'That Act of Kindness Meant So Much': Chewy's Customer Service Is Melting Hearts The pet supply company is going viral -- for the right reasons.
By Emily Rella
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Losing a pet is never easy — after all, dogs are often called "man's best friend." So when you're a pet-centric company, it's best to have a plan in place when a customer is grieving and needs a helping hand.
While grieving the loss of her beloved dog, Gus, Twitter user Anna Brose posted about her recent experience with pet retailer, Chewy, and their swift — and heartwarming — response when she attempted to get rid of dog food that she no longer needed.
"I contacted @Chewy last week to see if I could return an unopened bag of my dog's food after he died," Brose wrote in the heartbreaking Tweet. "They 1) gave me a full refund, 2) told me to donate the food to the shelter, and 3) had flowers delivered today with the gift note signed by the person I talked to??"
I contacted @Chewy last week to see if I could return an unopened bag of my dog's food after he died. They 1) gave me a full refund, 2) told me to donate the food to the shelter, and 3) had flowers delivered today with the gift note signed by the person I talked to??
Talk about taking an im-paw-sibly difficult situation and turning it around for a loyal customer.
Brose's original Tweet has garnered over 564,500 likes and 33,000 retweets as of Thursday afternoon and is littered with thousands of comments and testimonials from other Chewy customers with similar —and equally positive experiences upon the passing of their pets.
"@Chewy did the same for me when we lost our sweet boy, Murphy Brown," Twitter user Krys Marshall wrote in response. "I'd just ordered 2 cases of his special kidney diet food, and they arrived after he passed. But they gave a full refund and told us to just donate the food to a shelter. That act of kindness meant so much."
@Chewy did the same for me when we lost our sweet boy, Murphy Brown. I'd just ordered 2 cases of his special kidney diet food, and they arrived after he passed But they gave a full refund and told us to just donate the food to a shelter. That act of kindness meant so much. pic.twitter.com/KrxWjBVh6T
— Krys Marshall (@KrysMarshall) June 16, 2022
Others praised the company for their kind gestures and gifts, many commenters saying that Chewy had even sent them personalized paintings of their beloved pooches.
"My hubby used to work for @Chewy and he always raved about their customer service," one user praised. "They sent us a small painting of my Simba when he passed. I'm sorry for your loss."
My hubby used to work for @Chewy and he always raved about their customer service. They sent us a small painting of my Simba when he passed. I'm sorry for your loss pic.twitter.com/5EanjKXljx
— CFOLS (@bruins77girl) June 16, 2022
"We will forever be grateful for this painting you guys sent us after we had to put daisy down," another Twitter user corroborated about the brand's acts of kindness. "We still aren't positive how y'all knew as we still had other dogs and didn't cancel any good orders. we put her up where we see her everyday. thank you guys so much!"
Others just simply offered words of support and sympathy to Brose.
"First, I'm sorry that your dog has passed and I know that pain well. It's very difficult," a Twitter user named Tracy lamented. "As for Chewy? I think that's amazing! So kind of them to be so sensitive to what you're going through. Take care."
Even Chewy themselves reached out to Brose in response to her kind story.
"It's the least we could do, Anna," Chewy tweeted out. "We hope these flowers will help to keep your spirits up."
It's the least we could do, Anna. We hope these flowers will help to keep your spirits up.
— Chewy (@Chewy) June 15, 2022
"Showing up for our customers during important milestones in their pet parenting journey is core to our DNA. Since Chewy's very early days (and yesterday happened to be Chewy's 11th birthday!), empowering our incredible Chewtopians to personalize their interactions with customers, take an interest in their lives and go above and beyond with gestures like these has been essential to our culture," Chewy told Entrepreneur. "The loss of a pet, in particular, is such a devastating experience, and we hope to provide a little brightness during a dark time. In those moments, when a customer may feel alone and in need of someone to lean on, they understand that Chewy is also part of their family."
Chewy, which is based in Florida, was acquired in 2017 by PetSmart in a $3.35 billion deal before pricing its IPO at $22 per share in 2019. The filing gave the company an estimated valuation of $8.8. billion.
As of Thursday afternoon, Chewy was up around 5.5% in a one-month period.
