UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
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SERIAL NO: 76/453053
APPLICANT: ZippMark, Inc.
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CORRESPONDENT ADDRESS: KEVIN D. MCCARTHY HODGSON RUSS LLP ONE M&T PLAZA, SUITE 2000 BUFFALO, NY 14203-2391
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RETURN ADDRESS: Commissioner for Trademarks 2900 Crystal Drive Arlington, VA 22202-3514 ecom105@uspto.gov
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MARK: LIFETIME GUARANTEE
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CORRESPONDENT’S REFERENCE/DOCKET NO: N/A
CORRESPONDENT EMAIL ADDRESS:
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Please provide in all correspondence:
1. Filing date, serial number, mark and applicant's name. 2. Date of this Office Action. 3. Examining Attorney's name and Law Office number. 4. Your telephone number and e-mail address.
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Serial Number 76/453053
This Office Action addresses the applicant’s response letter dated 07/28/03. First, the applicant’s amended drawing is accepted and made of record. In an Office Action dated 06/27/03, the applicant was also informed that it must disclaim LIFETIME GUARANTEE apart from the mark as shown. As the applicant has not complied with the requirement and the applicant’s arguments are unpersuasive, the requirement is now maintained and made FINAL. For further explanation, please see below.
DISCLAIMER:
Estate of P.D. Beckwith v. Comm’r of Pats., 252 U.S. 538, 1920 C.D. 471 (1920), and other disclaimer decisions before the Trademark Act of 1946 dealt with disclaiming descriptive or generic matter. Section 6 of the Act referred initially to “unregistrable matter” and, since the 1962 amendment, now refers to “an unregistrable component.”
Typically an unregistrable component of a registrable mark is the name of the goods or services, other matter that does not indicate source, or matter that is merely descriptive or deceptively misdescriptive of the goods or services, or primarily geographically descriptive of them. If an applicant does not comply with a disclaimer requirement, the examining attorney may refuse registration of the entire mark. TMEP §§1213.03(a)
With that in minds, a mark or term is merely descriptive under Trademark Act Section 2(e)(1), 15 U.S.C. §1052(e)(1), if it describes an ingredient, quality, characteristic, function, feature, purpose or use of the relevant goods. In re Gyulay, 820 F.2d 1216, 3 USPQ2d 1009 (Fed. Cir. 1987); In re Bed & Breakfast Registry, 791 F.2d 157, 229 USPQ 818 (Fed. Cir. 1986); In re MetPath Inc., 223 USPQ 88 (TTAB 1984); In re Bright‑Crest, Ltd., 204 USPQ 591 (TTAB 1979); TMEP §1209.01(b).
In addition, it is not necessary that a term describe all of the purposes, functions, characteristics or features of the goods to be merely descriptive. It is enough if the term describes one attribute of the goods. In re H.U.D.D.L.E., 216 USPQ 358 (TTAB 1982); In re MBAssociates, 180 USPQ 338 (TTAB 1973). TMEP §1209.01(b).
As such, the wording “LIFETIME GUARANTEE” is merely descriptive in relation to the applicant’s goods. Specifically and as the attached evidence reveals, lighters are sold with a “lifetime guarantee.” In fact, Zippo ® Manufacturing offers a “lifetime guarantee” on its products. Further described as driving force behind customer service, the wording “lifetime guarantee” also conveys to purchasers that the manufacturer will repair its lighters for any reason during the life of the lighter. And as the article from the San Diego Tribune, dated 06/17/01 indicates, the concept of a “lifetime guarantee” for consumer goods or services is no longer a unique idea in “American business.”
Continuing, the attached dictionary definitions also evidence the descriptive use of “lifetime guarantee.” In fact, the entry with the definition for “lifetime” lists “lifetime guarantee.” In addition, the wording is also descriptive since it is composed of two terms whose resulting combination does not create a unitary mark with a separate, nondescriptive meaning. In re Sun Microsystems Inc., 59 USPQ2d 1084 (TTAB 2001); In re Putman Publishing Co., 39 USPQ2d 2021 (TTAB 1996); In re Copytele Inc., 31 USPQ2d 1540 (TTAB 1994); In re Entenmann’s Inc., 15 USPQ2d 1750 (TTAB 1990), aff’d per curiam, 928 F.2d 411 (Fed. Cir. 1991); In re Serv-A-Portion Inc., 1 USPQ2d 1915 (TTAB 1986); In re Wells Fargo & Co., 231 USPQ 95 (TTAB 1986); In re Ampco Foods, Inc., 227 USPQ 331 (TTAB 1985). TMEP §1209.03(d).
As “lifetime” is described as the period of time during which an object exists or functions and a “guarantee” is a pledge that something will be performed in a specific manner as well as an assurance regarding the durability of a product, the wording also conveys information about the goods. In other words, the applicant assures a consumer that it will guarantee durability, function and performance during the lifetime of the product.
