Customer service - Riverford Organic

[watervole]

 We've been getting a veg and fruit box from Riverford for several years.

This week's melon started erupting.  Literally -interesting frothy stuff was bubbling out of it, with sound effects.

I left a message on their web site explaining the problem. (and popped the melon in the compost bin)

Within five minutes, a lady had phoned, apologised for the problem and offered me a choice of items to have next week as a free replacement for the offending melon.

So, next week, we're getting extra mushrooms.

Nice people, always friendly and helpful. I think the boxes are good value too.  It's rare that we get a duff item, but they've always been replaced without any stress or hassle.

Happy to recommend them any day.

Comments

[steverogerson.livejournal.com]

Just curious as to what would have happened to the melon eventually. Would it have exploded?

As to the retailer, the only way to measure good customer service properly is how they react when something goes wrong. It is easy to provide good service when there are no problems; the real test is when there are problems.

[watervole.livejournal.com]

The melon had a small hole where stuff was frothing out, so it wouldn't have reached enough pressure to explode.

I'm guessing it had got damaged somehow and that had allowed bacteria to penetrate the skin through a weak point.

They said they'd be keeping an eye on other melons in case others had had the same problem.

[darth-tigger.livejournal.com]

I've been considering giving a veg box a go, so I shall have a good look through your link. If I did sign up, would you get anything for recommending me? If so, feel free to send me the necessary!

[watervole.livejournal.com]

I don't think there's a recommendation bonus, but I'm happy to recommend them without one.

They make major efforts to calculate the CO2 impact of everything they do and to minimise it. They never air freight. They grow the bulk of their produce in the UK, but import some from Europe when the environmental cost of transport is less than that of growing stuff under glass. eg early season tomatoes.