Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Mission Two: Happy Baby Puffs

So this time I really do have a problem with a product.  My daughter is in love with Happy Baby Organic Puffs.  However, I'm having a huge problem with the containers they come in, the freakin lids DO NOT want to stay on.  So my mission for today Oct 27th is HAPPY BABY!!!!!!!!!!! Here is the email I just sent to their company.

I'm hoping you will be able to direct my concerns to the appropriate department.  My 1 year old loves your Happy Puffs, however I'm having a huge problem with the packaging.  The lid comes off really easy (i cannot tell you how many times i've lost the contents of the container to the grocery store floor) and it causes the product to spill all the time, wasting the entire contents.  It appears that the lid has a screw top, but it's not working that way.  I've had this happen with about 6 of your containers.  What I end up doing is having to dump the contents into a plastic bag or other container to transport or keep around the house. It's a shame because the container is the perfect size for my 1 year old to stick her arm in and feed herself while she's in the stroller or in the shopping cart.  Only thing is the minute I stick the container back in my diaper bag...the contents spill all over the place. Like I said this has happened with all 6 of the containers that I have purchased..I have never purchased a container that didn't do this.

Thank you
Lisa

As usual we will wait and see.

**************UPDATE**************************

Received the following email back from Happy Baby:

Hi Lisa,
Thank you for your email.  We very much appreciate our customers reaching out to us with feedback on our products. 
We are actually aware of the problem you experienced with your Puffs. When we seal the top for freshness, we have to apply heat to the containers, and a few of the containers recently got too hot, which changed the shape of the top just enough to keep it from staying in place. We are working diligently to fix this, and we apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused (cleaning up spilled Puffs is no fun!) 
Here is a link to a free trial coupon to replace your spilled puffs.  I ask only that you use it to replace the product in question and not post on any blogs.  We're a small company and have had some issues with online coupons in the past.

As per their request I have not listed the link to the free package.  I will be using this coupon to purchase a different product as I am not happy that they knew of this problem but still put the product out there.  So I have emailed them this response:
Sandy,

I appreciate your quick response in regards to this matter.  Taking the time out of your day to respond to a customer really shows that you stand by the products you sell and the company you work for.  However, your response has now raised a few more concerns into my inquiry. If you knowingly knew about the problem with the packaging, why were the containers released to retailers? I have found through message boards and my own research that other moms have had the same problem that I had with these containers.  If there was a malfunction that you had in your factory why were the products sent out to retailers to pawn off to consumers like myself as superior products?  Also what harm will the overheating of the plastic have on my child if she chews on the lid (which she does)? I have worked in Quality Assurance previously and I know that sometimes companies are not made aware of a malfunction until after the product goes out, however it is up to the QA department to test these containers previous to sending the products out to retailers. I appreciate your attention to this matter and know that a problem like this can become a huge set back for a small company like yours.  Just as you work hard to get your product out, us moms work hard to purchase your products.  The two go hand in hand and cannot function without each other.  Also, I thank you for the free coupon, however if I use this coupon (that by the way expires in 3 days) to purchase another (1) container to replace the six containers I wrote to you about, I will only be replacing the one container with another container that has the same malfunction.

Have a great day,
Lisa

*******************UPDATE #2**********************************************

Wow Happy Baby Family Brands is really concerned with whether or not they have resolved my issues.  I'll tell you I have done many letter writing campaigns and have never gotten this fast and speedy of a response. It's as if they know I'm blogging about them and are under the impression that I have more than 2 followers. So they've offered to FedEx me 6 containers of Puffs to replace the malfunctioning lids.  I'd say "now that's what I call satisfaction" but I still don't like the idea that they knew about the problem and sent it out. I heard back from the Director of Marketing (who is sending the new containers out) and she assured me that the Director of QA would answer my concerns about the packaging and she also assured me that they did not know about the mishap prior to sending out packages.  Seems like they know they screwed up and are just trying to keep customers happy at the moment.  Hey look I know accidents in the field happen. I used to work in QA for a Private Label department of a large company, and know that we would find out about mishaps on the line ONLY AFTER a customer like me complained about the product.  I know the economy is rough and jobs have been eliminated that used to prevent these mishaps but this is what happens to your company when you go cheap.  It's a vicious cycle and we're all suffering in some aspect of the cycle.  I commend them for owning up to the mistake and doing whatever they can to maintain the consumer relationship, very few companies would go this far. I once found a piece of plastic in a Wal-Mart brand trail mix, a piece of plastic that could have cut my intestine if ingested...I wrote them a letter and Wal-Mart never even responded.

1 comment:

  1. OMGSSSH I agree. It's sooo annoying. To pay $3 a bottle and half of them get spilled in your diaper bag. Good Luck!

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