This post is way overdue. I'm a little embarrassed and feeling more than a little bit guilty for waiting so long to express my gratitude.
I discovered Siete Foods quite by accident. I was in the chip aisle of the grocery store, looking for my beloved Boulder Canyon Avocado Oil Potato Chips, and I happened to notice some other conspicuously Paleo-looking chips from a brand I'd not seen before. I inspected the ingredients, was pleasantly surprised, tried them, and I was hooked. (My favorite flavors are Fuego, Chipotle, and Nacho.)
Shortly thereafter, I discovered their tortillas. I would make soft-shell tacos on occasion, and I liked the almond and cassava ones best. And then I discovered their hot sauces. And I kept seeing more and more different product categories over time.
I was delighted that, in March 2020, when Brené Brown started her Unlocking Us podcast, she enthusiastically endorsed Siete Foods. It felt beautifully serendipitous that someone whose work in emotional well-being I admired so much happened to also share a love of a particular Paleo brand.
At some point, I discovered their hard taco shells and taco seasoning. Oh. My. Gods.
I hadn't had proper hard-shell tacos since 2009, so I was very excited to try them. And let me tell you, these did not disappoint.
This isn't one of those "really good...for Paleo" assertions. No. These are the best taco shells I've ever had in my entire life. Period.
And the taco seasoning...wow. Way better than any spices I'd ever thrown together on my own.
I've now been enjoying these tacos every so often since early-/mid-2020. And, you know, sometimes the shells are cracked in the packaging. But that's no big deal. And this one time in July, I had a package missing a taco shell. Also not a big deal.
But I would have never expected what happened next.
I exchanged a few messages with @SieteFoods on Twitter, and only because some other folks mentioned similar experiences:
This happens to me all the time, and I just get creative! #noRegrets pic.twitter.com/ubT5jqo3vM
— Arthur Zey (@LogicalArthur) July 18, 2020
Woah! This happened to me, too, at taco night on Monday! No need for a replacement, but you might consider looking into how this might be happening as a systemic problem.
— Arthur Zey (@LogicalArthur) July 15, 2020
Despite my assuring them how much I loved their products, how much my taco nights were a smashing success (despite the few hiccups), and how unnecessary it was for them to send me anything, they insisted over DM on sending me a care package of some sort. Now, I don't want to necessarily create any expectations or unintentionally create pressure for Siete Foods to do this for anybody else under any particular circumstances, so I won't go into detail about what products they sent me, but when I arrived in Denver a few weeks after our Twitter exchange, I had a package waiting for me with a variety of different Siete products, way more than the monetary value of whatever "damages" I had "suffered" over my missing or broken taco shells.
I happened to tell them about my move. This was the note they enclosed:
I was absolutely floored. This was hands-down the most personalized, kind, and just fantastic customer service I'd ever received. It felt like a gift and note from a friend, not a company. Was this just good marketing or was it a genuine expression of good will? Yes. It goes to show that everyone's interests truly are harmonious, and that an integrated approach to human relationships doesn't need to try to separate out self-interested, profit-seeking motives from being warm and compassionate and caring about others as ends in themselves.
Okay, enough philosophizing. Yesterday, I finally got around to having myself a taco night:
It was freakin' delicious, as always, and I'm so happy to be able to add a tiny drop to the ocean of good marketing for Siete. Thank you!