Crocs' Update

So last week, out of frustration, I posted a message I sent to Crocs, the company mostly known for footwear, that manufactured a backpack we purchased for my daughter Jolee at the beginning of her first year in intermediate school, back in August 2007.

I posted the message here out of frustration, as I had received neither a response, nor an acknowledgment that my message, sent to Customer Service via their website, was even received.

I half-jokingly noted that, since I had not received a reply, I was posting it here, "in case any Crocs executives happen to read BillyBlog".

You can read my original post, entitled "A Crock of Crocs," from Friday, March 7, here.

Flashing forward to Tuesday, March 11, I received the following e-mail:

subjectCrocs bag

Hello Bill,

My name is Craig Sweeney. I am the product manager for the gear category at Crocs. I saw your entry yesterday on BillyBlog regarding both your disappointment in the quality of the Crocs backpack you purchased, as well as your subsequent experience with our customer service department. I’d like to express my sincere apology to you for both. Neither are reflective of the products or the experience we try to create daily for our customers.

From a service standpoint I’d like to pass on to you that I’ve spoken with the customer service manager about why a consumer would send an e-mail of the nature of yours and not get a response. She has assured me that the proper steps will be taken in ensure this does not happen again. This is simply not acceptable at Crocs. Doing everything we can to rectify a situation when a consumer is unhappy with one of our products is something we strive for. We understand how vitally important it is that should a consumer choose to purchase any of our products it be a good experience, and if for whatever reason it isn’t, that we do what we can to fix the situation.

As far as the specific issues you had with the backpack I can tell you we have put people and procedures in place to carry out appropriate product testing and minimize occurrences of sub-par construction and defects. We will certainly be replacing your backpack at no charge. That will ship to the address you provided today. Additionally, the feedback you provided will be passed on to our quality control team, as well as considering in the design and development of new products.

We appreciate your choice to purchase our products in the past, and hope that you will continue to be a Crocs customer in the future. If you would like to discuss the experience you had more in depth please feel free to call me directly at xxx-xxx-xxxx or xxx-xxx-xxxx. I’d be glad to chat with you about any other concerns you may have.

Best regards,

craig sweeney

product manager - gear

crocs, inc.

I telephoned Mr. Sweeney, left a voicemail message, and he promptly called me back within 15 minutes. He reiterated the contents of the e-mail he had sent me. He offered apologies for the fact that my message to customer service had gone unacknowledged, as well as for the unusual wear and tear the backpack experienced in such a short time.

And he confirmed my address to which he is sending a replacement for the short-lived Crocs gear we initially purchased.

Wow. You could have knocked me over with a Croc!

That said, I am going on record as saying how impressed I am with Mr. Sweeney's response. He could very well have dismissed my post as a random disgruntled ex-customer venting about poor customer service, a tiny voice in the blogosphere. It's not like my post was necessarily going to have a huge impact on Crocs or their sales.

However, Mr. Sweeney identified, as far as I can tell, an incongruity between my experience and the experience that his organization values for their customers. He has made amends on behalf of Crocs and I am truly appreciative, not only of the end result, but of the time he took to write me, call me back after I called him, and the courtesy and professionalism he exhibited in the process.

Bravo, Crocs! I have gone back to my original post and revised the title to be more positively reflective of the experience I had.

A Crock of Crocs Crocs Rocks

On February 26, 2008, I sent the following missive to Crocs Customer Service, through their website. It has been eleven days and I haven't heard back from them. Not even a standard form e-mail advising me that they got my message and are reviewing it carefully. Silence.

So I decided to post this here, in case any Crocs executives happen to read BillyBlog:

I was just writing to express disappointment in the quality of one of your products, a children's backpack.

In August 2007, my daughter, aged 11 and entering intermediate school, was looking for a backpack. We shopped for many in numerous stores, but she kept going back to a Crocs backpack at Modell's Sporting Goods. It was considerably more expensive than some of our other options (i.e. Jansport), but she begged and pleaded like only an 11-year old girl can, and we gave in. We justified the extra expense (it was 20 dollars more than the one I wanted to buy) because we figured, based on the Crocs name, that it would be a durable product that would get her through the school year, and be a useful tool above and beyond the 6th grade.

We were wrong.

We were gravely disappointed at the end of 2007 when my daughter showed me where the backpack had ripped, at the top of the main pocket, as a result of stress on the backpack. Kids books can be heavy nowadays, but I would have assumed that this would have been taken into consideration when the product was manufactured.

We bought her a new backpack which, despite being a little less exciting and "trendy", seems to be doing just as well.

I just wanted to write to let you know that my initial experience with Crocs products, despite the fact that they are generally adored by the masses, was less than stellar.

You may want to have your design team spend some more time on your backpacks in the future, so as to avoid the disappointment of other parents and children.

Sincerely,

Bill Cohen


UPDATE 3/12/2008 I received, much to my pleasure and surprise, a very positive response from Crocs regarding this post. No, really, I did. To see it, head here. Needless to say, my opinion of the company has significantly improved based on the response.