Gripe of the Week: The Case of The Expired Baby Formula
By Dave CarrollFounder, Gripevine.com
This installment of our Gripe of The Week deals with a potentially very serious situation. The family of a newborn baby who had purchased a case of Nestle Good Start Ready To Feed formula from Walmart discovered that several units in their single case had different expiry dates. What's worse, they became aware that they had fed their infant some of these containers that had expired a year ago.
Read the original Gripe: http://gripevine.com/nestl%C3%A9-good-start-ready-feed-baby-formula-ready-throw-out-nestle-canada-inc-gripe-20805902
As the father of a 14-week-old son, I can understand the parents' concern for the health of their child when a newborn is so fragile and good nutrition is vital. It's natural to feel panic and anger in a situation like this, but it's important to keep a clear head to get answers and results as quickly as possible.
With this gripe, it's hard to know where to direct the complaint: the retailer (Walmart) or the manufacturer (Nestle). For most issues related to the expiration date, it's best to contact the retailer, but because of the potential health implications, it was important for this parent to hear from Nestle, as well. This gripe is a perfect example of how to complain in a way that gets results. The parent was able to keep cool in an emotionally charged situation and mentioned both Nestle and Walmart in his gripe, increasing his chances of seeing a response. It worked. Impressively, Nestle's timely answer came from the Medical Scientific Affairs Head of Nestle nutrition in Canada and helped to assure the parents of the safety of their child.
Assuming what Nestle says is accurate, it would appear that the issue is with Walmart or someone other than Nestle as they maintain that their system is designed to prevent such things from happening. In this instance, the customer was right to question the manufacturer in regards to safety concerns, and now he has new information he can act upon and a resource he can direct to Walmart if the retailer disputes the issue.
This gripe is an example of a customer service issue that needed to be addressed. We all want results, but in this situation, an infant's health was potentially at risk, and we can learn from this parent's experience, and how his gripe was so quick to receive the desired response. Here's what he did right:
- Be clear and to the point. All the information was clearly laid out and the reader knows what happened, who was involved and what the customer is looking to achieve. As a reader I appreciate that I was given all I needed to know in a few paragraphs. By doing so you increase the likelihood that other readers will invest the time to give attention to your plight.
- Keep your temper in check. Even though you may feel angry or frustrated, remember that if you are looking for a positive outcome, that you present your case in a calm and information-rich style as opposed to emotionally-heavy. I was impressed how the parents in this case presented the compelling facts and the issue calmly on such an emotionally charged topic.
- Present your gripe from the most relatable angle. Your likelihood of receiving a timely response to a gripe increases when it speaks to the widest possible audience because the most successful gripes are the ones with potential to gain quick momentum. A company who is notified that a customer with an issue that resonates with all of their customers and the media will be compelled to respond. In this case Nestle did the right thing in having a senior expert get involved because the potential of not addressing this could have been harmful to the brand, not just in Canada but across North America. Something that may threaten the health of babies is repellent to all segments of society and Nestle knows it.
Sometimes finding out where or to whom to address your gripe is a daunting task, but presenting your case in the above fashion will help ensure you get a faster resolution and, as we say, using a tool like Gripevine can certainly "take the pain out of complaining".
About Gripevine:
Gripevine connects customers and companies on a fair and level public playing field where they can come together to create win-win resolutions to common consumer complaints. Consumers can use Gripevine to leverage the power of social media to get their stories heard. Companies can use their Customer Satisfaction Index on Gripevine to show the world the quality of their customer service. By leveraging the power of social media, both groups of users can ultimately affect a company's Customer Satisfaction Index on Gripevine, which provides an effective scale for the quality of customer service.
About Dave Carroll:Dave Carroll is an award winning singer-songwriter, professional speaker, author and social media innovator based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. He began his music career with his brother Don in the band Sons of Maxwell and has been enjoying success as a solo artist for the last four years. Known as a master storyteller, Dave's incredible talent was introduced to millions when his 2009 YouTube music video 'United Breaks Guitars' became a worldwide sensation. Dave is now co-founder of the consumer resolution complaint platform, Gripevine.com. Most recently, Dave published his first book: "United Breaks Guitars: The Power of One Voice in the Age of Social Media" and released his second album, "Raincoat in Vegas."
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