Thank You AEG!

Tonight I am want to publicly thank a board game company for going above and beyond in customer service.  The story that I will shortly tell, is not uncommon with board game companies and is yet another reason gaming is such a great hobby.

Shortly before Christmas I bought a newer game at a game store for my husband as a gift.  That was the game: Ninja: Legend of the Scorpion Clan.  I have been excited about this game for awhile now and was even more excited that I was able to find it at a game store.  Unfortunately,  they didn't give me the game I had taken off the shelf and instead handed over one that had been sitting under a mountain of other games.


The idea was that they kept one with the price on the shelves but then others in back.  This way they could save shelf space.  Which is a great idea, but can lead to damage as I discovered.  When I got the game home I noticed that the side of the box had been pushed in, and was slightly worried but not too concerned, yet. 

When we opened the box we were relieved that the cards and pieces hadn't been damaged.  That was until we saw the board.  The board took most of the damage.  To make matters worse it was the corner that was the middle of the board when opened.  The board would not lay flat, was very bent, and the laminate was starting to peel.  This, I am sure, would have gotten worse as we played the game. 

I was upset, to say the least.  I could not take the board back to the game store easily because, well, because it was almost three hours away!  I was annoyed with myself for not checking the box more carefully, and at the store for not being more careful with their merchandise. 

Luckily, my husband gave me a great solution.  He searched on Board Game Geek and saw what great customer service AEG, the publisher, had.  So I emailed them, but got a reply back that they were out for Christmas Break.  I was happy that they gave their employees some time off and did not anticipate another e-mail for to later in the new year.  On January 4th (earlier then they said they would be back) I got another email from David Trudeau from AEG's customer service.  He told me that a replacement board was on its way.  I couldn't believe it!  They sent a new board just like that.  No further questions, no asking to send them the damaged board, no hassle whatsoever.   The board arrived soon after in perfect condition and I hope to play the game soon.  I am thankful to AEG for their wonderful customer relationship and their wonderful games.  I am appreciate to them for replacing the board when I had not even bought directly from them.  This was something I hadn't expected.  I am very grateful they were willing to help.  Playing the game will be so much more enjoyable with an undamaged board.  So thank you AEG!