This past Valentine’s Day, a friend sent me Fannie May chocolate tower–a full two pounds of chocolate–as a gift. He mailed the chocolate right to my house–a nice service Fannie May offers for no more than the standard shipping fee.

I was really grateful for the gift–a pile of chocolate is a great surprise to come home to! Only later, after opening up the thoughtful gift, did I realize that some of the chocolate was not quite as fresh as I’ve come to expect from Fannie May.

Honestly, I didn’t think there was anything I could do about it, considering I wasn’t the person who ordered the chocolate. But when I saw Fannie May’s “100% Smile Guarantee” statement at the bottom of their website homepage, I decided to contact them and see what happened….and I was pleasantly surprised with the results!

I emailed Fannie May and told them of the problem with my chocolates, emphasizing that I did not want the gift-giver to be dragged into the situation. (Making my friend feel bad would be far worse than simply dealing with the chocolate.)

A customer service rep responded to my email within 24 hours, requesting info about the order: the customer’s name, address, and phone number. With this info, the rep was able to locate the order: so far, so good. After providing the rep with specific information about the problem I’d had with the chocolates, I was told that the chocolate tower I had received was a holiday item and no longer in stock: I was then given the option to either have a refund applied to my friend’s credit card, or select a new (different) item.

Obviously, there first option conflicted with my decision to keep the gift-giver out of the situation, so I opted for the second. I requested that my chocolate tower be replaced by a 2-lb Create Your Own Sampler–and my request was approved. After specifying my selections, I was told I’d receive my replacement chocolates within four days.

I was extremely pleased with the outcome of this experience. I’ve ordered chocolate from Fannie May many times–but I’ve never had occasion to contact them about a gift I’d received. Thankfully, the folks at Fannie May have a great customer service policy in place, when it comes to customer satisfaction with their chocolates. Their 100% Smile Guarantee is working just fine.