Now That's Customer Service

Do you know why JCPenney (or, for the more chic set, Jacques Penoit) has been in business so long? In two words: customer service.

I was kind of mad at them for a while. I'd made some purchases and then a rather substantial one and EACH time I would get a promotional postcard in the mail afterward for money off what I just bought. It seemed to be more than coincidental. And it made me mad.

Then, the day my most recent substantial order arrived, so did a postcard offering 10 percent off what I had just purchased! I was really mad. So I called them on it. They waffled -- initially. But then they came through.

Not only did they make good on the 10 percent -- they nearly TRIPLED it! I was really excited to say the least. It made up for all the other promotions I'd been cheated out of in the past. I can mark them off of my running list of retailers with whom I have scores to settle. (Top of the list right now are The Home Depot, Staples, and Walgreens.)

Then, Mom decided she didn't like the rug she'd bought for her bedroom after all. So we took it back to JCPenney's. While there, she ordered something else and the clerk asked if we had a promotional free shipping code. We did not. All I could think was "Here we go again." But, the clerk just keyed one in anyway. Turns out, that saved about $16. Cha-ching! Money that can be used on the next disaster at This D*mn House. And rest assured, there will be one.

The moral of this story: ASK. All they can say is yes, right?!