Experience with LEGO Customer service

[ncbarrett]

Just wanted to pass along another example of LEGO's excellent customer service.

I got the CITY Space Shuttle (3367) from TRU during BOGO50.
It is a great set, however, when I opened it, i noticed one of the Hubble Solar panels was damaged.
Looked like something indented onto it while it was still warm from the mold, perhaps the edge of anther piece.
I shot an email over to them, telling them the exact item number, and a little over a week later a new piece arrived in my mail box with a letter of apology.
Thanks LEGO!

[slacker]

A few weeks ago I was building Emerald night. I was missing a 1x1 holder for the door. I decided to go the the store and ask if they had one around. The person working there went in the back and got the train out and I was able to pick the piece I needed. That beats waiting a week.

I've also done the phone call since I needed a sticker sheet for the technic crane truck. Mine was all bent up. I got the sheet which was sandwiched between two card board to avoid any bending. LEGO has the best customer service IMHO.

[legogod]

I went through their website customer service and it was easy. Bought a "Shave the Sheep" game at Lego Kidsfest. Got home to build it and two of the "neck" clicky pieces were missing. They were substituted with the part that's supposed to fit onto it (so the box probably weighed the same). One week later I received a small bubble mailer with my missing pieces and a well written note.

The funny thing was before opening the box I mentioned in all my years of playing with Lego I only had one problem with a set missing a piece. I was ranting on how awesome it is that they never miss anything and how brilliant they are...so I got a little flak when it wasn't perfect from my family.

They really do have a good "system" going.
Jared

[Zeya]

If we're sharing stories... I've had multiple sets in the past year come with a missing piece or two. This especially seemed to happen with sets over 800 pieces or so. You can go to the customer service portion of lego.com and order your missing pieces. I've never had a problem. It might take about 1-2 weeks to get your missing pieces, but it's usually not a big deal. They come in a padded envelope with a short generic apology letter and the parts in a ziploc bag. I was afraid after my 3rd missing parts request in as many months that I might get red-flagged, but I didn't.

Note that the missing parts are usually pretty small, and they're usually pretty standard bricks. Like you'll be missing a 1x6 brown tile, or something like that. I haven't had a minifig or unique/valuable part missing yet.

So thumbs-up for Lego service!

[legitimatealex]

Back when the collectible minifigures just came out (god that was less than a year ago, seems like forever) I ordered 5 from the site before they were sold out almost immediately. I got 5 crash test dummies. I called LEGO basically looking to complain that my 'random' bags weren't random only to discover that it was a known problem. I got 3 free minifigures in the mail two weeks later.

Heck yeah.

[lukeskywalker]

I had Many problems with the POP sets, (wrong color swords and spears, Broken ostrich) I called them up to inform them of the issue, and in a couple days, I had my parts. Their customer service is the best.
BTW, They say that TLG might send you a envelope to return the broken parts in. Has this ever happened to anyone?

[peanut]

BTW, They say that TLG might send you a envelope to return the broken parts in. Has this ever happened to anyone?

no but usually I'm missing versus broken. I do have a broken one right now though that I need take care of. 1x4 tile that has white stress marks in the middle. Love those bags they send the pieces in with the LEGO logo on them heheh.

[atmail35]

I've been VERY pleased w/ Lego Customer Service. I'll share 3 examples.

1) I took my daughter to Lego Kids Fest in Boston w/ my nephew and brother and sister-in-law. It was a waste of money, IMO. My daugher completed this passport program where you get 1 stamp for each "event/table" you visited. After you completed it you got a "gift". I saw the gift as we went in (minifigure w/ Lego and "Kidsfest" printed on it). We went to redeem our passport and were given a sticker. I guess they were out of minifigs (this was the first day of a two day run). My daughter was upset b/c she already got the sticker from a vendor. Anyway I called Lego Customer Service (and it wasn't run by Lego, it was a third party event company) to let them know how bad the event was and that it really was damaging the Lego reputation. They were VERY interested in hearing what I had to say. They lady felt bad and offered to mail my daughter a key chain since she didn't get a proper prize. A week later a $14.99 set arrived for my daughter. :)

2) I ordered a set during the January sale from S@H. They sent the wrong set. When I called customer service the warehouse was out of the set I wanted. They called around to several stores and had the set shipped to me. It took a while but they made good on it and they let me keep the wrong set (which we have but that's ok).

3) I had misplaced one of our Holiday PAB boxes. I searched high and low and couldn't find it. I gave up and then this weekend, my husband found it. I brought it in today and told the sales associate that we just found the box. He let me fill it and didn't even need/want an excuse. The promo ended last Thursday so I was only 4 days after the end of the promo but I thought it was nice they had no problem w/ me filling it.

I really think Lego cares about its customers, which is refreshing

[legitimatealex]

I really think Lego cares about its customers, which is refreshing

LEGO will bend over backwards for you when it comes to customers. People can point to a lot of things as to why they stick with LEGO (Brand recognition, high quality products) but this is probably the one that people should care most about. No use buying into a brand if they aren't going to help you.

