It Started With Two Dogs
A pet is much more than just a companion, animals leave a paw print in our hearts. And losing a treasured friend is like losing a member of the family. Our pets are our family and they stand by us through the good, the bad and the ugly.
In times like these, comfort and support can prove invaluable. And just when they were starting to process their grief, this couple unexpectedly received the support of a total stranger. Can you guess who?
Tragedy
The married couple had two black Labradors, that tragically died on a road accident. To make things worse, one week later they received a pet food delivery from chewy.com, which only remembered them of their loss.
When the 80-pound reminder of their loss arrived on their door, the couple was devastated because they no longer had their treasured dogs to feed. They couldn’t understand why they had gone away so quickly, they were still so young!
A Sad Reminder
They contacted Chewy to explain what happened and see if they could return the food to get a refund. The company is known for offering competitive prices and a wide variety of products, and they were hoping they would be empathetic.
But what Chewy did next came as a surprise. Laura Waltenburg, the woman’s sister, shared the companies response on Facebook, and I’m sure it will surprise you!
Unexpected
As Laura said, “They responded with unbelievable kindness. They credited their credit card for the full purchase price and asked them to donate the dog food to a local shelter.” The couple was relieved, for the least they needed at that moment was to pick up a fight with the company.
The uncommonly generous response got shared all over Facebook. There’s customer service, and then there’s treating your customers as if they’re part of the family, and this is exactly how Chewey acted. Bravo!
Generosity and Kindness
But the generosity didn’t stop there. After Chewy’s response to the grieving family, Walterburg described how her brother-in-law received another message. Can you guess what it said?
“They sent a second email requesting a picture of one of the dogs to put in their memorial book to honor her,” she wrote. The couple was touched, as they thought it was a beautiful way to honor their late pets.
An Act Of Kindness
But this didn’t end here! Believe it or not, another impressive act of kindness arrived on their doorstep. One week later, the couple received a bouquet of flowers sent by Chewy! How cute is that?
The company sent a bunch of red roses to pass on their condolences following the passing of the dogs. Undoubtedly, Chewey took customer service to a new level. This is why they’ve become known as the company that actually cares about your animals.
It Went Viral
Walterburg’s Facebook post has been shared over 230,000 times so far and has received almost 7,000 reactions. People from all over the world were moved by the story and by the way the company addressed the situation.
Ever since then, the woman’s Facebook has been flooded with encouraging messages and comments from users who wanted to show their support and sympathy for the couple. Never would have she expected to receive so many adorable messages from complete strangers!
Compassion
Chewy’s staff also came to speak about the company’s actions. “They do an amazing job taking care of our fur babies. The pups love coming into work. All the extra attention, you’ll never catch them complaining,” Chelsy Burk wrote.
And the compassion that Chewy showed the Waltenburg family in their time of need was not a one-time thing. Apparently, the staff had taken similar measures in previous occasions, and here’s another example.
This Wasn’t The First Time
Once the Waltenburg’s story went viral, others also shared similar stories about the times in which they received comfort and support from Chewy after losing their treasured pet.
Sheree Flanagan was crushed after she lost her dog in December 2016, just three days before Christmas. Pets are a huge part of our lives. That’s why losing them can be so hard, and at a time like this, Sheree really needed some support.
Love And Loss
“Losing Zoe was terrible – we had her for 10 years,” Flanagan said to People magazine when asked about the loss of her dog. But soon after that, tragedy struck again.
Thor, Flanagan’s 15-year-old cat, died on January 30. “When Thor died, that was crushing,” she explained, “He lived with me in New York, then California and now here [Dallas, Texas]. He was always my number one boy. I’m tearing up just thinking about it.” It was just too much for her to take.
A Company That Cares
Similar to what happened with the Waltenburgs, Flanagan contacted Chewy.com to see if she could return the unwanted cat food and get a refund. After all, she still had a couple of closed bags of food.
But what happened was unexpected. She ended up having an emotional conversation with an employee named Ashley, and this is what they told each other.
Great Customer Service
Flanagan was pleasantly surprised by the empathy and compassion shown by the woman who took her call. “Ashley was amazing,” she the woman admitted. But what exactly did she say?
As Flanagan said in an interview, “She told me she had a cat put down and really understood. I kept saying that I didn’t mean to bother her, and she kept saying ‘No, this is important. Tell me more.’”
Like Family
The Flanagan family received their money back shortly after the telephone conversation with Ashley. A few days after that, a bouquet of flowers arrived at their home, just like what happened to the first family!
The card that arrived with the flowers read the following:
“With deepest sympathy on your loss of your little ones. We´ll always be here through the sad times and to remember the good memories your furbabies left on your heart. Love – Ashley and the Chewy family.”
Supporting The Company
Sheree’s husband, Sgt. Corey Flanagan was moved and also shared the company’s response. “Your team has either got it in their bloodline to be exceptionally kind and understanding, their leadership has done exceptionally well in guiding them or a combo of both.”
As the man said, his wife had been taking their loss especially hard, but receiving the letter and the flowers made the difference. “When we received the flowers we decided it was enough for both of us to decide to stop shopping around and give Chewy all our future business“, the man said.
All Across The States
But Chewy seems to have a history of acts of kindness. Bereaved pet owners have been sharing their experiences with the company across the United States. Let’s hear some more stories!
Bruce and Sue Stack from Edwardsburg, Michigan shared a similar tale. They were devastated after the sudden death of their 6-year-old Great Dane, and they were having a hard time overcoming their grief.
Amazing Company
After Jake’s death, they were left with an untouched food delivery. Not wanting the constant reminder of their loss, Sue contacted Chewy.com to cancel their regular order. She told People the following:
“I called Sunday afternoon, and by Sunday evening I had a note of condolence, a credit for the food and a request to donate the food to an area shelter.”
But when she got home from work on a Tuesday evening, she found a bucket of flowers at her doorsteps. “I thought some of our friends sent them, and I realized they were from Chewy and thought, ’This is crazy! What an amazing company!’”
More Stories
Stack felt so moved by what Chewy had done that she encouraged everyone to support the company in a Facebook post. The post went viral and has been shared over 145,000 times.
“The world can be such a negative place. This kindness is so important,” wrote Stack. Now, she is planning to adopt a new pet and will be supporting the company again. It’s also worth mentioning that the company contributes a portion of its profits to animal shelters.
Chewy
Chewy was created with the idea of having no automation in the customer service department. Nearly 450 representatives work 365 days a year, answering calls 24 hours a day.
Their customers usually don’t expect empathy and compassion from a corporation, and that is why they are always left baffled and think the stories are worth sharing.
Pet Lovers
Kelli Durkin, the company’s vice-president of Customer Service, explained why Chewy.com is so compassionate. The company aims to create a personalized service because it was created by pet lovers.
As Durkin once said, “[After hearing about a woman who lost her dog,] we thought of sending a sympathy card, but we knew we had to do more. And that´s how it really started for everyone. We don’t feel like we´re talking to customers. We are talking to the pets’ parents. We want to hear the good and the bad. We are feeding their children. We are part of their families.”
An Incredible Company
And Chewy has clearly been successful in making a connection. Laura Waltenburg was so moved by the company’s kindness that she felt compelled to share her sister and brother-in-law’s story.
She wrote in her Facebook post “I wish I could tell everybody this story. This is the kind of story that needs to go viral. This is an incredible company.” What did you think about these stories?