Furthermore, the Office also disclaims this and other similar wording from registered marks. For instance, in U.S. Registration No. 2079541, the wording “lifetime guarantee” is also disclaimed. See attached U.S. Registrations. This particular registration is of great importance since the mark in that registration, like the applicant’s proposed mark, also contains a design element and other matter.
Furthermore, a mark or portion of a mark is considered “unitary” when it creates a commercial impression separate and apart from any unregistrable component. In essence, the elements must be so merged together that they cannot be registered separately. Here and contrary to the applicant’s assertion, the wording is separable from the design element and the mere proximity of the design feature does not leave the whole mark with a “single, integrated and distinct commercial impression.” Dena Corp. v. Belvedere International Inc., 950 F.2d 1555, 21 USPQ2d 1047 (Fed. Cir. 1991).
Thus and like the descriptive wording in U.S. Registration No. 2079541, “lifetime guarantee” must be disclaimed. Trademark Act Section 6, 15 U.S.C. Section 1056; TMEP §§1213.03(a).
A properly worded disclaimer should read as follows:
No claim is made to the exclusive right to use LIFETIME GUARANTEE apart from the mark as shown.
As a reminder, a disclaimer does not remove the disclaimed matter from the mark. It is simply a statement that the applicant does not claim exclusive rights in the disclaimed wording or design apart from the mark as shown in the drawing.
The requirement is now maintained and made FINAL.
Please note that the only appropriate responses to a final action are (1) compliance with the outstanding requirements, if feasible, (2) filing of an appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, or (3) filing of a petition to the Director if permitted by 37 C.F.R. §2.63(b). 37 C.F.R. §2.64(a); TMEP §715.01. Regarding petitions to the Director, see 37 C.F.R. §2.146 and TMEP Chapter 1700. If the applicant fails to respond within six months of the mailing date of this refusal, this Office will declare the application abandoned. 37 C.F.R. §2.65(a).
If the applicant has any questions or needs assistance in responding to this Office action, please telephone the assigned examining attorney.
BBrown
/Brian D. Brown/
Trademark Attorney
Law Office 105
(703) 308-9105 ext. 178
(703) 746-9597fax
ecom105@uspto.gov
How to respond to this Office Action:
To respond formally using the Office’s Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), visit http://www.gov.uspto.report/teas/index.html and follow the instructions.
To respond formally via E-mail, visit http://www.gov.uspto.report/web/trademarks/tmelecresp.htm and follow the instructions.
To respond formally via regular mail, your response should be sent to the mailing Return Address listed above and include the serial number, law office and examining attorney’s name on the upper right corner of each page of your response.
FOR INQUIRIES OR QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS OFFICE ACTION, PLEASE CONTACT THE ASSIGNED EXAMINING ATTORNEY.
DATE: AUGUST 26, 2003
CLIENT: BNICE
LIBRARY: NEWS
FILE: ALLNWS
YOUR SEARCH REQUEST IS:
"LIFETIME GUARANTEE" AND "LIGHTERS"
NUMBER OF STORIES FOUND WITH YOUR REQUEST THROUGH:
LEVEL 1... 257
Copyright 2003 Gannett Company, Inc.
USA TODAY
June 24, 2003, Tuesday, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: MONEY;
Pg. 3B
LENGTH: 1075 words
HEADLINE: Keeping Zippo's flame eternal
BYLINE: Thomas A. Fogarty
DATELINE: BRADFORD, Pa.
BODY: BRADFORD, Pa. -- George Duke refuses to be collateral damage in a worldwide war against tobacco.
Duke, 49, is co-owner of Zippo Manufacturing, maker of the iconic metal cigarette lighter. The lighter's distinctive click symbolized home for GIs during World War II, and American-style hipness for recent generations of young Japanese and Eastern European males.
"We're not so stupid to think smoking isn't declining -- it is," says Duke, drawing on a Marlboro and discussing the future at Zippo headquarters here.
Tobacco has been under full assault in the USA for 30 years. This month, U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona expressed personal support for an outright ban. Now, the World Health Organization is leading the effort to contain use worldwide with a tobacco control treaty.
Duke's grandfather, George Blaisdell, began manufacturing high-quality, wind-proof lighters during the Great Depression -- and backing them with a lifetime guarantee -- in this small Allegheny Mountain town. Then, many Americans thought cigarette smoking actually aided breathing.
But smoking-related illnesses kill 5 million people annually, and the association with tobacco is nothing on which Zippo can base long-term growth.
With repositioning in order, talk at Zippo headquarters is increasingly about "selling flame," and no longer limiting itself to products that light tobacco. In a bid to diversify, Zippo last year introduced a long, slender multipurpose lighter for candles, grills, fireplaces and the like.
Changes are just beginning. To buck the anti-tobacco tide, Duke and his top manager, CEO Greg Booth, have set an ambitious goal: by 2010, deriving half the company's revenue from products unrelated to tobacco. They're setting out to more than double current revenue over the same period. Duke says revenue this year should approach $140 million.
