I recently replaced an old short puffer with a new packable orange one made of down. It ticked off all the boxes, fit perfectly, and the colour made me smile. I wore it right away for longer outdoor walks. It was great and I felt fabulous wearing it.
It needed a wash sooner than I expected. I’ve had bad experiences washing down puffers in the washing machine, and was a little apprehensive about it. I usually dry-clean them, but the washing instruction indicated ‘Do Not Dry Clean’, so that was that. So I popped the puffer into the machine and followed the instructions TO THE LETTER. I turned the puffer inside out, used cold water, a gentle detergent, and turned on the ‘Delicates’ cycle. The puffer was a clumpy mess after the wash, but I didn’t stress just yet. The instructions suggested to ‘Tumble Dry Low’ with three tennis balls, which I had bought precisely for this purpose, and I did just that.
Disaster.
The down was a clumpy wet mess no matter what I did. I tried a few drying cycles, different levels of heat, shaking out the jacket, and un-clumping the down with my fingers. All to no avail. The jacket was unwearable and I was disappointed.
I emailed Macy’s customer service, relayed the story, and attached a photo of the clumpy down puffer mess. Within an hour I received an apology and the reassurance that a full refund would be issued in 7 to 10 days. They re-sent a UPS label so that I could ship the faulty item back for free. I was much impressed. It’s wonderful when retailers stand behind their products. Keeping customers happy does make a difference. I am more than willing to spend my fashion dollars at Macy’s again because of this positive experience.
It’s back to looking for a short bright puffer with a hood in one of my happy colours. In the meantime, care to share a good customer service story of your own?
