Outstanding customer service from Mountain Equipment has given me new hope. I can only compliment them on their outstanding customer service and hold out hope that putting the customer first is not dead. Over the past few months I have had a series of extremely poor customer service experiences, most notably with BT Business Broadband, although at least five companies I have had dealings with as both a consumer and business have really let me down. My dealings with Mountain Equipment clearly demonstrate the benefit of exceeding customer expectations, something we try and do at Macs Adventure Holidays every day. I purchased a Mountain Equipment Kongur jacket about 18 months ago, mainly because it was a well designed and constructed mountaineering jacket. Because I work outdoors in Scotland I need my gear to be first class, robust and reliable. The Kongur performed admirably until one of the chest zips burst, at which point I returned it to Cotswold Outdoor and the sales assistant managed to get the zip working again. Needless to say the zip failed again a month or so later and I returned it to Cotswold who promptly sent it to Mountain Equipment clothing. Make no mistake that the jacket was very well worn, its great, so I use it for mountaineering, walking, mountain biking and gardening. I was delighted to receive a call from Cotswold a week or so later to let me know that Mountain Equipment were replacing the jacket with a brand new jacket. Obviously, this is great news and I look forward to using and recommending Mountain Equipment to my clients for years to come.

What other companies can learn from Mountain Equipment's Customer Service:

1. Have an established returns/customer service process in place if your product/service doesn't quite live up to expectations.
2. The customer is king - Don't argue, quibble or refute the customer's reason for complaint or return.
3. Deal with the issue promptly.
4. Under promise and over deliver - by exceeding customer expectations you will turn a negative to positive.
5. Your customers are your most important sales people - look after them!

So, Mountain Equipment, thanks for restoring my faith in the customer service culture. I'm a fan for life!