You know dawgy, somehow i think the price of an equity correctly reflects more than the fundies of the company...it also takes into consideration the goodwill they generate, their culture etc....esp how responsive they are to their customer's requirements. Sh%t happens, but how quickly and how responsibly they clean it up, is what separates the good ones from the bad....no wonder Priceline's stock hasn't really gone anywhere..
We bought our jacuzzi from Home Depot, on a special deal @ a throwaway price, and then got a new Home Depot card from them, so an additional 10% discount...*and* were promised delivery and placement at the actual site on the follwing Saturday - something Home Depot never does...they usually have a curbside delivery system...so we were happy we were saving a bundle on the deal...
Anyway, the Saturday arrived and no hottub. We called them and they apologised profusely...promising a delivery next day (Sunday). Sunday comes and goes and no tub. Kids getting restless.....we call and they apologise and promise delivery on Monday...without being asked for it they offer an additional discount...
COme Monday, the tub arrives and is offloaded in the front yard. The guy doesn't know anything about the installation part but promises to come back with more people....a crew of 3 arrives and leaves the tub vertical at the site.....
We called them to thank them and mentioned that the tub was left vertical, not installed, but since we had got an excellent deal, we didn't want to push our luck. Imagine our surprise when 30 minutes later a crew of 4 arrives and installs it for us. Our faces reflected our feelings !!! I don't think it was about the money, it was about the incredulous satisfaction and a wonderful wonderful shopping experience.......
All thru the exchange, they were courteous and accepted responsibility for the goof up, apologised for the problems we experienced, citing the fact that this was a special one off offer for us and as a discount store, they were not well equipped to handle it, hence the goof up. At every stage of the delivery system, they went to great lengths to make us feel comfortable and kept asking us questions like "Can we somehow make it better for you ?? Are you happy with the arrangement ?"
If it is available at Home Depot, we would never ever consider an alternate source of supply...
Again, sh%t happens, but its got to be cleaned up efficiently...
What a great company, what a great corporate culture !!! |
