Jen and I are scallop fans, but not until last night had we (she) ever attempted to cook them at home. It started with a trip to our local grocery store, Hannaford, among other errands. We only needed a few things at the store, so most of the time we were there, we were talking with the dude at the seafood counter about the ins and outs of scallop preparation. There were two kinds of scallops — sea and bay — with a significant price difference between them ($14.99 per pound and $4.99 per pound, respectively). Jen had brought two recipes with her — Deb’s Scallops Florentine, which needed scallops from the sea, and Baked Scallops, which called for bay scallops. The seafood guy advised us that the bay scallops might cook too fast and that we should go sea style; that we’d burn the bay scallops in no time. Since it would be her first attempt cooking scallops, Jen wisely opted for the bay scallops since, as she said, “I’d rather burn $4.99 a pound than $14.99 a pound.” So after much debate, we went for the bay and proceeded on our merry way.
Later on in the evening while enjoying some wine and preparing dinner, I was about to throw out the lid for the pound-and-a-half of scallops we had bought and what did I see? A sea scallops label stating that we had paid more than $16 for our bay scallops. We don’t live far from Hannaford, so on a mission of principle and to recover our $10, I cruised on back to the store, lid and receipt in hand, expecting to fight a battle.
I was pleasantly surprised with what happened, and it truly epitomizes good customer service.
I was directed to the customer service counter, explained the situation, and was immediately given a full refund plus an additional dollar for my troubles. I was expecting to have to present my evidence and argue with our friend at the seafood counter. No such thing. There were no questions asked.
So not only did we enjoy delicious baked scallops last night, but we made a dollar on the deal. Props to Hannaford for keepin’ it real on the CS front. That’s such an integral part of running a successful business.
1 response so far ↓
1 Bill &Connie Rempe // Mar 3, 2006 at 2:53 pm
Indeed, “Big Ups” for the Hannaford gang and their legandary customer service. It’s legandary now because the telling of your experience has made it so.
We’re pretty monocular when it comes to shopping at The Spa. We buy groceries at Price Chopper, spirits at The Saratoga Wine Exchange, beer at Minogue’s, cheese and sausage at Roma and beef at Just Meats down near Round Lake on RT.9.
All that said, maybe this summer we need to do some trade with the new(er) Hannaford near us. Maybe we’ll get the scallops!
4 months, 18 days and 23 hours,
Bill & Connie