This is something that was big news a few years ago, but I wanted to remind people because it’s an excellent example of good customer service that led to great PR!
This is a copy of a couple of letters that have been making the social media rounds creating some excellent publicity for the company in question at the same time.
The first letter said simply..
Dear Sainssssssssbbbbbbbburyyy’s
Why is tiger bread called tiger bread?
It should be called giraffe bread
Love Lily Robinson, Aged 3 ½
This is a sweet letter from a young girl, who obviously had her imagination caught by the bread in question! Many customer service reps would have had a little smile then got on with their day barely giving it a second thought. However, this little girl got lucky and it was opened by Mr. King.
The response came back to the little girl…..
I think renaming tiger bread giraffe bread is a brilliant idea – it looks much more like the blotches on a giraffe than the stripes on a tiger, doesn’t it?”
It is called tiger bread because the first baker who made it a looong time ago thought it looked stripey like a tiger. Maybe they were a bit silly.
Chris King (age 27 & 1/3)
He also included a £3 gift card.
The mum posted it on her blog and it then went on to the social network sites before being picked up by mainstream media (including the BBC). Sainsbury’s (the supermarket in question) responded to the media interest by renaming the bread to Giraffe Bread!
Aside from the pure cuteness of the story, the saga demonstrates a number of things. One is that it is important to have dedicated staff in the customer service team. Whether Chris King replied because he was bored and thought it would be fun or because he was genuinely touched by the letter who knows. The response and the mum’s subsequent action in posting it online meant that one positive example of customer service generated a hugely positive response.
And yes, 3 years on it is still called giraffe bread!
VM.