Diversification and the push for growth aren't optional, says Duke. Revenue has been flat for the past three years and lags behind the 1996 peak by about 15%. Lighter sales of 13.5 million this year are off the 1996 peak by about 25%. The 2010 revenue goal means Zippo can ill afford to turn its back on smokers as it diversifies, and Duke says the company won't do that.
"Zippo has a fair bit of opportunity to sell lighters to smokers over the next 20 years, whether they're in Moscow or Tokyo or Capetown," he says.
Times are changing, and the outlook of Zippo's top executives is broadening. Here's how:
* Licensing. The company has always been unafraid to ask its customers to pay for quality. The basic Zippo fetches $13 in a market awash in cheap disposables. Lifetime free repair burnishes the image of quality.
People know Zippo around the world. "Zippo has almost universal recognition," says Dave Dolak, a brand consultant from Charlottesville, Va.
With that in mind, Zippo executives are in discussions with manufacturers of flame-related outdoor products -- grills, torches, space heaters, fireplaces and the like -- for a series of Zippo-branded patio products.
* New products. Tobacco isn't dead yet, and plans are underway to manufacture a new line of expensive butane lighters, some priced at $50 or more. Booth says a refillable butane lighter would target potential customers who don't like the smell or messiness of the fuel burned in the classic Zippo lighter.
* Acquisitions. A decade ago, Zippo bought Case Cutlery, a knifemaker in Bradford. Booth says another acquisition is being negotiated but isn't ready to be announced.
* Marketing. Booth, who spent the first 30 years of his career marketing motor oil, has attempted since becoming CEO in 2001 to blast Zippo from its traditional manufacturing model of operation. That's meant a major push in marketing. His aim has been to introduce products to a demographic broader than the typical user of the classic lighter -- a fortysomething, white male with a high school education.
Hip Zippo tricksters
An ongoing nightclub series -- the Zippo Hot Tour -- is aimed at a hip, urban subculture that buy Zippos not to light cigarettes but to perform sleight of hand. Stars of the nightclub show: Zippo tricksters Booty and Mr. Twistyneck, and a Playboy Playmate who changes according to location.
Mark Paup, Zippo's marketing chief, says the company discovered a worldwide community of Zippo tricksters a few years ago on an unauthorized Norwegian Web site. Company lawyers wanted to shut it down. But the marketers saw it as an opportunity, spared the Web site and hired its sponsor.
The company has also started to systematically cultivate the legions of Zippo collectors. It recently started a $20-a-year "Click Club." Members get a Zippo magazine and first shot at limited edition products, which many people consider "pocket art."
'It's not for sale'
Zippo, which operates a public museum dedicated to itself, is not a place where change seems to come easy.
At Blaisdell's death in 1978, ownership passed to his two daughters and later broadened to include their children. Duke and his mother, Sarah Blaisdell Dorn, have bought out their relatives and now are sole owners. Duke says potential buyers approach him weekly. His answer, he says, never varies: "It's not for sale."
From the beginning, Zippo has proudly stamped the name of its hometown on the bottom of its lighters. Between Zippo and Case, it's keeping 1,100 western Pennsylvanians at work with wages up to $17 an hour and full benefits.
Ann Dugan, director of the Center for Family Enterprise at the University of Pittsburgh, compares the tight identification of Zippo and its hometown with that of another nearby community and its namesake business -- Hershey, Pa. Hershey residents are so protective of the chocolate maker that community opposition last year scuttled a proposed sale of the company by the local trust that owns it.
Zippo pays a Chinese company to make the new multipurpose lighter. But Duke says he's resisted opportunities to save money by shifting production of the classic Zippo lighter to a foreign location.
And tentative plans call for the proposed high-end butane product to be made in Bradford.
Says Duke, seizing his classic Zippo: "My grandfather had incredible loyalty to Bradford. As long as I ever own the company, this pocket lighter will always be made in Bradford."
GRAPHIC: GRAPHIC, B/W, USA TODAY (MAP); GRAPHIC, B/W, Quin Tian, USA TODAY, Source: Zippo (BAR GRAPH); PHOTOS, B/W (2); Selling flame": Co-owner George Duke says Zippo is well aware of the drop in smoking, so it's creating lighters for other purposes. <>Click it: Classic Zippo is made in Bradford, Pa.
LOAD-DATE: June 24, 2003
Copyright 2003 PR Newswire Association, Inc.
