I went to Hawaii for my spring break. While there I ran into a very cool guy who told me he worked for Proof, a company that makes and sales wooden sunglasses. I expressed that I have seen those before and have wanted to get a pair but didn’t want to pay a high price for a pair of sunglasses that possibly didn’t fit my face right. After listening to my problem he gave me a promo code saying, “Use this, it’ll get you half off any of our products. I know you will like them!”

My Bamboo Sunglasses

He was right, I do like them! When I got home from my trip I ordered 2 pairs of sunglasses and a wooden wallet. I was excited to sport my new sunglasses and use my new wallet. Sadly, just 5 days later my wooden wallet would snap in half.

The next day on Facebook, I noticed they posted a photo promoting a giveaway on the same wallet that just broke on me. Follow the link and pay attention to all the comments, you’ll notice 90 percent of comments are negative. They all say something about their wallets snapping in half. Proof’s response was weak, “Yeah they are made as a front pocket wallet.” A good customer service/social media representative at this point would’ve said something like this:

“I am sorry to hear about you not being satisfied with the quality of our product. We pride ourselves in making high quality products that make our customers happy. We appreciate your business and would be glad to replace your wallet or give you credit towards another one of our unique wooden products. Please contact (insert customer service e-mail or phone number) and we’ll take care of you!” 

This type of response shows that you care about your customers by listening to their problems and want to make it right, even if they misused the product by putting it the back pocket instead of the front pocket. Many businesses do not understand the consequence’s of poor customer service nor the reach of good customer service. I have two examples of this:

Example 1:

When I had my wooden wallet friends, family, or strangers that I was exchanging money with would be like “Woah…That is a cool wallet! Where did you get it?” I would respond by telling them I got it online at iwantproof.com. Since my wallet is broken I don’t have that happening anymore. Furthermore if someone later asked me about what happened to it when I pull a different wallet out, I would tell them that the product was a waste of money because it broke on me in just a matter of days.

Example 2:

Without fail when I wear my bamboo sunglasses I get someone asking me if they are made out of wood and where I got them. I tell them I got them online and they ask if they can try them on. I gladly let them try it on and tell them where to get them. They get all excited while writing down the website and thank me as we go our separate ways. I even had a friend send me a picture wearing her new sunglasses saying, "Thanks!"

In the first example they could’ve replaced the wallet. This would’ve not only got me to feel appreciated and love their company but I would’ve continued promoting their product every time I pulled it out to pay for something. Except this time, I would pull it out and would be more enthusiastic when talking about the product and the company.

I may not recommend their wallet but I do like their sunglasses. Proof is a start up company and I understand they are growing at a rapid rate because they were on ABC's Shark Tank. I hope as time goes on they don’t continue using this as crutch and up their customer service in order to match the rest of their brand.

I am rooting for you Proof, don’t let me down!