COOP Norway's New Motto: Eat, Drink, and Get Your Money Back!

A few months ago, COOP Norway, a Norwegian food chain, launched their new motto: "If you're not happy with the product, you have the choice between money refund or getting another copy of the product. It doesn't matter if you already ate it, all you need is the receipt."

What does this mean? You can go to the store and buy a six-pack of beer, then after you drink it return to the store and say you were not satisfied. You are 100% guaranteed to get a full refund, or another six-pack. This example has been tested by reporters. They bought beer, put it in their car, and went back to get a refund. Apparently the store clerk thought it strange that they could drink the beer so fast, but even in these cases the chain must follow their motto and give
you either money back, or a full refund.

The guarantee covers everything from steaks and yoghurts, to drinks. So in reality you could host a fancy dinner with nothing but the best choices on the menu, and then the following day return the receipt and say that nothing was 100% to your satisfaction. The beef wasn't tender enough, the mushrooms and vegetables weren't fresh, the ice cream wasn't creamy, and the drinks were flat. The total cost of a dinner for 10? Zero!

So how are they able to keep this campaign running?

When the news first broke, the papers were full of gloomy predictions. Everyone though COOP were crazy to start this, as too many people would take advantage of it. After a little while however, sentiments started to change. It turns out that the market value of their motto is by far greater then the cost of keeping it running. This motto has received so much news-coverage, and the word is going from mouth to mouth all over Norway, and even the world, so for COOP to get this much attention about their business through advertisement would be far more expensive then refunding products. Besides that, it's not just advertisement, it's good advertisement. COOP is trusting the customers with the best guarantee possible, and the value of that is priceless.

So even in modern day, having good faith in your customers and providing them with the best service available is still possible for a major food chain. COOP Norway is so certain of the quality of their products, and trusts the people not to take complete advantage of them. I just hope they are able to keep this up in the upcoming years, because I have never seen a store go to these lengths to satisfy their customers.

Next time I'm in Norway I'll buy a candy bar, then get another one free as the first one had too many nuts in it. The coke I bought doesn't taste right either, but as I'm not thirsty anymore I'll just take money back for that one. Now, that's what real service is all about!