PR Newswire
May 5, 2003, Monday
SECTION: ENTERTAINMENT, TELEVISION, AND CULTURE
DISTRIBUTION: TO NATIONAL, ENTERTAINMENT AND FILM EDITORS
LENGTH: 469 words
HEADLINE: Zippo(R) Hits Silver Screen in 20th Century Fox's X-Men 2; X-Men's Newest Superhero Uses Zippo to Fend Off Evil-doers
DATELINE: BRADFORD, Pa., May 5
BODY:
The highly anticipated second installment in the X-Men series, "X2: X-Men United," claimed the number one position at the box office this weekend and the Zippo lighter is getting rave reviews for its starring role. One of the X-Men's newest cohorts, Pyro, whose mutation allows him to manipulate fire, uses a custom-designed Zippo lighter as his flame source of choice.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030505/PHM062 )
The Zippo plays a prominent role in several of the movie's most critical scenes. The custom-designed Zippo continually comes to the rescue, helping Pyro fend off enemies to allow the X-Men to continue their crusade to save the world.
"As I read through the script and learned more about Pyro's character this seemed like such a natural part for a Zippo," said Mimi Clarke, Vice President of Front Row Media, Inc., an entertainment marketing and consulting agency based in Los Angeles. "What better way to fight off evil then with the most recognized name in flame."
Clarke connected Zippo with the X-Men's prop department last June to assist in producing the design for Pyro's flame source. The final creation was a one-of-a-kind three-sided design featuring a shark's jaw on a satin chrome Zippo.
This isn't the first time that Zippo has been called on to produce a custom-designed lighter for a Hollywood blockbuster. In the late 80s, Zippo developed a special lighter that appeared in "Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade."
"Zippo lighters have a long and storied connection with Hollywood," said Greg Booth, Zippo President and CEO. "Producers are fascinated with the distinctive shape, world-famous click and the aura that a Zippo casts on characters that carry them."
Zippo lighters have appeared in more than a thousand movies alongside such stars as James Dean, John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe, Bruce Willis, Harrison Ford, Julia Roberts and more.
Zippo was founded in 1932 in Bradford, PA. The Zippo windproof lighter has become an international icon of American ingenuity and tradition and is a treasured collectible throughout the world. The Zippo windproof pocket lighter - in addition to the traditional chrome finish - features millions of designs depicting hobbies, activities, logos and lifestyle interests. More than 375 million Zippo lighters have been manufactured in Bradford since 1932 and all are backed by Zippo's unparalleled lifetime guarantee.
To learn more about Zippo, Zippo windproof pocket lighters and other Zippo products, please visit our web site: www.zippo.com.
SOURCE Zippo Manufacturing Company
CONTACT: Jeff Webster, Blattner Brunner, +1-412-995-9541, or jwebster£blattnerbrunner.com, for Zippo
URL: http://www.prnewswire.com
LOAD-DATE: May 6, 2003
Copyright 2003 PR Newswire Association, Inc.
PR Newswire
April 15, 2003, Tuesday
SECTION: LIFESTYLE
DISTRIBUTION: TO FAMILY, RETAILING, AND HOME AND GARDEN EDITORS
LENGTH: 336 words
HEADLINE: Zippo MPL(TM) Brightens Up Mother's Day;
Stylish Lighter is the Ideal Accessory for the Home
DATELINE: BRADFORD, Pa., April 15
BODY:
It happens every year. You spend countless hours trying to locate the perfect gift for Mom, but end up buying the standard flowers, gift certificate or trendy picture frame.
This year, why not brighten up the day of the most important lady in your life by giving her a gift that is guaranteed to keep on lighting - the Zippo Multi-Purpose Lighter (MPL).
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030415/NYFNSQ13 )
Made of high-quality brass, the sleek, ergonomically designed utility- style lighter is eight inches long with an extra-long adjustable butane flame. It is ideal for lighting candles, fireplaces, stoves, grills and lanterns.
"The MPL fills a void in the category, providing consumers who demand quality, style, performance and an alternative to low-cost plastic disposable models," said Greg Booth, Zippo President and CEO. "Backed with our world- famous lifetime guarantee, the MPL is the perfect gift for any occasion."
The MPL is available in two finishes. The black MPL ($14.95) and the silver satin model ($19.95), which includes a drawstring pouch and a deluxe gift box.
Manufactured with the same quality and standards that consumers have come to expect from Zippo, the MPL also features a patented child-resistant aafety button, a retractable hanging loop, a fuel-supply window for the refillable butane tank and an advanced ignition system.
The MPL is available at many candle stores, fireplace shops, home centers, gift shops and other Zippo retailers.
And, don't forget about Dad. With Father's Day right around the corner, the MPL is a great gift for Dads, especially those that enjoy toiling on the patio during grilling season.
To learn more about the MPL and other Zippo products, please visit www.zippo.com.
SOURCE Zippo
CONTACT: Media, Jeff Webster Blattner Brunner, +1-412-995-9541, jwebster£blattnerbrunner.com, for Zippo
URL: http://www.prnewswire.com
LOAD-DATE: April 16, 2003
Copyright 2002 Toronto Star Newspapers, Ltd.
Hamilton Spectator (Ontario, Canada)
June 5, 2002 Wednesday Final Edition
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A01
LENGTH: 770 words
HEADLINE: Zippo shuts brass lid on Niagara Falls plant
SOURCE: The Hamilton Spectator
BYLINE: Rob Faulkner, Pop Culture Reporter
BODY:
Click.
