Have you heard about Zune Originals? It’s a service that allows you to customize a Zune for Valentines day. Unfortunately, a lot of folks who ordered Zune Originals might not get their orders in time for the 14th. Microsoft not only told these unlucky people that they might need an alternate gift, but also refunded their money and let them keep the Zune:

We wanted to provide you with an update on your order status. Due to some issues in our fulfillment center there remains a chance we will miss getting your Zune to you by February 14th. We are working hard to get your order to you as quickly as possible and we currently plan to ship your Zune within the next 3-4 days. Once your order is in transit, we will send you a shipping confirmation with a link for tracking.

Our goal is to provide a smooth customer experience for ordering, customization, and delivery. We sincerely apologize for not meeting that goal in this specific case. We will be refunding the entire amount of your order, which you should be able to see on your credit/debit card within 7-10 days. We hope you love your Zune and that you will accept our sincere apology.

If you have additional questions, please call 1.877.GET.ZUNE. For fastest service, press 5 then press 1 and have your order information ready.

The Zune Originals Team

I can’t convey how correctly I think they’ve handled this. This story has been all over the place, and the publicity that Microsoft and Zune Originals will get is doubtless worth the cost of the Zunes, which couldn’t be re-sold anyway because they were customized. And the people who get free Zunes will always remember Microsoft as a company that admitted it’s error, and went the extra mile to say they were sorry. Color me impressed.

Source: Ars Technica
Image: Zune Originals

Filed under: Art | Design, Gadgets | Technology, Portable Audio — Max @ 3:18 pm