A Snail's Worth

You may remember when I found a snail in the edamame I was serving my family for dinner.

I called the company and reported the incident and asked for a refund.  I was told a refund (of an unknown amount) would be arriving in 1-2 weeks.

Today, about one month later, I received the refund check.

Wanna know how much you get for a snail in your food these days?

Yep, three whole dollars.

The check was accompanied by a letter that didn't contain one single apology.

Their explanation is that their products are natural, and they don't use any pesticides, herbicides, or insecticides.  "Occasionally, in all agricultural products, the occurrence of a garden variety pest, which is in no way harmful, although an unpleasant discovery, may appear."

Let me just remind you that these particular edamame were harvested, processed to remove the actual edamame from the pods, and then frozen and packaged.  And my little snail survived the whole process intact.

Shouldn't there be some factory sensor to check for brown snails in the sea of green edamame?

I personally think Customer Service should at least say "We're sorry for your unpleasant experience."  But maybe that's just me thinking a little kindness goes a long way.

For example, I ordered a swim suit from Land's End, and it didn't fit properly.  I called to order a replacement, and I had the pleasure of talking to a super friendly Customer Service representative.  When I explained that I was returning my item and wanted to order a different (smaller!) size, she replied, "I'd be happy to help you with that."  And she did help me.  She even suggested the cheapest way to ship my item back to the company.  Land's End offers free shipping on the replacement item, and they matched the price that I originally paid (my suit was on sale plus I used a 30% off code).  This process was so smooth and easy that I wouldn't hesitate to order from them again. 

Attention all companies and businesspeople:  If you are kind to your customers, they will be pleased enough to continue to give you their business.  If you can't even apologize for small animals in your food, you will lose customers.

I can't even look at edamame anymore.  Or snails.

Jessica