Great Customer Service

As you know, one of my pet peeves is bad customer service. I worked as a client software support analyst for 7 years, so I know what it takes to make your client happy and do the job right. So I have expectations when it comes to customer service. If you visit my BLOG with any frequency you also know I'm a gadget guy. I like my toys. And one of my toys is a Masterbuilt electric turkey fryer. I've used the big guy about 5 times. Nothing like cooking a 12 lb. turkey in 45 min. It also is a good steamer as well because it is so huge, so Sharkey and I use it for summer cookouts when we want to cook a lot of corn on the cob. We spent Thanksgiving in Minnesota and the neighbors asked if they could borrow the fryer. "Sure not a problem!!" Well as fate would have it, Sharkey and I were going to make gigantic crab claws for new years eve and I thought it'd be great to make it in the turkey fryer/steamer. So I called the neighbors and asked if I could have the big boy back. Here's how the story went:

JP: Yeah hey there neighbor I was wondering if I could get my turkey fryer back from ya!!!

Neigh: Oh, yeah well there's something I have to tell you about that....

JP: What's going on? Don't tell me you haven't cleaned it since Thanksgiving...

Neigh: Well see here's what happened, we used it and the non-stick coating is coming off of the basket and pot. But we decided we're going to get you a brand new one.

JP: Oh no you are not!! This is clearly a manufacturing defect. Don't worry about it. I 'll call Masterbuilt this week and get a replacement pot/basket.

So I got the fryer back and it looked pretty much like what I thought it would:





So I prepared myself to call customer service. Mind you I know my fryer is past the warranty period. I expect that I'll have to have a lively discussion to get what I want. And I know that I pretty much only have my word to tell the customer service person that I didn't screw it up myself by scouring it with steel wool or a brillo pad, so I figured I'd just be direct truthful and point out some things I noticed on their website... Here's how it went:

CustomerServ: (in very strong southern accent) Hi this is Jeannie with Masterbuilt how can I help ya?

JP: Yeah, Hi, this is JP from PA. I have an electric turkey fryer. I've used it like 5-6 times and this last time the non-stick coating is just peeling off. Is it supposed to do that?

CustomerServ: No sir definitely not. We also don't sell that model anymore.

JP: Do you not sell that model because the non-stick flakes off after so many uses?

CusomerServ: That very well could be sir.

JP: Hey I know I'm out of warranty, but I was wondering if this is really a manufacturing defect and if I could get replacement parts for the defective parts.

CustomerServ: Not a problem, I'll honor your warranty and send you out a new pot/basket set at no charge and it'll take 4-6 weeks for you to receive it. Can you give me your address and telephone number?

JP: (bewildered and half believing what's going on) Um, hey that sounds great!! Thank you so much Jeannie you really made my day


So the new pot/basket came the other day:





I still cannot believe how great the customer service was for Masterbuilt. I'd definitely buy another product from them and would totally recommend them to anyone!