When Bill Rea co-founded Canada's only Zippo collector's club, he hoped to wow American fans of the classic lighters with models made at a small plant in Niagara Falls, Ont.
Few of the 7,000 people expected at the Zippo/Case International Swap Meet next month are likely to have seen a Dofasco '52, a CFL logo or, come to think of it, any Zippo not stamped with the standard "Bradford, Pa."
"We've been telling all these other clubs that, hey, there is more than one Zippo factory," said Rea, 54.
He's the co-owner of Augusta's Winking Judge pub who launched the Northern Lights Pocket Lighter Club in Hamilton last year.
"Now what's going to happen is we won't be able to get any more Niagara Falls lighters."
Click.
Come July 31, the brass lid will snap shut on a Niagara Falls plant originally built in 1949 to save U.S.-based Zippo from paying Canadian import duties. All 22 employees, some with 32 years at the plant, were offered severance packages. But the legend they built burns on.
"It was a business decision and a very difficult people decision," said Gary Hyde, former manager of the Zippo plant. The Niagara Falls plant will no longer make its 600,000 or so Zippos a year, but Hyde's firm, Falls Wholesale, will continue to distribute U.S.-made lighters in Canada.
It's the latest twist for the Zippo lighter, a shining, dependable icon of smoking culture created by oil engineer George Blaisdell in 1932. But it's unlikely to affect a brand built on Second World War tales of Zippos that have started campfires in jungles, cooked soup in helmets and stopped bullets cold.
When Blaisdell reshaped a clumsy Austrian lighter -- adding Zippo's classic chrome-plated case, spring-loaded cap and windproof wick -- he couldn't have imagined the furor he would create. His design, which has changed little, gained fame in film noir classics, action films like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and in the routines of the dance troupe Stomp.
A Zippo with four stars on it was found among the memorabilia U.S. General Douglas MacArthur left in occupied Japan. Coca-Cola engraved Zippos to help sell pop in the 1950s. About 200,000 Zippos were used by American soldiers fighting in Vietnam.
Yet, more recently, even Zippo was shocked in the early '90s to learn that up to four million Americans collect its lighters. While the company made about 12 million lighters a year, each with a lifetime guarantee, it never imagined so many people held on to them.
"In the world of collectibles, they are inexpensive and there's such a huge number of designs that you can collect (according to) your interests," said Peggy Errera, assistant manager of marketing at Zippo's Pennsylvania headquarters.
The Maid of the Mist, the Beatles, Daytona Speedway, Harley-Davidson, Budweiser, Allied heroes of D-Day, the Grand Canyon and countless navy ships have appeared on Zippos. Like the rocking Zippo fan Keith Richards, they can burn without fading away.
Part of the thrill for collectors is owning Zippos with company logos that no longer exist, said Judith Sanders, founder of Texas-based On the Lighter Side International Lighter Collectors. A recent buzz surrounded Zippos with McDonald's logos, since the burger giant has banned smoking.
(A Zippo with the golden arches can sell for $800 US, while 1933 originals are worth $10,000 US.)
"They are like miniature pieces of art," said Sanders, whose 4,000-piece collection includes many Zippos.
"If you came to this country and had never been here before, you could learn the whole history of the country by looking at Zippos."
In part, it would follow the history of smoking. Once standard issue for cigarette-loving Second World War GIs, Zippo revamped its marketing during the anti-smoking climate of the '90s. The collector's market, which makes up 30 per cent of Zippo customers, seemed a natural fit.
In 1992, Zippo wooed collectors with a limited-edition 60th anniversary lighter in a collectible tin. And the huge response prompted the company to revive its 1930s Vargas girl design, release a D-Day anniversary lighter and get more involved in the world of lighter collecting.
Through the '90s, Zippo held swap meets, National Zippo Days and supported independent collector's clubs. This year, it will launch its own club for pack rats holding on to some of its 350 million lighters made to date.
The official club's name? The Zippo Click -- for the signature sound made by a spring-loaded, metal lid, of course.
You can contact Rob Faulkner at rfaulkner£hamiltonspectator.com or at 905-526-2468.
GRAPHIC: Photo: Ted Brellisford, the Hamilton Spectator; Bill Rea shows a few Zippo lighters he's collected, some distinctively Canadian.
LOAD-DATE: June 5, 2002
Copyright 2002 American Marketing Association
Marketing News TM
April 1, 2002
SECTION: Pg. 1
LENGTH: 2116 words
HEADLINE: Lighting the way;
Four tales of exceptional service from the best source -- customers
BYLINE: By DANA JAMES, Contributing Editor
BODY:
Service. At any dinner party, ask the guests for their stories of customer service, the bad and the good. There will be more of the former than of the latter, but everybody will have a story, or four or five.
