Great Customer Service

How many times have you been at a restaurant or a store and received terrible service?  Are you quick to tell the manager how dissatisfied you were?  Did you write a letter or an email saying that you'd never enter their establishment again?  I have.  I have been quick to respond to the negative.  I've gotten free movie tickets, free meals, discounted clothing, a personal shopper and a myriad of other "things" to compensate for the bad or lack of what I felt was appropriate customer service.

Lately however, I got to thinking that I'm sure stores and restaurants receive lots and lots of comments from dissatisfied customers.  But how many of them get calls or emails praising their employees for the service they have given?  I decided that instead of focusing on the things that go wrong, why not compliment when things go right.

I think good service should be expected every time you walk into an establishment of any kind or make phone calls to your gas company or walk in to your cell phone company to pay a bill.  Any service related industry should expect its' employees to behave in a courteous way.  I don't sit down and write a letter or an email or make a phone call every time I receive the service that I expect.  It's when I receive service that I believe is above and beyond that I make a special point to recognize.

I've had two such experiences in less than a week.  The first experience happened at Williams Sonoma (Rosedale).  I was happily greeted as soon as I walked in the door and asked if there was something they could help me find.  When I told the clerk what I was looking for, she took me to the counter and introduced me to another clerk who could help me.  And help me she did.  The item I was looking for was not carried in the store but they did have it on line.  The clerk, Kate, had me come behind the counter to look at her computer screen and pick out exactly what I was looking for.  She then did the ordering for me and waived the shipping, express shipping, and had the item sent directly to my house.

Then I told her I was looking for a particular cookbook.  She didn't pass me on to someone else or just point me in the direction of the cookbooks.  She took me to the cookbook section and helped me find what I was looking for.  She even went into the back of the store to get me a different copy of the cookbook because she didn't like how worn the one seemed on the shelf.  I told her over and over how grateful I was for her help and now that my order has arrived just as she said it would, I plan on calling the store tomorrow and "sing her praises" to the store manager!

The second experience happened at Pac Sun.  I was trying to shop for birthday gifts for my soon to be 14 year old son.  I am pretty clueless when it comes to dressing a teenage boy when it doesn't include dirt bike or snow board apparel.  The clerk who helped me was amazing!  He spent time with me asking questions about what my son likes, how tall he is and what grade he's in.  He picked out all kinds of "cool" shirts for me to consider.  When I told him I also needed jeans for my son, he showed me all my options.  Told me the pros and cons of each style and then told me that if the size I chose didn't work and they didn't have the right size in the store, they would order the size I needed and have it shipped directly to my house with no charge to me.  

He spent at least a half an hour with me.  He never  acted impatient when I asked "stupid" questions and he made me feel like I was the only one he was going to help that day.  I was so impressed that when he checked me out, I thanked him and told him how much I appreciated all that he did for me - I said it loud enough for other customers and clerks to hear me.  I also told him that because of him, that Pac Sun (at Northtown) would be where I would go whenever I needed something for either of my sons!  He seemed to smile a little bigger as I left the store.  It made my day to make his day!

So remember to express gratitude when you've received great service instead of always reacting to the bad service.  It will make you feel good too!!

"Courteous treatment will make a customer a walking advertisement."  -J.C. Penney