Maukilo Customer Service - BETTER

On December 19th, we ordered a gift for our son on Maukilo.com, a European toy store specializing in non-toxic materials. We purchased 2 day express shipping from UPS, guaranteeing that we would get the gift by December 24th. We followed the package on UPS package tracking (still one of my personal favorite innovations on the web) and by Tuesday the 22nd, the package was in state. Over the next 24 hours, the package moved about 10 miles and finally on the morning of the 24th, it said "Out for Delivery".

When our normal 5PM delivery time came and went we got nervous and called UPS. At 5:30PM we called the UPS Customer Service and were guaranteed the package would arrive and that the drivers would be out extra late. Again we waited, nervous, but reassured by UPS. At 7:30PM we called again and were told that the drivers could arrive as late as 10PM and again we are reassured that the gift will arrive in time for Christmas. I asked my wife, "Should I go hit the stores to find a replacement gift?" since this item was the only thing he had asked for from Santa. We agreed not to completely interrupt our Christmas Eve dinner and festivities more than we already had and trusted UPS to come through. 10:30PM and no package. We called a 3rd time to UPS and were a 3rd time told that drivers were still out and could deliver packages as late as midnight. "The package is coming." My pregnant wife finally had to go to sleep at about 11PM and I had to stay up to diligently wait for UPS.

 
At 12:05AM Christmas morning, we still had no package and I made a 4th and final call to UPS. After 30 minutes on hold (the same time it would have taken me to just go pick it up from your shipping center myself), the gentleman I spoke with at this point said he could pretty much guarantee that the package was not coming. He said it would have to be registered as a lost package and it likely got taken off the truck by mistake when it went out. If the package wasn't found, I would have to take it up with the shipper. The package was delivered on December 26^th, 4 days after it arrived 30 minutes from my home. Terrible, terrible, terrible from UPS. 

So how is this a BETTER post you ask?

I sent an e-mail to some people at UPS detailing the issue and the ensuing problems of not having a child's special gift on Christmas. I CC'd the Customer Service address at Maukilo.com. While UPS basically has ignored my e-mail, Maukilo took serious charge of the situation.

Here is an exerpt of the note they sent me:

"We are so sorry to hear of your problem. We have contacted UPS and are very dissatisfied with what we were told. According to them they cannot guarantee delivery on December 22,23, and 24th. They will not refund us the price of the express since they do not guarantee delivery on those dates. We do understand that problems do arise with weather, such as last year, but they could not explain why they were out for delivery and did not deliver your package. We as a corporation spend a lot of time on customer service and try to do the very best for our customers and to offer an option for express shipping. We have now contacted the North East Representative which we have heard no reply from as of yet. We know that the blame game is not a good game to play, you did your part and we did ours. So we will refund you the cost of the express shipping that you paid and will continue our dispute with UPS. We have also forwarded a copy of your e-mail to the NE Rep.

Sorry sometimes can not wash away bad feelings. We are shipping out something very special to your son as an apology.

 If there is anything we can do please do not hesitate to contact us again.

Once again sorry for any inconvenience.

Thank you"

The note blew me away by itself. When we got the gift they sent, I was in complete disbelief. It was that good, and in actuality was worth much more than the item we purchased in the first place. That wasn't the point to Maukilo, though. They know that the long tail is the most important thing and a little extra cost to them right now can translate into lots and lots of purchases for years to come. It will.

Maukilo gets a huge BETTER.