I recently had a weekend full of exceptional customer experiences. The funny thing is, I was going about my mundane daily errands and was exposed to some extremely amazing experiences.
Experience #1
My wife and I had the pleasure of shopping together for the weekends meals. I know what you’re thinking, the pleasure of shopping for the weekends meals, where’s the pleasure come from; keep in mind that we have five beautiful children and don’t get much opportunity to do anything alone. Anyway back to my story. We were both starving because it was after lunch and neither of us had anything to eat since breakfast. Here is a little note to the reader. Never, ever, ever go shopping for groceries on an empty stomach. You will end up buying 10 gallons of cookies and cream ice cream and swear it is a necessity. So my wife suggested that we go over to the deli first and share a small snack before starting to shop. When we get over there, there is no one to help us. Remember, we are both starving and short on patience. Within a minute I was asking her if we should flag someone down. We didn’t. We probably waited another 30 seconds before we were helped. The young man appeared from the back like a ghost. Surprise! The young man at the deli greeted us with a smile. Some people can be very indecisive when they are hungry. That’s us. He offered us a sample of some of the food. He gave us a piece of food and my wife said thanks we can share. He then proceeded to say no problem you can both have your own sample. I laughed and said I’m a grown man not a baby boy. He agreed and thought if we were sharing I would need a sample. He also suggested some other items that would compliment our choice. In the end we were looking for a snack but from his amazing customer service he sold us on a meal and we ended up getting Ice Cream! I was blown away. This young man was probably less than 25 and treated us with respect and up-sold us like crazy. This grocery store is a large regional chain in the mid-west and I have been shopping here for 20+ years. I have never experienced such great salesmanship in any of the chains stores. This young man should be commended by his superiors.
Experience dos( spanish for 2 )
I was totally caught off guard by this experience. After the deli greatness, my wife and I stopped by our local thrift store to drop off some of our gently used items for donation. We pulled up and I got out of the car to open the trunk and pull out the donations. One of the employees came out with a smile and said “Hello sir, how are you today?” I answered fine and proceeded to get the donations out. By this time another employee came out. He was also smiling and asked “How are you sir?” At this point I’m thinking two things: 1. These guys are being very polite. and 2. Do I look old?
Keep in mind, we donate here all the time and I think this is the first time anyone called me sir. We made some small talk while finishing the transaction. The second gentleman gave me a receipt and thanked me for his employment. WOW! I never thought by donating my unused clothing and furniture that I was helping create employment for someone. I then thanked him for opening my eyes and that his enthusiasm would be the reason I would only donate with them in the future.
Experience trois( french! I’m trilingual )
20 years ago who would have thought you could make money selling air.
This is the one I will never forget. I was on my way to meet someone and remembered that my wife said that my tire was low and needed air. If you don’t already know, there is almost nowhere you can get air for your tire without paying. So I stop at one of my local filling stations to get some vended air. Problem: I don’t have any cash. These vending machines only take quarters. So I figured I would buy a bottled water and get some cash back from my debit card. Problem compounded: This station doesn’t give cash back. I was totally ready to leave and go to the ATM or chance it and go home. The manager on duty Blair Sobeleskey overheard the dilemma and went into her own pocket and gave me four quarters. Unbelievable! This woman who only knows me as a regular customer, went to an unbelievable extent to take care of me. She said she would feel bad if she heard that because of my nearly flat tire I was involved in an accident and got hurt.
Just goes to show. There are people out there who care about others because it is the right thing to do. Many thanks to Blair Sobeleskey. You are appreciated. If I misspelled your name I apologize.
whosservingwho 