Working With World-Class Customer Service

What’s more valuable to you? Price or service? Would you pay a few more bucks for the same product if you knew it was backed by quality service?

We had an experience recently that spotlighted the benefits of working with a high-quality company that believes in customer service and in the end, doing what was right for the customer.

Here is what happened.

In late June, we had a customer pick up our Arkham Horror bundle – almost $200 in games. This is not a small order. They get the package and showed their game group – the game group says “not interested – don’t like the theme”.  So, this customer calls me up and tells me this story. He starts asking me about a series of other games he wants to get and that he is going to trade or sell off the Arkham bundle. I told him to send it back to us and we would provide him the 125% money back guarantee.  The experience of gaming is what we sell, and I wanted him to have a positive gaming experience. The games had not even been opened, so I assumed I could just restock them into inventory. They are popular enough that I was not concerned.

So, he ships them back to us – but he shipped them to Amazon because some of the products in the bundle were originally shipped to him from there, while the rest was shipped from a supplier – rather than shipping them back to our posted address.

I was unaware this had occured, until it had already happened and Amazon had received the package. Mind you, we had already sent him replacement games. So, we were out the Arkham bundle, the replacement games, AND the multiple shipping costs – this was to the tune of about $400 now.

Amazon was confused and considered it a “problem package” and tossed it to the side – possibly never to be seen again.

I went back and forth with Support to see what we could do. No dice. Just the runaround.

We finally got a supervisor involved. Immediately they waved the Terms of Service at me and said it was shipped incorrectly and they were not responsible for any of the package – even though some of the games in the package originally shipped from them. They also claimed it was impossible to find the box – but the box had my name on it and my business name on it. We even had tracking numbers to work from. The fact was that if Amazon did the “right thing” rather than what the Terms of Service said, they were certainly not going to take a ding on the bottom line. But, it vastly affected MY bottom line.

Essentially I told the supervisor that his company needed to step up and do the right thing – refund the cost of the lost products, find the box and put those games back into my inventory so they could be  resold, or ship the box to me and let me ship them back to Amazon correctly so they can go into inventory. Blah blah blah and it seemed like they might be destined to let this just go away – even though we were only talking about $146.00, as compared to some of their larger customers.

Last week (now September), I got an e-mail from them saying they were going to credit my account for the games. Then, this week, I see $146 credited to my account at Amazon.

NICE JOB AMAZON! TWO THUMBS UP FOR TAKING CARE OF YOUR CUSTOMER (no matter what the Terms of Service says). They treated me correctly!

I point this out becasue it is important which retailers you choose to buy from and unfortunately you don’t always know the good ones until you have a problem. That is whenthey shine or it fall on their face – when you actually care.

This is why we work with Amazon. They are the best at being an alternate sales channel and at fullfilment of customer’s orders. Are they the easiest to work with? No, there is a lot of labor that goes into shipping the games up to them. But, when we needed them, they were there.

Best Dang Games could be like the other companies. We could just put a picture of a box up on the site and sell it. You receive the package and everyone’s happy. But that’s not what we do. We sell the experience of the gaming hobby and introduce  you to the community. When we actually interact with you, as a customer, we do our best to remember you – especially if you are a returning customer.

We typically offer more information about the games you are buying, we offer you videos that show you how the game works, we provide player aids and links to the online rules, if they are available. We offer this blog you are reading and we offer news and updates via Twitter. 

We do this because you are buying more than a box. You are buying an advocate and a partner that wants to see you enjoy EVERY game you get from us. That’s why we don’t have the massive catalog of games other stores promote. We carry the BEST games. We have played most of the games we promote on our site.   We have turned away games from the site because we did not believe they qualified as a “best dang game”. This helps you sift through the mass of games that are available and allows you to focus your purchasing dollars on the good stuff. You don’t have to TRY something and if you don’t like it, trade it off. Technically, you don’t even have to do a ton of time-consuming research to compare this game to that game. We’ve done that for you. Our catalog is a “best of breed” catalog.

We have actually had people say “What’s wrong? You can’t compete on price, so you throw out the “quality service” tag line!”. I am sorry, but I think these people have missed the boat. Sure, WalMart may have the best prices, but when it comes to service, Costco has them beat – and people pay a membership to shop there.

The fact is this: Every online board game retailer is selling the same boxes. They are not all selling the same experience. What experience do you want?

Best Dang Games beleives we are giving you the best service and shopping experience available in the hobby gaming market and we hope you agree that service and caring about you, our customers, is more important to you than $1.00 or $3.00 on a game.

If you have had any experiences with us or other retailers that spotlight what we are saying (positive or negative) share them with everyone here as a comment on this article. We would love to see if we are off base on this or if more companies need to care about their customers first.

Are You Coming to GenCon 2009?

If you plan to be there, don’t forget to look for Best Dang Games! We will be wandering the floor enjoying the event. However, we want to meet you!

If you see us, come up and say hello. We will have BDG shirts on with our logo.

If you give us your e-mail address for our mailing list, we will share a 20% coupon with everyone that signs up at GenCon. How sweet is that?

But wait, there’s more! By getting on our mailing list, you automatically qualify for the 10% off coupon all registrants get. Yes, 20% off one order and 10% off a second order.