[lukeskywalker]

I just had a fairly interesting experience with lego concerning the ninjago polybag. So I called them up to complain about the hilt of the katana being the wrong shape. Now this may not seem like a big deal to most people, but one of the reasons that I got it is because of the shape of the hilt. You see, the new ones are kinda square, but the old ones are octagonal. In the directions and on the cover it showed an octagonal hilt, but in the set, I got a square one . So I called them up to see if they would replace it. Well, It turned out that since they aren't directly selling it, they aren't responsible (never mind that they produced it) When I told him of the discrepancy between the cover and the actual set, He pretty much told me that the cover does not necessarily reflect the content so they aren't obliged to replace it. This was quite a shock to me. :o So he told me to look at the inventory list in the back. BTW there is no inventory list for this polybag. He finally agreed to send me a sword if I could find him a set that came with it. I found one of the spinners that had it, so they shipped me the katana. So in the end I got my sword and they managed to preserve my loyalty.

[Enbric]

A few weeks ago I purchased a few 628 X-Large Gray Baseplates. One of them was cut incorrectly, with a stud missing. CS responded to an email in a few minutes and in less than a week a brand new 628 arrived. $15 item sent no questions asked, and I kept the baseplate that was (hardly) broken.

This is the only time I've dealt with CS and I'm impressed with the turnaround and how they value their customers.

[atmail35]

I have another positive experience w/ customer service. I sent an e-mail to them to give my comments on their Birthday Party Kit and how I was disappointed w/ some of the features (you can see my review in the Reviews section). I also mentioned that I had paid the higher price of $59.99 back in 2010 (it has now been reduced to $39.99 - not on clearance but a new MSRP). Anyway, they mailed me a $20 gift card to "refund" me the difference in price. :D I DID NOT ask for a refund, but they gave it to me without asking, which I thought was fantastic. This is why I continue to spend my money at the Lego Store and on Lego products....they really treat you right!

[Ogre21]

I really think Lego cares about its customers, which is refreshing

LEGO will bend over backwards for you when it comes to customers. People can point to a lot of things as to why they stick with LEGO (Brand recognition, high quality products) but this is probably the one that people should care most about. No use buying into a brand if they aren't going to help you.

There's "help" and there's "OMG, these folks are fantastic!"
My wife bought a set at Walmart..."Knight's Showdown". I already had it but, it was on for a good price and she knew I wanted more of the Kingdoms minifigs. She held on to it for about a month, then surprised me with it. Yeah, 'surprise' alright...some a**hat had taken the box, cut it open, stolen almost ALL the parts, then used double-sided tape to seal it back up, so it didn't look tampered with. I was BEYOND pissed, because not only did I not get the actual set but, Walmart was now no longer stocking that item. So, I called LEGO.
They replaced all the parts that I wanted (I didn't care too much about the catapult and sword holder) and they arrived in less time than I had been told.
IMO, LEGO went 'above and beyond' and I cannot begin to express how impressed I am with their customer service.
Every time I've had an 'issue', they have resolved it, quickly and pleasantly...which is why I will ALWAYS recommend LEGO to friends, family and total strangers. They don't just make a great product, they stand behind it.
Can't get much better than that.

[atmail35]

There's "help" and there's "OMG, these folks are fantastic!"
My wife bought a set at Walmart..."Knight's Showdown". I already had it but, it was on for a good price and she knew I wanted more of the Kingdoms minifigs. She held on to it for about a month, then surprised me with it. Yeah, 'surprise' alright...some a**hat had taken the box, cut it open, stolen almost ALL the parts, then used double-sided tape to seal it back up, so it didn't look tampered with. I was BEYOND pissed, because not only did I not get the actual set but, Walmart was now no longer stocking that item. So, I called LEGO.
They replaced all the parts that I wanted (I didn't care too much about the catapult and sword holder) and they arrived in less time than I had been told.
IMO, LEGO went 'above and beyond' and I cannot begin to express how impressed I am with their customer service.
Every time I've had an 'issue', they have resolved it, quickly and pleasantly...which is why I will ALWAYS recommend LEGO to friends, family and total strangers. They don't just make a great product, they stand behind it.
Can't get much better than that.

Wow, that is great customer service. Although I have to say that I am more and more disturbed that sets are being tampered with and parts are stolen. I buy A LOT of sets that sit in the basement for months on end, waiting for an occassion to give them to my daughter etc., I would be livid if I found stuff was missing. What a hassle!

Hopefully Lego will take your issue and try and figure out ways to make their packaging more tamper-proof.

I'm glad it worked out for you in the end.

