Customer Service: Meguiars vs Mothers

[wash-girl]

In the past couple of days, I`ve been in contact with both Meguiars & Mothers, regarding products. Both contacts were initiated through the companies` websites. The difference in responses, from their customer service departments, was quite surprising.



First the good:



Late Wednesday morning, I sent Meguiars a simple comment on my slight dissatisfaction with NXT Protectant. Within the hour, I had a nicely written response from one of their Surface Care Specialists, Brian Hann. He addressed all my points and offered me a choice of their other protectants as a replacement. I asked for some #38 Tire & Trim gel, since I have been unable to locate a supplier who carries it. He wrote back and said he would send it out soon. I expected I might get a sample size bottle next week sometime. TODAY, a full 16 oz bottle arrived by UPS! There was no request for a return of the remaining NXT or anything else. I was left with a great product and the sense that Meguiars really cares about their consumers. I will certainly remain a loyal customer as a result.



Now for Mothers:



Yesterday, I decided I wanted to buy one of their Chip Repair Kits (the Nanka equivalent). I wrote from the website to ask, simply, where I might find the kit at a local retail outlet, and what the MSRP was. The response was one that made me think they hardly had time for such a question. It was several hours before I heard anything, and then came the dismissive response: "It`s easier to just order from us. An order form is attached for your convenience." I searched the tiny listings of the PDF form and found the kit for $19.99 plus shipping. I knew the kit sold for $12-14 retail, but it appeared they couldn`t be bothered telling me where I might find it. And it`s not like I live in a remote rural area. There are dozens of Mothers retailers in metro-Louisville. Oh well. I found it for about $9 on eBay and have it on it`s way for about the expected retail price. But it`ll be the last Mothers product I buy--even though I had planned to get their QD when my Megs ran out.



It`s just on principle. In a world where big industry rules the roost, I will still always go where the service is best. </end rant>

[forrest@mothers]

Jim - I`m sorry you weren`t happy with our customer service. Until I can get into the office and check some details, I need some clarification.



You mentioned e-mailing Meguiar`s at a late morning time. Since California is 3 hours behind you, they would be open and you`d get a quick, professional response.



Do you remember what time it was when you e-mailed us? I`ll find the e-mail inquiry Monday morning, but remember, if it was 9 AM your time, that would be 6 AM for us, and my folks would be sleeping. I wouldn`t expect a response from a California based company before 11:30 AM or so your time.



As for pricing, I made a conscious decision to not pursue consumer sales when we developed our website. I don`t want our customers thinking we`re trying to steal the consumer business from them, so we price products at Suggested Retail Price, which in the case of Paint Chip Repair is $19.99. You can certainly find it for less from our e-tailers. Our site is quite clear on this - we really don`t want to sell direct since it`s inefficient and expensive to pack 1 bottle at a time and ship it off.



My only problem is the tone you indicated from the e-mailed response, and our lack of suggesting you check with one of our e-tailers. I`ll look into that Monday as well.



I`m sorry you`re not interested in purchasing other of our products due to the way this was handled, but thankfully there are many other quality products you can find from a variety of manufacturers.



Forrest Tosie

Vice President, Sales

Mothers® Polishes•Waxes•Cleaners

[imported_Blake]

Jim: The only thing that I think needs to be added here is that as for their involvement with Autopia both Forrest who represents Mothers and Mike Phillips for Meguiars operate with a lot of class. They are good representatives for their employers.

[wash-girl]

Originally posted by Blake

... for their involvement with Autopia both Forrest who represents Mothers and Mike Phillips for Meguiars operate with a lot of class. They are good representatives for their employers.



Agreed.



And I did not mean to disparage Forrest, as I believe he is, indisputably, a helpful and respected participant in the Autopia community. I was just very impressed with the level of Meguiars customer service, and--even disregarding the promptness factor--disappointed with the impersonal demeanor of the Mothers response.



Forrest:

Thanks for your reply, here. I have actually deleted the e-mails, so I don`t have the time stamps for my outgoing or the resonse. I was not as disappointed in the timliness of the response as in the tone. I can tell you that I did get two copies of the same response, at different times. I don`t know if that was a quirk in your e-mail system or because the rep didn`t remember sending the first response. I`m sure y`all are busy people and there are a lot of questions that can be handled by form letters, I just think maybe a review should be made of the wording on such forms. And a few extra minutes are certainly in order when a specific request is clearly communicated.



Thanks, again, for your response. I hope my feedback is useful

[forrest@mothers]

I`ll know more Monday, and will PM what I find out.



Thanks.