It’s update time! If
you remember this post (and I’m sure you do) then you know I received an
extremely beat up Taylor Hall card in my box of 2012-13 Upper Deck Series
I. Well I eventually got around to
gathering all of the paperwork needed to send it back to Quality Assurance to
get it swapped out. Their disclaimer
said it would take about 6-8 weeks to process so I promptly forgot about it because I have the attention span of a squirrel.
Right after Christmas I received a padded envelope from
Morrisville, NC. I have never heard of
Morrisville (named after Jeremiah Morris and located in the heart of the Research Triangle) so my first thought was that this was
a late Christmas gift or some elaborate packaging for a credit card offer. Imagine my surprise when I opened it on the
table and out spilled:
Still weird to see orange and not have it be a Flyers card. |
That’s right, an exact replacement of the card,down to the same color swatch, I sent in
free of damaged corners or mangled sides.
But that wasn't all. Right next
to it was a bonus card:
It's like early 2000s card designs never left! |
A 2012-13 Requisite Radiance card of Carl Hagelin. I’m not sure if Upper Deck reads this blog,
but they nailed two of my favorite things about cards – die-cut and shiny (if
only they had put acetate on it!). I’m
not a fan of the background – kind of busy for my tastes, but still a nice
card.
Even better, it was a nice gesture by a company that is a
leader in an industry that all too often gets slammed for poor customer
support. Working in the hospitality
business like I do, I've learned that it’s the unasked for gestures that really
make a difference. I would have been perfectly happy if Upper Deck had just
returned a clean copy of the card I sent in, instead by including the extra
card makes me more likely to actually buy series II of this set and make a
half-hearted attempt to finish the base set.
The process itself was relatively painless. I went to the Upper Deck site and found the
email address for Quality Assurance. I
exchanged a few emails and was assigned a case number which I popped onto the
envelope and mailed off with the required documents.
I’m glad that the guy at Pittsburgh Sports Cards took the
time to write out a receipt when I bought the box. At card shows it is way too easy to forget
that step and then I’m sure things would have been a lot harder.
Since I dragged my feet a little mailing the card back I’m
not sure of the actual processing time it took, but it wasn't more
than 4 weeks. The cards came in a padded envelope and individually secured in
penny sleeves and top loaders along with a typed letter of apology. I really couldn't have asked for better
service.
As bloggers we’re quick to point out when things go wrong,
so it’s nice to write a post where I get to point out some good things about a
company. So kudos to Upper Deck
Hockey. Good job!
Now let’s see how long it takes Topps to redeem that
auto/relic card I sent in!
2 comments:
I'm glad this had a happy ending, and they didn't send a plain white swatch. And 4 weeks is not a bad turn around time.
And being a Rangers fan, I have to say that that Hagelin card is very nice. But like you, I feel the background is a little too busy as well.
Glad to hear they replaced it.
I think Upper Deck has excellent customer service. I rip on some of their practices, especially the "Frankencards."
But their customer service is usually top-notch. They were also super-cool at The National in Chicago back in 2011 (though those might have been marketing and not CS people).
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