While word of mouth by definition can't be quantified, marketers know intuitively that it's the most potent form of communication, to be harnessed in service to the corporation whenever possible, and addressed quickly when it runs counter to the firm's marketing goals. Good word of mouth is one of consumer marketing's most desirable, and most elusive, goals. That is, ensuring dependable customer service is one of a brand strategy's most important elements, but launching those extra-mile tales of employee effort -- the ones that are passed like a good virus to hundreds of potential customers -- seems to depend more on kismet than coaching.
In an effort to codify those corporate policies that seem to set the stage for such events, Marketing News invited consumers to tell us their stories of legendary service they received sometime in the last year or two. (Tellingly, some who received our invitation felt compelled to write us about unforgettably bad experiences.) Then we followed up with the company, or in some cases the employee who was praised, to pinpoint the common factors.
Our subjects range from a pharmacy chain to a lighter manufacturer, but share some characteristics, such as customer-focused mission statements, as well as formal programs that train employees to provide great care and recognize and reward those efforts. From their stories, we've pulled a lesson or two that help make out-of-the-ordinary service possible.
Zippo: A 70-year-old promise
John Hall's engraved Zippo lighter -- a Christmas gift from his brother 15 years ago -- had fallen into disrepair. It was dirty, scratched and the cover hinge was bent. So last October, Hall, a marketing manager for Premier Inc., a health care purchasing conglomerate in Oak Brook, Ill., sent the lighter to Zippo, with a note describing the problems. He'd found the mailing information and instructions on the company's Web site.
Two weeks later, the lighter was returned to Hall's mailbox in mint condition: Not only was the lid repaired, but his lighter fluid and flints had been replenished. Included in the package was a shiny penny encased in a silver emblem, the back of which reads: "The cent never spent to repair a Zippo product."
"This astounded me," Hall says. "Very few companies, much less American-owned companies like Zippo, stand behind their products and make such an incredible customer service statement like this."
"It's a whatever-it-takes attitude here," says Shirley Evers, consumer relations manager for Zippo Manufacturing Co., based in Bradford, Pa. The lifetime guarantee on Zippo products -- as old as the 70-year-old company and first promised by its founder, George G. Blaisdell -- remains the driving force behind its customer service.
In fact, when Evers hires representatives for her six-person department, her training regimen includes showing them a photo of Blaisdell and talking about his motto, "Build your product with integrity . . . stand behind it 100% and success will follow."
"I wouldn't want to do consumer relations for a lot of companies because of their poor attitude toward the consumer or because they don't stand behind their product. This makes my job so much easier," Evers says.
Zippo's lifetime guarantee has no disclaimers. A common customer inquiry is whether Zippo will repair an item that broke for reasons other than simple wear and tear, such as being run over by a car. Not only can Zippo consumer relations say, "Yes," they are able to send a prepared repair packet, which includes a fiber-reinforced envelope with Zippo's address and a letter that begins, "We will not only repair your Zippo Lighter without charge, we would consider it a privilege."
Evers says her department receives from 15 to 20 thank-you letters a week from customers, most of which she keeps on file so she can recognize her employees during their annual reviews.
Evers is quick to point out that the commitment to the product's integrity is not confined to the consumer relations department. In Zippo's in-house repair clinic, which handles more than 131,000 lighters a year, 14 full-time employees not only repair what's broken, but look for other parts that may need attention soon, and will replace or fix those as well.
"That way, the customer won't have to go through the frustration of sending it in again," Evers says.
Enterprise: Seek entrepreneurs
When Randy Ross, a Boston-based executive editor for PC World Magazine, arrived early one Friday morning in January at an Enterprise Rent-A-Car office in Cambridge, Mass., to pick up an SUV to drive on a ski vacation to the Sugarbush resort in Vermont (a three-hour-plus drive away), there was no vehicle and no record of his reservation. Cambridge's customer service representative, Wilson Lowery, apologized profusely and called nearby branches until he found the car Ross wanted, a Chevy Trailblazer at a location several miles away.
So far, so good. But then Lowery drove Ross back to his house to pick up his ski gear, and to the other branch to retrieve the Trailblazer. He knocked 20% off the rental price, provided Ross the $2 toll he would have to pay to get on the highway (which he wouldn't have had to pay leaving from Cambridge) and gave him a half-tank of gas.
Within a month, Ross had rented twice more from Enterprise and "will probably rent more," he says.
St. Louis-based Enterprise Rent-A-Car closely ties customer service to employee success. With a tracking system called the Enterprise Service Quality index (ESQi), the company routinely follows up with customers by phone to determine their level of satisfaction with the company; only "completely satisfied" customers count toward a branch's ESQi score. At the employee level, the ranking is one factor in measuring potential for promotion.
"We are very serious about customer service and have done everything we can to link the needs and interests of our customers with those of our employees," says Sarah Bustamante, an Enterprise spokeswoman.
