guest article by Scott Cowley
Amazon 
has recently been the target of some high profile negative press about its intense workplace pressures. One would almost think there would be little room at Amazon for the kind of magical customer moments that people typically only associate with companies like Disney. But Halloween magic is definitely what we got from the tech giant.
When our girls both wanted to be mermaids last year, my wife sewed them each sequined mermaid tails in their colors of choice. We hoped these would be multi-year Halloween costumes, but our little 3-year-old, Charlotte, had other ideas this year.
“I’m going be a fairy panda bear!”
“Do you mean a furry panda bear?”
“No, mom. A fairy panda bear.”
Points for creativity, kid, but don’t count on your mom sewing you a fairy panda bear costume in 2 weeks. We’ll get you fairy wings from the nearest store and some black paint on the nose if you’re really adamant about the panda part.
I jokingly tweeted about her innovative costume mashup and drove to work.
When I checked Twitter after lunch, I immediately knew something was up, seeing a mountain of replies, retweets, and “favorites”—the kind of volume never before seen around these parts. I discovered why. Amazon’s main Twitter account had retweeted me to 2.1 million followers and had responded.
Wow! After the initial shock and awe and a little back-and-forth by e-mail with “Tyler B.,” I was told to expect a couple of Amazon packages in the mail, on the house. No strings attached. Seriously.
The result?
One very happy fairy panda bear.
I wish I knew a better way to say thank you to the folks at Amazon. Who knew they even did things like this for regular people? I know the company has a solid reputation for service and customer centricity, but this was simply perfect!
So, panda fairies do exist. We thought so! ?✨@scottcowley https://t.co/X0ZKOfkn6L
— Amazon (@amazon) October 29, 2015
Amazon sent a complimentary costume for our little girl, whose wish was to be a “Fairy Panda Bear”… https://t.co/495meJMKqV
— Scott Cowley (@scottcowley) October 29, 2015
This real life fairy tale is nearly over, but guaranteed we’ll have the cutest little fairy panda bear in the neighborhood when we’re out trick-or-treating on Halloween night. All thanks to a fairy godmother named Amazon.
Scott Cowley
is Assistant Professor of Marketing
at Western Michigan University
source: http://www.scottcowley.com/blog/amazons-fairy-tale-response-to-a-toddlers-halloween-costume-wish
