Fresh dog food company Butternut Box has won the European Contact Centre and Customer Service Award for Best Customer Engagement approach, a title previously held by the likes of Ebay and Gusto.

Putting customer experience first is a top priority for the Butternut Box team, which aims to give each customer the personal treatment, showing how much they and their dogs matter. 

The brand’s customer experience impressed one Butternut Box subscriber so much it led to the social media trend #BeMoreButternut. 

Stuart Taylor, subscriber of nine months, contacted Butternut Box’s Customer Love team to relay news that his Cavalier King Charles Spaniel of 13 years, Ruby, had been feeling poorly and could no longer eat the fresh meals in her subscription. Stuart asked to reduce his plan to accommodate his two remaining dogs. In response, he received a gifted blanket with a personalised note two days later.

The note from the Customer Love team read: “Hi Ruby, we hear you’ve been a little unwell so we thought we'd send you this. We know you can't enjoy your Butternut anymore like your siblings but just to let you know we're thinking of you. Love Team Butternut.”

“This is next level,” said Stuart in his LinkedIn post about the gift. “I could not recommend this company enough if you have dogs and that was before we received this. Be more like Butternut… and if you have dogs their food is as good as it gets for your pets.”

Since Stuart’s post in September, nearly 17,000 users on LinkedIn have reacted to the post and more than 600 have commented. 

In response to the strong reaction to his post, Stuart said: “To say we were surprised is an understatement. We are giving the business less money than we were previously, and Butternut showed compassion for the reason why. Companies don't do that. It made us feel that Butternut care more about the pets and customers they create food for than they do their profit margins. That's why I posted the message on LinkedIn, that compassion needs highlighting.”

Harriet Treadwell, Head of Customer Love, commented: “We always do our best to truly show genuine care and compassion for our customers. Dogs are a huge part of their families and being pet parents ourselves we really empathised with Stuart and Ruby when we heard the news. 

“We know it’s so important to provide a human touch when it’s needed most, and we’ll always show kindness in every situation. It’s what makes us so passionate about what we do.”

For more information on Butternut Box visit https://butternutbox.com/