A Close Shave for Dollar Shave Club Customer Service
NOTE: Just a few hours after I posted this entry and promoted it with a tweet, I received a stellar response from Cassie, a member of the DSC customer service team. You could tell she’d actually read the entire post and looked past my bits of whining and totally “got” what I was trying to say. I’ve linked to a screenshot of the letter at the end of the post.
Despite any actual out-of-the-ordinary customer service experience to support my assertion, I am a raving fan of Dollar Shave Club.
I love the concept and was blown away by the viral video that flipped the switch on their business, turning them from a complete unknown into a server crashing success (the first time I linked to their site, the traffic from their video had crashed their server.) Suitably impressed by the spirit and humor of their business model, I was willing to wait two full months for my monthly razor blade subscription to begin because the public response to their offer had been so high.
When I opened the first shipment, I must confess it was a slight let-down. I mean, there was no real reason to be disappointed — they’d sent exactly what I’d ordered: my first set of subscription blades and the basic razor/handle that fits the blades. They also included a (slightly) humorous postcard, but it wasn’t enough to live up to the expectation they’d set with that first video. They had me mentally prepared for some kind of super-cool “dude stuff.” I was expecting a membership card in the Little Rascal’s He-Man Woman Haters Club or some other secret society of men. I don’t know exactly what I was expecting, but it wasn’t “just” what I ordered (and a pretty weak postcard.)
Fast forward to the second month of my membership in Dollar Shave Club and I get an even weaker attempt at postcard humor (C’mon guys! If you need ideas take a look at SomeeCards.com!) and another set of razors — but they sent the wrong style of blades for my razor. I went to their website and found the information I needed in order to get a new set sent out to me (email them with your shipping address and a photo of what you received.)
Hope still sprung eternal in my mind.
I started guessing how they’d respond to my issue and knock my socks off with their service.
I convinced myself I’d be receiving a hilarious email response with some tall tall of how I’d mistakenly ended up with George Clooney’s order by mistake and how the workers in their warehouse were rushing to grind down the finest blade of a master sword fighter for Spain into the correct style of blades for me. But most of all I expected them to tell me that they’d not only be shipping me the correct blades for my existing basic razor, but they’d be sending along the razor upgrade that would allow me to go ahead and use the blades they’d sent me by mistake.
You see, I subscribed to the basic package (their cheapest model) just to give the service a try. I figured I could upgrade to one of the other models if everything worked out.
This was their big chance to get me to sample their upgraded blades and convince myself of the disservice I was doing to my own face by using their low-end model. Seemed pretty logical, right? I have the wrong blades in my possession and their useless without the handle. They have to send me a special shipment of my correct blades anyway, just toss one of the other razors in too. They may get me to switch from $3/month to $6/month — doubling the money I spend with them.
The next day I received their response via email. Pretty basic “gee, we’re sorry” text — BUT not only did they NOT tell me they were sending along the upgraded razor for the useless blades I had — they asked me to mail back the blades.
Dollar Shave Club missed a HUGE opportunity for me to help spread their story, to upgrade my subscription, and most importantly to remain true to their brand. Instead of letting me continue to feel like I was part of some inside joke, it turns out they’re just like any other company. But dammit, I still love the concept and the idea of what they COULD be.
NOTE:
Here’s a link to the email response I received from the DSC customer service team.
