Business Communication with LEGO

Communicating with customers is a large portion of performing retail business. Customer satisfaction builds a strong company reputation and builds trust with the consumer. It also builds a bond with an individual customer helping to create a loyal customer base in a rounded manner. When it comes to a company like LEGO the popular toy brick manufacturer, this can become a generational tie. Parents who loved the product pass that down to their children and if their experience with them was positive when interacting with customer care they certainly will share that as a story in passing.

A customer who purchased a rather expensive LEGO Star Wars building set recently reached out to the company as he found his purchase was missing pieces (MSN, n.d.). The company replied using a humorous LEGO Star Wars themed reply which was received by the customer as well as MSN as being hilarious (MSN, n.d.). Because it was LEGO and they are well known for their humorous Star Wars antics this was not as risky as it could have been had it been another company sending the reply. Although this customer interaction turned out to be positive and attention getting, it could have had a negative impact on the LEGO brand had it been perceived in a different way.

When responding to a customer who is not satisfied about a purchase, using humor can backfire. A company should use care and evaluate if it is appropriate to use humor or a non-serious response should there be an issue with their product or service. With respects to the LEGO reply, the company is well known their use of humor and it would not be as shocking to receive a reply as the customer missing pieces did. The set of the Star Wars Cantina was said to have cost $350.00 USD and to be considered quite rare (MSN, n.d.). For LEGO the response was appropriate as it is consistent with the way the company projects its image. However, the use of humor in that way could have also had a negative effect.

The customer could have viewed their jovial reply as insulting and they could have been quite upset about the missing pieces. This could have led to a social media outcry or other forms of image tarnishing towards LEGO from the customer. Any other company besides LEGO replying in this manner may have received negative backlash for how they managed their customer. These are pitfalls for communication in business. Customer perception of a company and the communications they have with a company will determine the success of those communications (Maya, 2022). Because information spreads quite efficiently online, specifically on social media, a company’s reputation can be damaged quickly if a customer perceives communication with them in a negative way. For example had this been a child receiving the set for a holiday and the parents lodged a complaint there more than likely would have been a different reaction. In an age of where everyone is so sensitive and delicate LEGO was still taking a risk by making a joke out of the situation. This is not to say they were incorrect in doing so as they are maintaining their brand image. However, it would have been interesting to see what would have happened if this had been a gift for child with an oversensitive parent who had emailed the company about the problem.

What do you think about the situation? Would you have laughed at the email waited for your replacement? Would this have offended you? Leave a comment about how you would feel if you were the one getting the jovial reply.

Sources

Maya, V. (2022, March 23). What Is Customer Perception and Why Is it Important? CustomersFirst Academy. https://customersfirstacademy.com/customer-perception/

MSN. (n.d.). LEGO sends customer hilarious ‘Star Wars’-themed response to apologize for missing piece. Retrieved June 10, 2022, from https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/lego-sends-customer-hilarious-star-wars-themed-response-to-apologize-for-missing-piece/ar-AAOa59d