this is a little overdue but I’ve really been moved by this and have been itching to write about it, so here goes:

’twas the day after Christmas, when all through the house…
I really wanted some candy, so I decided to open the box of Ferrero Rocher my dad received from a colleague. (no I’m not going to write a poem wtf)

I unwrapped one, but to my extreme horror I found this:
gross. like mould. maybe grosser. I have no idea what the hell this is.

I posted my finding on Facebook and in my WhatsApp groups, asking friends if they knew what this was and received varied responses:

…from helpful comments…
…to well-meaning pieces of advice…
…to simply meaningless comments… yeah.

I even googled ‘white spots on ferrero rocher’ and nothing remotely helpful came up. (most of the results were concerned with the chalky streaks on the chocolate rather than the white bumps, or were concerned with expired chocolate [which mine wasn’t])

at this point I felt like I had nothing to lose since I was rather inclined towards throwing the entire box away. so, bored as I was, and extremely grossed out, I decided to try my luck by sending a message to the Ferrero Rocher Singapore Facebook page to ask them what it was, not expecting any replies from them since it was a long shot…

…which is why I got a shock when I logged in to Facebook four days later and saw this:

not only did they reply my message, but they even offered a replacement box as well!

honestly, I would’ve been content knowing that the remaining chocolate I had on hand was edible despite its unappetising appearance and supposedly affected taste (I only eat these things for the core). their offer of sending a replacement box really put a big smile on my face 🙂

I told my parents about it and they were skeptical (“really? you sure they will give you a new box?”) and I had to admit that even I felt a bit suspicious. nevertheless I gave them my mobile number just to see if they would really do it.

on monday when I was sleeping I received a call from an unknown number, and in my pissed off and sleep-deprived state I picked up the phone, and it turned out to be someone from the company who called to ask me for my address, so that they could deliver the new box of chocolate to me! despite me saying that “it’s okay, we’re completely fine with not having a replacement because we’re fine with the chocolate we have any way”, she insisted on giving us a replacement box. that really woke me up on a happy note 🙂

on tuesday afternoon, I was lazing around the house and watching youtube videos when another person from the company called to tell me that he was fifteen minutes away from my house, and coming to deliver the new box to me. in the pouring rain, no less!

I went down to receive the box and was again pleasantly surprised to see that they gave me quite a big box (the box my dad received for christmas had sixteen pieces):
choooooocolate… glooooorious choooooocolate…

I’m posting this up because the entire experience was rather pleasant and left a lasting impression on myself and my parents. Ferrero Rocher could’ve easily decided not to give me a new box, because the bumps I found on my chocolate isn’t a result of any wrongdoing on their part, but rather a result of our unforgiving climate (I hate Singapore’s weather). they had no obligation whatsoever to replace my product but they did so anyway and that’s very admirable 🙂

thanks very much Ferrero Rocher! you’ve convinced me that not all corporations are faceless, heartless, evil, out-of-touch… (insert commonly-utilised-derogatory-adjective-to-bash-corporations here) and I’m certainly enjoying my new box of chocolates 😀

DISCLAIMER: all names and faces of commentators on my Facebook post have been blurred for their privacy.
all pictures used in this post are mine and mine only.