But wait, we aren’t done yet! We will also have a drawing from the registered names. FOUR lucky gamers will get their pick of a game that is $50 or less (including shipping) for FREE! Yes, FREE!

So, is it worth your effort to say hello?
1) Free newsletter
2) 20% off one order
3) 10% off a second order
4) Potential to win one of four games (your choice under $50 with shipping)

Happy Gaming and we hope to see you at GenCon!

New Race For The Galaxy Card Game Expansion Videos Posted

Cory Duplantis has hooked us up again with some more review and overview videos. We focused on Race For The Galaxy again, but this time, we dove into the two expansions, The Gathering Storm and Rebel Vs. Imperium.

If you are curious about this game, hopefully these will help you get a better feel for them.

New Race For The Galaxy Card Game Video Posted

We have the first in a multi-video series posted about the Rio Grande Games card game, Race For The Galaxy.

This game is an advanced version of Puerto Rico and San Juan, but with a science-fiction theme.

In this first video, of three, Cory Duplantis introduces the concepts of the game and how the basic flow of the game works.

New Catan Card Game Video Posted

If you like Settlers of Catan, Card Games, and portability, you should check this video out. Cory Duplantis provides you with an overview of how to play the game, as well as a bit of strategy and a review.

Enjoy!

New Game Bundle of the Month!

We have changed out the Game Bundle of the Month. Yes, we know it is half-way through the month, but we had the past bundle up for more than a month.

This month, the Game Bundle of the Month is (drumroll!) Carcassonne Big Box 2.

This is a FANTASTIC DEAL! Save 15% this month on the Carcassonne Big Box 2! You save $8.70! Typically, this box sells for $58.00. Don’t miss this offer! If you have been considering buying Carcassonne and any expansions, NOW is the time to do it!

This Big Box is the same size of the original Carcassonne Big Box, but with a slightly different component mix.

This big box includes:

• Carcassonne
• Inns & Cathedrals
• Traders & Builders
• Princess & Dragon
• Abbey & Mayor
• River 2
• Count, King, and Cult

These components, if purchased separately would cost over $100! 

New Munchkin Quest Board Game Video Posted

Around the holiday season, we put together a video showing you the basics of the card game Munchkin, as well as showing you how to play Munchkin.

In that video, we introduced a new board game – Munchkin Quest.

Here is our new video that introduces you to this game based on the Munchkin card game.

Don’t forget, there is also an expansion to Munchkin Quest! Munchkin Quest 2 – Looking for Trouble.

New Updates to Best Dang Games

This weekend, I put some effort into some things that needed a facelift on our board game site.

We have have new look on the home page – it should now be easier to find things, such as Pre-Order games. Also, the link to this blog is a little more prominant.  Our bundles are front-and-center.

We have an article series for all who sign up for our newsletter. This series will inform you about different aspects of the board gaming hobby and introduce you to a bunch of games you may not be familiar with, but might be worth your time. Also, you get a 10% off coupon, just for registering for the newsletter.

We added a totally new section – Party Games. These are games that go over well with large groups of friends and there really isn’t a winner or loser. The fun is in the game or watching those playing the game.

We added a bunch of new games also. Here is just a sampling:

• Pandemic – On the Brink
• Space Alert
• Middle Earth Quest
• Citadels
• Acquire
• Blokus 3D
• Snow Tails

Also, there are two games that released this past week and we have them in stock! Arkham Horror-Innsmouth Horror and Snow Tails.

Visit the site and check out the Best Dang Games facelift.

QUESTION FOR YOU, THE READER…

We have been testing our pricing structure and were wondering what you thought of it. Currently, the way we price is game price + shipping. This means the price you see on the site already includes shipping. The only time this rule does not apply is if the price is under $25.00 – and we add $6.00 to your bill for shipping.

So, a game might cost $35. We have added $7.00-$10.00 for shipping into this price. So, it is $42.00-$45.00 – flat price with no extra costs to you on that game. Other sites show the $35.00 price and you have to put it in their shopping cart to identify the ACTUAL cost with shipping.

It is, therefore, higher than other sites that sell the same games. However, when you add their shipping costs in, we are competitve. Do you like this model or is it too confusing – given the nature of the other board game sites and their pricing structures. Please leave your comments for us so we can see how you feel about this.  We want to hear from you on this one.

Two New Settlers of Catan Expansion Videos

We posted a two-part video series for Settlers of Catan. It came to our attention that there were several videos about Settlers of Catan, but none that really showed you what was in the boxes of the expansions or how the expansions help enhance the game. One of the expansions has scenarios, another has campaigns & variants, while the third actually alters the standard gameplay of Settlers of Catan.

Here is Part 1. In it, Barry introduces Catan: Seafarers and Catan: Cities & Knights.

Here is Part 2. In it, Barry introduces Catan: Traders & Barbarians and the 5-6 Player extensions.

Follow Best Dang Games On Twitter

We are dabbling in Social Networking now. If you want to follow our Friday Night Game Nights and keep up with up-to-the-minute news on our site and gaming, sign up to follow us on Twitter.

Follow the user “bestdanggames” and get in on the conversations.

We look forward to seeing you and bringing you into our world.