Staples making good on the Sharpies fiasco

If you took advantage of the $3 Sharpies deal back here, you might have received a cancellation notice the day after your order was placed.  I know that I did, and I was disappointed, both personally and on behalf of the DailyCheapskate readers who ordered these markers as well.  There didn't seem to be any good reason for Staples to cancel the orders, which were placed in good faith. If a vendor doesn't want to sell items at a low price, then don't publish the deal, right?  Staples' claim to have run out of merchandise seemed a little thin, as they are still selling the Sharpies online, albeit at more than three times the deal price.

Today I received this email from Staples:

Dear Valued Staples Customer,
We apologize again for our failure in accepting your order for Sharpie markers last week which we could not fulfill.  As we do not have access to sufficient supplies to honor all of the orders, we will not be issuing any backorders or extending the price on the Sharpie special.  However, to make up for the inconvenience, we are crediting the account you used $5 for each pack you attempted to order.  We hope you will consider using this credit at Staples for a future order.

If you have further questions regarding your order, please contact us at support@orders.staples.com or 800-333-3330. Please reference your order # and we will be happy to assist you.

Thank you for choosing Staples.

Sincerely,

Staples Customer Service

I do feel better about the whole fiasco now. This is a great example of a company showing that they truly value their customers. It's not so much that I care about the credit, it's the gesture of customer service that shows me what a smart, great company Staples is. When a company messes up, an apology and a token gift goes a long way toward retaining and building customer loyalty.