Are a few dollars worth customer satisfaction and loyalty?

There’s no hiding that I am a diehard Minnesota Vikings fan. So it was no surprise when my Secret Santa/sister-in-law bought me an OYO Sports Endzone Set for Christmas. I was ecstatic!

Within days I was assembling the building brick kit at home. However, one of the bricks had a minifigure’s arm stuck inside of it. Try as I might with a bunch of different tools — pens, toothpicks, tweezers, etc. — I couldn’t wiggle the piece loose.

Bummed out, I went to the OYO website and found the “Contact Us” form. I filled it out, informing the company of my dilemma. I wrote that I already had enough minifigure arms, so all I really needed was one 2X1 yellow brick to finish the goal post construction.

Within a day, I had an email response from OYO with an apology and questions about which set it was and which part needed replacing. The email also asked for my address, so the new piece could be shipped. I responded, even sending a photo of the broken piece. Again OYO responded quickly, saying an order for a replacement piece had been made, and it would be shipped within 10-14 days.

Within a week, the piece had left OYO, and when the package arrived at my house, it not only contained the one piece I needed to have replaced, but the entire bag of bricks needed to build the goal post. (I’m sure this was easier than grabbing one brick off the production line and shipping that.)

I know this fix cost OYO something. It probably wasn’t much, but it was something. Yet, I so appreciate getting a replacement so quickly and without question. I will be making future purchases from OYO not just because the OYO products are cool, but mostly because I know the company stands by its products and supports its customers when there is an issue.

Think about how this could apply to your dealership. If a customer’s life jacket rips two days after they bought it, do you make them go to the manufacturer for a return, or do you simply exchange it on site? Or if a new boat buyer can’t start his motor a week after the purchase, will you send a tech to his house for troubleshooting? Yes, these things cost money, so you do have to weigh the pros and cons, but think hard before you say no because that one-time $100 hit to your bottom line could make that former one-time shopper into a loyal customer for life.