I purchase my groceries at the local HEB grocery store. I like the prices and selection. They have their own in house HEB brand which is reasonably priced. They also have a discount in house brand called Hill Country Fare. On the back of each one of their products they have a satisfaction guarantee that states: We hope you are satisfied with this product, if not, we will cheerfully refund your money. I bought a bottle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil a few weeks ago. It did not taste very good so I thought I would put their guarantee to the test.
Nowhere on the bottle is there any information about who to contact for a refund. I decided to start with the Hill Country Fare website. Hill Country is owned by HEB so I was directed to their website. I found a customer care line to call (1-800-432-3113). After navigating through the phone tree I was put on with a customer service representative named Fred. He told me that I could return it to the store I purchased it at for a full refund. I told him that I did not have a receipt and I could not remember which location I purchased it from. He said that if I present the credit card I used to purchase the item they could look it up. I fired up my Kia and drove over to the HEB I thought I purchased it from.
The bottle was half empty when I set it on the customer service desk. The clerk must have been in high school. I told her that I wanted to claim the satisfaction guarantee because I did not like the taste of this olive oil. She asked for my receipt. Instead I handed her my credit card and explained what the customer service agent had told me about being able to look up the item. After punching a few keys she asked me if I would like the amount returned to my credit card or would I prefer cash? Great Success!
This all went really smoothly. The clerk was even cheerful too which I was not expecting. They proved that they truly stand behind their offer. It is nice to know that there are still companies out there that do what they say they will.
