When a company breaks a brand promise, which brand promise is broken? Is it the promise of the company, or the promise of its partner?

I was delighted with a Christmas gift of a Pantone®-branded pepper mill. I was disappointed when it broke 4 months later. What is the most disappointing is the exclusion on the 25-year guarantee offered by Typhoon housewares:

"The mechanism on this mill has a 25 year guarantee. During the guarantee period, Typhoon will replace the mill at its discretion.

The guarantee period commences on the proof purchase, and is only valid on production of proof of purchase of the item. The proof of purchase must conclusively indicate the date of purchase and the dealer's name."

Pantone promises to be "the world-renowned authority on color." Typhoon promises to be "innovative, unique and pro-active in understanding the importance of lifestyle trends and in putting our customers and consumers first."

Essentially, if the item is a gift, forget the guarantee. They're not going to honor it on a $25.00 item.

I know it's just one product out of millions, one licensee out of hundreds, and I'm just one consumer. But Typhoon's response seems to be a brush-off:

Thank you for your email. I'm sorry to hear that you have experienced problems with your Typhoon Pepper Grinder. Typhoon takes great pride in the quality of its items and there are rigorous quality checks that take place on our products. Complaints like this are very rare however I have passed your comments onto our Product Development department.

Unfortunately, this item has now been discontinued so we are unable to replace it and without proof of purchase the store are unable to credit you for this item.

I don't feel like they've put me, as the consumer, first. This could have been a commentary on how exceptional the customer service was, how valued Typhoon made me feel, about how brilliant Pantone has been with its licensing.

The promise is the essence of why your brand matters to the consumer. Don't break your stated promise, because that's what erodes trust. The core purpose of branding is to build trust.

So instead of pressing the issue, I think I'll be taking the broken Typhoon pepper mill, in Pantone 18-0435 (Calla Green), and making a one-of-a-kind kaleidoscope. That will color my world just fine, thank you.