Gigi’s Cupcakes corrects a mistake with a little extra frosting for lagniappe

#886 in the Purple Goldfish Project was submitted by Hank Blank of Adobe @HBatAdobe:

In Hank’s words:

Gigi’s Cupcakes makes some unbelievable cupcakes. Their purple goldfish includes giving you a dozen cupcakes for the price of 11.

And that’s pretty cool. But they recently provided me with a PURPLE WHALE sized goldfish.

I had ordered, and pre-paid, 60 cupcakes for my wife’s birthday party. When I arrived to get them, there were no cupcakes. The order had been misplaced. The clerk quickly got the owner on the phone.

He immediately:

1. Gave me a full refund for the 60 cupcakes (no small expense for a small store).

2. Gave me 60 cupcakes based on what was in stock (some that had been on my list, some that had not).

We were a little disappointed because some of our favorites were not available, but the cupcakes were a big hit at the party. A prompt, painless resolution to an unfortunate situation. But it doesn’t end there.

Early the next week, I got a call from the owner, checking to see if the cupcakes for the party ended up working out. He then asked for my wife’s name and promptly sent her a gift certificate for a dozen more cupcakes!

I never raised my voice (sometimes its the squeeky wheel that gets the grease), and this small business owner not only did the right thing–he went above and beyond.

I will now (and am doing so here) recommend Gigi’s Cupcakes to anyone and everyone. Give them a shot–they are amazing.

Marketing Lagniappe Takeaway - When fixing a mistake, don’t consider it a make good.  Go above and beyond to create a make great.

Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra thrown in for good measure): In the words of Paul Simon to Mrs. Robinson, “Put it in your pantry with your cupcakes”:

Where is the lagniappe in your marketing? What’s Your Purple Goldfish?

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