Like other companies lauded for exemplary service, corporate policy frees Enterprise employees to take steps that will make a customer happy, without having to get bureaucratic and time-consuming approvals from upper levels. In fact, Enterprise looks for and hires people who want to run their own business someday, and builds on that sense of initiative with an extensive employee training program.
"We try to instill in every employee a sense of ownership -- that this is their business," says Todd Cody, area manager for the Cambridge branch.
Rite Aid: For the health of it
Last July, a day after his 51st birthday, Marty Pay, a Farmers Insurance agent in Tehachapi, Calif., developed what he thought was a bad case of heartburn during a bike ride. Before taking antacid, he called his pharmacy to ask whether it would interact with his diabetes medication. The Rite Aid pharmacist, Ronde Snell, asked about the nature of the pain and whether he had had heartburn before, and about his medical history.
Based on their 10-minute conversation, Snell told Pay that she thought he could be experiencing heart pains (which could be a precursor to a heart attack) -- not heartburn -- and that he should go to the emergency room. She said, "Even if it's not (heart pains), they will be glad you came in, so they can rule it out."
A couple hours later, Snell called the local hospital and learned that Pay hadn't been in yet. Then, she tracked him down at his office and told him again to go -- immediately. The doctors confirmed Snell's suspicions: Pay had 95% blockage of one artery, and within days he underwent an angioplasty.
"Literally, if it wasn't for her . . . ," Pay says, letting the sentence trail off. "A month later, I was back on my bike."
The pharmacist-customer relationship became a core focus of Camp Hill, Pa.-based Rite Aid two years ago, when the drugstore chain, looking for ways to stand out in a crowded market, learned through marketing research that customers wanted superior and personal customer service in their pharmacy, says John Learish, Rite Aid's vice president of marketing.
"Even though it's a chain of 3,600 stores, customers view each store as their pharmacy," Learish says.
Rite Aid execs visited pharmacies and interviewed and observed their pharmacists at work nationwide, and then took the important step of streamlining processes and procedures in Rite Aid pharmacies. For example, the company implemented a so-called basket system in which, once the pharmacy takes a prescription, that form and all related documents and components stay together in the same basket until the filled prescription reaches the customer.
"That way, the pharmacist doesn't have to go back and pick up components along the way -- it's simple but efficient," Learish says. Also, it freed pharmacists of certain administrative tasks so they could spend more time with the customers.
Those moves have paid off. Says Snell of her customer care experience with Pay: "The biggest thing was that I had a lot of ancillary help. The technicians were able to cover the ins and outs of daily activities so I could talk to this person in-depth -- and that made the difference."
Snell also credits other Rite Aid policies, such as its system of e-mail alerts about drug recalls or other changes, for improving her customer service.
"When Bayer Baycol (a cholesterol drug) was taken off the market, we had lots of customers calling in with questions -- and Rite Aid made sure we had information for them that day," she says.
Such marketing successes often beget their own marketing campaigns: Last summer, Rite Aid launched a six-month national TV ad campaign showcasing pharmacist customer service stories like Snell's. In addition to reinforcing Rite Aid's customer focus, Learish says, "It also sets the expectation of what our deliverable is" among pharmacists, and challenges Rite Aid employees to live up to those expectations.
Bamix: Reps are owners, believers
Linda Travis' hand-held wand mixer was on the blink, and she figured since her father had bought it off a TV commercial and because it was made in Switzerland, she faced an uphill battle getting it repaired. As expected, her local repairman said he didn't have a source for the parts, and Travis, a Decatur, Ga.-based brand strategist, turned to the Internet to see if she could learn anything about the company, Bamix of Switzerland.
From the Mettlen-based company's site -- which was available in English, German, French and Spanish -- she sent an e-mail asking how and where to send her broken mixer. She also found an 800-number and left a message with the same question.
Two hours later, Bamix responded with an e-mail offering a mailing address and instructions. But then the customer service representative who sent the e-mail, Patti Pitcher, also called Travis to ask questions about her problem. Over the phone, she walked Travis step-by-step through an overhaul and repair effort, dismantling, cleaning and putting the mixer back together -- which worked, saving Travis the cost and time of shipping it for repairs.
Pitcher is the customer service department for Bamix's North American distributor, 12-employee Ocean Sales Ltd., based in Olympia, Wash. Among the company's customer-friendly policies: Whenever a Bamix mixer is sold in North America, one copy of the 10-year warranty, along with the date and location of purchase, is automatically sent to Pitcher, who keeps it on file. ("Ten years is a long time to ask a customer to hold on to a warranty," she says.)
Meanwhile, for the past 14 years, Pitcher has owned a Bamix mixer. While it's not a Bamix company policy that she have her own, it's a move that other businesses may want to consider, or at least encourage, by giving customer sales reps deep discounts on the products or services they sell, for instance. Pitcher admits that the fact that she uses her mixer all the time often makes a difference in the level of service she is able to provide. Many people, she says, receive the $200 Bamix mixer as a wedding or birthday gift and don't know the first thing about using it.
