Outstanding Customer Experience X 2

Hi,
this is not the post I originally intended to write, but because of what happened to me today, I just had to write this down while it is fresh in my mind.

Early this morning I drove to the re-cycling plant to drop off some old items. As this is near a commercial area I decided to stop for coffee and have a look around.

As I walked into a sports retailer I was greeted by a " hello, good morning " from the lady at the till. Kinda shocked as most of the time you walk into a shop and de nada, nothing, zilch. I greeted the lady back and continued to browse around. Finding a couple of items from a brand I like, it was time to hand over some money.

The lady at the till continued in the same breezy friendly style to chat to me about the clothes I was buying,weather and life, all in a style that was not forced. She gave the impression that she was interested in my welfare as a customer. How unusual is that ? It is a skill not many aspire for and few achieve.

Guess which shop I will be returning to ?

After that I headed across the road to a car parts shop. I had being thinking of buying a steering wheel cover for some time. Went in had a look around and found one I liked. Noticed on the packaging that it said " fits most types " Now this always throws up more questions than answers. Mentioned to the man at the till the notice and what type of car I drove.

He took it out of packaging and said " only one way to find out " handing me the cover and telling me to go see if it fit. Now fiddly items and me don't always get on too well. As many who know me would attest. Do you think it would fit or I could get it to fit. Not a chance.

So headed back into shop, shaking my head. He said " They can be tricky, why don't I give it a shot " The clerk and I headed out to my car and he proceed to place the cover on. It was tricky. We chatted on way back to shop, where he mentioned he use to be a tyre fitter and he prefers to put on steering wheel covers,than fit tyres.  Oh and he also knocked something off the price as well.

When was the last time an assistant in a shop, took something out of the packaging and told you to see if it was the right item ? Not only that but going the extra mile to make sure you had made the right purchase !

I guess we have become so used to people in retail and services just doing the bare minimum they can get away with before you hand over your hard earned money, that anything over and beyond that becomes an outstanding experience. Yet the two assistants who I had the pleasure of dealing with today did not have to do anything extraordinary. They just showed they cared and were grateful to have my business no matter the size of the monetary exchange that took place.

Now I have two more establishments to recommend to people. A great day indeed.

Colin Myles
Straight Talk. Better Business

Author of these books

P.S.
Cui Bono .....  Who benefits  [ Latin Saying ]