How Chewy Wows Customers

Chewy is an online pet supply retailer that has made a name for itself through exceptional customer service. Founded in 2010 in South Florida, the company started by selling dog and cat products. It has since grown into a major player in the e-commerce world.

Chewy's Customer-First Approach

Chewy's success is built on its unique approach to customer service, setting new standards in online retail.

Great Phone Support

Real people answer calls within 4 seconds, 98% of the time at Chewy. There are no automated phone systems to navigate, and customer service agents have no time limits on calls. This ensures that customers can get the help they need without feeling rushed or frustrated by a machine.

Personal Touch for Many

Chewy mixes human creativity with technology to give customers personalized experiences. The company works with over 1,000 local artists to make custom pet portraits. It uses computer programs to choose which loyal customers get these special portraits. Chewy sends out hundreds of thousands of these surprise portraits to delighted customers every year.

Handling Sensitive Situations with Empathy

When a customer's pet passes away, Chewy responds with compassion by offering refunds, suggesting donations of unopened pet food to shelters, and sending flowers or handwritten condolence cards.

These actions show a deep understanding of the emotional bond between pets and their owners, earning Chewy not just loyalty but a place in the hearts of its customers.

The impact of these gestures is amplified on social media where customers share their gratitude.

Viral tweets and posts about Chewy's kindness not only showcase the company's customer service but also act as organic marketing, drawing in new customers intrigued by such personal attention.

The Business Benefits of Exceptional Customer Service

Positive Word-of-Mouth

Customers who talk to customer service tend to buy more over time at Chewy. These service experiences lead to positive word-of-mouth advertising, as satisfied customers share their stories with friends and family.

The company focuses on customer engagement more than traditional marketing, recognizing that happy customers are the best promoters of their brand.

High Lifetime Value

Pet ownership often involves recurring purchases over many years, making the lifetime value of a pet owner very high.

Investing in customer delight, therefore, pays off over time as customers continue to buy from a brand that has shown them extraordinary care.

Community Building

Chewy's actions contribute to building a community of pet lovers who feel seen and valued, not just as consumers but as individuals with whom Chewy shares a common bond - the love for pets. This community spirit fosters loyalty and advocacy, with customers often recommending Chewy to others.

Standing Out in a Crowded Market

In a market where competition is stiff, Chewy's customer service strategy helps it stand out.

By offering something Amazon or smaller pet stores might not, Chewy creates a unique value proposition that's hard to replicate with just product offerings or discounts.

Using Technology Wisely

Chewy combines human creativity with efficient technology to deliver exceptional service. Automated systems handle tasks such as choosing which customers receive portraits, managing shipping details, tracking production, and measuring performance. This allows the human team to focus on providing personalized, caring service to each customer.

Measuring Success Beyond Traditional Metrics

The company looks at how well they serve customers, not just how fast they can complete transactions. They care more about solving problems than how long calls take, recognizing that fully resolving issues leads to greater customer satisfaction.

Chewy tracks how engaged customers are as a key measure of success, rather than relying solely on traditional metrics like call handle times.

Chewy has built its service around personal interactions and emotional connections with customers. They encourage their service team to spend as much time as needed to fully solve customer issues.

Building Loyalty Through Memorable Experiences

Good customer service builds loyalty. If a brand's goal is to attract and keep customers, then keeping them happy is key. When a company goes beyond what's expected, customers remember them.

Imagine calling a company and they answer in 2 seconds. No waiting, no automated menus. That's pretty impressive.

The Problem with Automated Phone Systems

Automated phone systems often waste time. A customer might spend a minute listening to options, wait 5 more minutes, and then get put in line for a callback. That's a typical experience.

Exceeding Expectations with Personal Touches

Let's say a customer calls, and during the chat, the agent asks, "How did you name your dog Becky?" The customer explains it's from a Beyoncé song, Becky with the Good Hair. The call ends normally.

A few days later, that customer gets a custom-painted Beyoncé CD with their dog's portrait on it. That's Chewy going above and beyond.

The Power of Personal Touches

The customer then tells the story at dinner and posts about it online. That post gets 250,000 shares and 700,000 likes.

These personal touches create stories that people talk about. This is how brands build loyalty—by doing more than just the basics.

Great experiences create lasting memories. When brands go beyond expectations, they turn customers into loyal fans who spread the word. Chewy does it best.

Top Tweets of the day

1/

Classic example would be these 2 B2C products: Photo AI vs Lensa AI.

Photo AI was the 1st text-to-image platform but since it was a web app, it only made millions of dollars.

Lensa AI came much later and built a mobile app. It made $30m+ in very little time.

What vehicle you choose to deliver a product matters.

2/

Build in private > Build in public

Unless your product targets people who follow the "build in public" trend.

3/

"Extraordinary results require focused attention and time. Time on one thing means time away from another. This makes balance impossible."

The hardest thing in our generation is learning how to focus on one thing.

Its a special generation with countless distractions at your fingertips.

Rabbit Holes

1. How I validate 1000s of emails for free in minutes by Salesforge

2. How Often Should You Post to Facebook and Twitter by Buffer

3. 23 things I've learned after spending almost 7 years in SEO by /r/marketing

Until next time!

If you enjoyed this, please consider sharing it with a friend. If a friend sent you this, get the next newsletter by signing up here.

Read all the old case studies here.

And don't forget to follow me on X.

More Startup Spells 🪄

1. Clever Hack to Increase Domain Rating (LINK)

2. Power of Good Domains (LINK)

3. Sneakily Game Appsumo Customers (LINK)