Except: Paul Newman died and they hijacked his 100% Premium Chocolate. Tu (that's an ethic "spit on the ground in distain").
I went to Whole Foods last week and couldn't find my Newman's Own. The wrapper was clean: Paul and his daughter Nell sporting the front and proclaiming it's organic heritage and how much the company had given to charities. White and Brown...easy to see, but not visible. I engaged the customer service desk and Jen came over to help me. Lo and behold, there it was - above its usual shelf position and re-packaged in a dark and light brown paper with no Paul and Nell (they turned out to be miniaturized on the back). Hmm...somethin's fishy in Newmanville.
Home I went with my two Espresso bars (not to be confused with the java joints of the same name). A couple days later my "original" bar had reached its end and I opened my "new" Newman. Tu...gritty, not as tasty, Tu.
Why the heck do companies pull that crap? Always screwin' with the formula. Usually by somebody who wants to show their "creative" worth in the employment que. "Hey...let's re-package it, now that Paul's at the great race track in the sky, and change the formula - I think it needs an upgrade." Newman would have had his or her hide (God love 'im).
So...I mosey into Whole Foods tonight on my way home from my usual Sunday activities and say hi to Jen. In passing...I tell her that the chocolate wasn't as good as it's predecessor. I figured I'd update her on the news since she was so helpful.
Immediately she came over to me, walked me to the chocolate aisle and said, "Pick out two other bars. Customers should be satisfied and I know how much you liked that original chocolate." I was floored! This certainly wasn't Verizon!!
Huh? I'm not used to that kinda customer service. I did as I was told. Dark Chocolate? Two bars? Pour Moi? Oui? Yum.
Now, how do I get Whole Foods to get into the multiple voice mailbox telephone business? Hmm...
Oh yeah, Jen suggested I e-mail Newman's Own. I'm on it like a jet!
This post is full of great stuff.
ReplyDelete1st) The danger in repackaging and/or repositioning in the supermarket. Dan had been blissfully engaged in his Sunday routine without incident nor the need to think outside the box until the Newman's Own Organic Espresso Dark Chocolate was discovered "missing". We are creatures of habit, for better or worse. Dan wasn't able to "see" the repackaged and repositioned Newman's Own Organic Espresso Dark Chocolate even though they were simply one shelf higher than "usual". I'd venture a wager that 9,999 out of 10,000 of us wouldn't have spotted them.
2nd) The power of loyalty. Dan is obviously loyal to both Whole Foods and Newman's Own. The loyalty caused Dan to engage the customer service department in response to the missing chocolate.
3rd) The value and effectiveness of frontline empowerment. Jen reinforces the loyalty to Whole Foods by offering samples of substitutes for the reengineered Newman's Own chocolate.
Wow, simple and powerful stuff.
Scott,
ReplyDeleteYou're right! They've sealed my loyalty even further by their actions.
Best,
Dan