It has been a while since we had coffee. I am back into full-time teaching for the year and have had to cut back on my hobbies. But, if we were having coffee today, I would be in a really good mood due to an excellent experience that I had with LEGO this week. But, let me start at the beginning.
On September 30, 2016, many retailers took part in a Star Wars promotion called Force Friday. At the LEGO Store, if you bought any Star Wars themed set, you were given a free Darth Revan Minifigure along with double VIP points. It just so happened that I had not bought my annual LEGO Star Wars advent calendar yet for December, and this provided me with just the right opportunity to score some free stuff as well. I am such a sucker for freebies.
To give you an idea of how much I wanted this Darth Revan, I actually set my alarm clock earlier than normal so that I could get up and have time to make my order before work. I was anticipating this Minifigure being a hot commodity, and since it was only available for one day, I wanted to make sure that I got one.
So, there I was, all disheveled and half awake, squinting into the glare of my computer screen. I selected my advent calendar, and added a green baseplate to fulfill the requirement for the other monthly freebie (a Nexo Knights Lavaria Minifigure). After the usual entry of pertinent information, I proceed to checkout. I got an error message. I tried again. Same error message.
Having run out of time, I had to leave my order attempt and go to work rather upset that I would not be getting my Darth Revan Minifigure. During a break, I checked my email and found, to my surprise, not one, but two “Your order has shipped” emails. I quickly turned to a colleague and fellow LEGO enthusiast, and checked if she had her advent calendar yet. Thankfully, she did not. So, we both rejoiced at the thought of each getting a Darth Revan.
The following Wednesday rolled around, and two packages arrived by FedEx. I opened the boxes. Inside were two advent calendars, two green baseplate, two Lavarias, but only one Darth Revan. I checked the packing slips, both listed Darth Revan. Perplexed, I emailed LEGO customer service.
They got back to me pretty quickly. As it turns out, I was right. Darth Revan was super popular, more popular than LEGO had anticipated in fact. They had run out of Darth Revan well before the day was up. The time stamp on my shipment emails is around 1:30 pm. I was told that by the time my order shipped, Darth Revan was out of stock and there was only enough for one of my orders.
Now, I have heard tell of LEGO‘s amazing customer service before. But, what happened next was truly beyond my expectations. LEGO has sent me a replacement Minifigure. It is not Darth Revan, but a Star Wars exclusive all the same (Admiral Yularen). In addition, they gave me 100 VIP Points. That is $5 off of my next purchase! What a great way to end the week. I loved LEGO before, what emotion comes after that?
Until next time,
-T.N.B.