[Ogre21]

There's "help" and there's "OMG, these folks are fantastic!"
My wife bought a set at Walmart..."Knight's Showdown". I already had it but, it was on for a good price and she knew I wanted more of the Kingdoms minifigs. She held on to it for about a month, then surprised me with it. Yeah, 'surprise' alright...some a**hat had taken the box, cut it open, stolen almost ALL the parts, then used double-sided tape to seal it back up, so it didn't look tampered with. I was BEYOND pissed, because not only did I not get the actual set but, Walmart was now no longer stocking that item. So, I called LEGO.
They replaced all the parts that I wanted (I didn't care too much about the catapult and sword holder) and they arrived in less time than I had been told.
IMO, LEGO went 'above and beyond' and I cannot begin to express how impressed I am with their customer service.
Every time I've had an 'issue', they have resolved it, quickly and pleasantly...which is why I will ALWAYS recommend LEGO to friends, family and total strangers. They don't just make a great product, they stand behind it.
Can't get much better than that.

Wow, that is great customer service. Although I have to say that I am more and more disturbed that sets are being tampered with and parts are stolen. I buy A LOT of sets that sit in the basement for months on end, waiting for an occassion to give them to my daughter etc., I would be livid if I found stuff was missing. What a hassle!

Hopefully Lego will take your issue and try and figure out ways to make their packaging more tamper-proof.

I'm glad it worked out for you in the end.

I'm not sure how they can make their set packages any better, really. I'm just amazed at the lengths some criminals will go for their LEGO fix.
Oh...but, you DID remind me of another point I brought up to the CSR that will be passed-along to "the powers that be": also at Walmart, they had the 'project cases' in stock (red and blue plastic cases with minifig heads printed on them) that are SUPPOSED TO come with a baseplate. Problem is, somebody slit the tape holding them closed, stole the baseplates...and then, in a rather bold move, also removed the stickers that say 'baseplate included' (or some such thing) off almost all the cases!
THAT packaging method (sealed with clear tape) is DEFINITELY something TLG needs to improve upon!

[atmail35]

I'm not sure how they can make their set packages any better, really. I'm just amazed at the lengths some criminals will go for their LEGO fix.
Oh...but, you DID remind me of another point I brought up to the CSR that will be passed-along to "the powers that be": also at Walmart, they had the 'project cases' in stock (red and blue plastic cases with minifig heads printed on them) that are SUPPOSED TO come with a baseplate. Problem is, somebody slit the tape holding them closed, stole the baseplates...and then, in a rather bold move, also removed the stickers that say 'baseplate included' (or some such thing) off almost all the cases!
THAT packaging method (sealed with clear tape) is DEFINITELY something TLG needs to improve upon!

I noticed that with those cases too. At my Walmart 1/2 of them were also damaged (cracked) and a lot were missing baseplates. I bet someone put a bunch of baseplates in one case and perhaps even bought it.

What stinks is that these criminals not only cause stores to raise prices to cover theft, but TLG will probably have to increase prices on sets to make packaging harder to open. I hope they don't move to plastic clamshells for everything...I hate those things!

[Ogre21]

I'm not sure how they can make their set packages any better, really. I'm just amazed at the lengths some criminals will go for their LEGO fix.
Oh...but, you DID remind me of another point I brought up to the CSR that will be passed-along to "the powers that be": also at Walmart, they had the 'project cases' in stock (red and blue plastic cases with minifig heads printed on them) that are SUPPOSED TO come with a baseplate. Problem is, somebody slit the tape holding them closed, stole the baseplates...and then, in a rather bold move, also removed the stickers that say 'baseplate included' (or some such thing) off almost all the cases!
THAT packaging method (sealed with clear tape) is DEFINITELY something TLG needs to improve upon!

I noticed that with those cases too. At my Walmart 1/2 of them were also damaged (cracked) and a lot were missing baseplates. I bet someone put a bunch of baseplates in one case and perhaps even bought it.

What stinks is that these criminals not only cause stores to raise prices to cover theft, but TLG will probably have to increase prices on sets to make packaging harder to open. I hope they don't move to plastic clamshells for everything...I hate those things!

Yup, theft hurts us all, on both fronts.
I'm hoping they just go the route of maybe a cardboard 'sleeve' or something like that. Fact is, there's nothing that will stop a determined thief but, hopefully it'll deter the more 'crime of opportunity' thieves out there.

[ncbarrett]

... Although I have to say that I am more and more disturbed that sets are being tampered with and parts are stolen....

This has actually caused me to examine the sets i buy more carefully, or just buy from TRU or LEGO online.
It is an unfortunate thing, but certainly not new.

[Legobrandon]

I've seen many LEGO sets with their boxes ripped open and having the parts taken out at my local Toys"R"Us. Some even have the numbered bags open with LEGO pieces all over the floor. Its hard to decide what packaging LEGO should use because, they want kids and adults to be able to open up the set easily. But, if they use the plastic packaging, the ones where you have to cut open with strong scissors, they might lose customers IMO because of the hard to open packages. So either way there are pros and cons about different packaging materials.

[hatcher]

I can't remember what store it was, but years ago I saw LEGO sets wrapped with those electronic theft prevention wires you see around high end electronics. If you wanted to buy it, you had to have the thing removed at the cash. Of course, since the box is made of cardboard, I failed to see how this would prevent someone from cutting into it and removing the bags.

I don't think there is one answer to this problem. I guess the old adage about letting the buyer beware still holds true, and open box as soon as you get home.