"I'm able to give them some tips and answer their questions," she says. At the same time, she is a sincere spokeswoman for the product: "It's the queen of mixers," she says with pride. "You can whip non-fat milk into cream."
GRAPHIC: Pictures 1 through 5, no caption
LOAD-DATE: March 29, 2002
Copyright 2001 The San Diego Union-Tribune
The San Diego Union-Tribune
June 17, 2001, Sunday
SECTION: REAL ESTATE;Pg. I-20
LENGTH: 602 words
HEADLINE: It's hip, hot and part of history: The Zippo lighter's an American icon
BYLINE: Linda Rosenkrantz; Linda Rosenkrantz edited Auction magazine and authored nine books, including "My Life as a List." ˆ (C) Copley News Service
BODY: Not only does it have one of the zippiest brand names in merchandising history, but the Zippo lighter has become an American icon.
Older examples are now sought-after collectibles since, over the years, its basic rectangular shape and chrome-plated surface have been embellished with all manner of interesting decorations, from military insignia to images of Elvis.
The first lightweight, hand-held lighters arrived on the scene to coincide with the growing popularity of cigarette smoking in the last decades of the 19th century. The Zippo was introduced in 1933, the brainchild of George G. Blaisdell, founder of the Zippo Manufacturing Company in Bradford, Pa., who had previously been in the oil drilling and equipment businesses.
The story is that at a local country club event in 1931, he was struck by the fact that an otherwise elegant man with whom he was conversing pulled out an unwieldy looking lighter, stating that he used it "because it works."
Blaisdell soon acquired the American distribution rights to that Austrian-made lighter and convinced the manufacturers to chrome plate the case. He then developed his own variant, with a lid hinged on the outside so that it could be operated with one hand.
Before long, the prototype of his final, independent product was ready to be released to the public. And the origin of the catchy name? It seems that, quite simply, Blaisdell was inspired by the sound of the recently introduced "zipper."
Success was by no means immediate -- only 82 units were sold in the first month for the grand total of $62.15. But Blaisdell's marketing skills soon kicked in, one of his most significant innovations being the still operational lifetime guarantee, an idea unique in American business at that time.
He also concocted the "fan test" -- challenging people to light a Zippo in the wake of an electric fan. In 1936, he inaugurated an engraving option -- for $1, you could have your initials engraved.
Soon companies, such as Coca-Cola, Texaco and Lucky Strike, began to order quantities of lighters with their insignias as gifts for customers and employees, and also as a promotional medium. From 1935 to 1940, the company issued a series of lighters with applied designs known as "metalliques," which refers to a razor-thin sheet of chrome-plated brass cut into a recognizable image -- a tipsy man leaning against a lamppost, the 1939 New York World's Fair. These can now sell for as much as $3,500.
During World War II, the Zippo lighter had a very high profile. Blaisdell shipped thousands of units -- made with steel cases with a crackled black enamel finish -- to the various PXs, where they were snapped up by GIs, to the point where demand was so great that Zippo's entire production was designated for military personnel and they were unavailable on the home front -- which led to the proliferation of fake Zippos.
Another desirable series is the Town & Country pocket lighter produced in the 1950s. These featured elaborately engraved and then airbrushed enamel decoration depicting animals, lily ponds and other natural motifs. The final and most highly prized lighter in the series celebrates the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969.
In 1957, the company introduced a coding system of dots and slashes on the bottom designating the year of manufacture, a useful dating tool for collectors.
For further information, see the compact, handsomely illustrated and imaginatively designed, almost Zippo-shaped "An American Legend, Zippo, A Collector's Companion" by Avi R. Baer and Alexander Neumark (RunningPress).
LOAD-DATE: June 19, 2001
life·time
life·time (lìf¹tìm´) noun
1. The period of time during which an individual is alive.
2. The period of time during which property, an object, a process, or a phenomenon exists or functions.
noun, attributive
Often used to modify another noun: a lifetime guarantee; lifetime membership.[1]
guar·an·tee
guar·an·tee (gàr´en-tê¹)
noun
1. Something that assures a particular outcome or condition: Lack of interest is a guarantee of failure.
2. a. A promise or an assurance, especially one given in writing, that attests to the quality or durability of a product or service. b. A pledge that something will be performed in a specified manner.
3. a. A guaranty by which one person assumes responsibility for paying another's debts or fulfilling another's responsibilities. b. A guaranty for the execution, completion, or existence of something.
4. A guarantor.
verb, transitive
guar·an·teed, guar·an·tee·ing, guar·an·tees
1. To assume responsibility for the debt, default, or miscarriage of.
2. To assume responsibility for the quality or performance of: guarantee a product.[2]
[1]The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition copyright © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from INSO Corporation; further reproduction and distribution restricted in accordance with the Copyright Law of the United States. All rights reserved.
[2]The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition copyright © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from INSO Corporation; further reproduction and distribution restricted in accordance with the Copyright Law of the United States. All rights reserved.