The first email in my inbox this morning said – you simply have to read this. So I did…
In a nutshell it was a link to a blog by Paul McCrudden about a personal experiment he conducted where for 6 weeks he recorded the time and money he spent as a consumer of various brands – from TfL to Pret a Manger. In his words ..”…it provides a fascinating insight into how I live my life as a consumer, and which brands steal my attention.”
He then wrote to all these companies with an invoice for the time he spent with them. The blog featured the response from Pret…
There are so many ways they got it right in their response – which was to reimburse him in full, with interest, in a personal letter from Julian Metcalfe, Pret’s founder.
Here are my top 3
- Whoever opened the letter had the instinct to see this as an opportunity. With the speed stories like this spread then this would be £62.80 very well spent. Ask yourself do your people take every opportunity to promote your brand?
- The tone of the letter was perfect and written (if the blog is anything to go by) in the spirit of whole experiment. And at the same time in seemed completely in keeping with the Pret brand – absolute respect for the customer with that same tongue in cheek sense of humour you see all the time in stores. So, can all your people represent your brand and still offer a really personalised service to all your customers?
- At the end the PS asks for feedback on anything else Pret can do to make the service even better. The question here is are you always looking for ways to improve your products, services and the way they are delivered?
I now can’t wait to read the rest of the responses.
And, sorry to keep you waiting, here is the link to the blog
http://www.paulmccrudden.com/sixweeks/pret/pret_response.htm
Looking forward to some more comments – off to get breakfast in Pret 
Gill
I loved this link!!
Another great brand doing great things!
Wouldn’t you just love to know the history of the story – who opened the letter and spotted the opportunity, what disscusions were had when they decided to write the response… and most importantly the look on Paul’s face as he opened the letter (I bet he had a little giggle!!!)
Oh to be a fly on the wall for a day!
Superb story. I’ve never shopped in a Pret so can’t vouch for their customer service but this is very good indeed. I wonder how far his letter got at the other companies?
love it – Dil and I met in Pret yesterday rather than our usual and think about how many people that blog has shared this letter with and then who else like us is sharing. For me this about a spirited approach to work. When we receive info like the invoice we can either go ahhh that’s interesting or humph how dare he waste our time like this – how many times today can you go ahhhh even when you feel like going humph!