ARTICLES
Gift-Wrapped Utensil!
Here's another example of how easy it is to exceed expectations, one small step at a time. Months ago, my wife and I ate at a Sushi restaurant, Mi•Ne Sushi, near Rogers Centre. Our waitress greeted us with a warm, genuine smile. The restaurant had a joyful atmosphere....
Timmy Delivered!
Popular coffee houses like Tim Horton's are often extremely busy. They have a set menu and you’re expected to quickly select from the offerings posted on the overhead displays. The only option for coffee drinks is usually the amount of sugar or cream/milk you'd like....
Forgotten Tools
A few weeks ago, I called my optometrist's office to confirm an upcoming appointment. An automated answering machine took the call instructing me to leave my name and number and someone would soon be in touch. Seven days later, I received the return phone call. I...
Making Things Right – Experience Recovery
No one is perfect and service failures are likely to occur. When they do, the better the staff is trained and prepared to handle the service recovery, the better. Here's a story which exemplifies good, efficient recovery from a service failure. I had ordered two items...
Mirror Repeater
A couple of weeks ago I met out-of-province friends at a downtown restaurant. My friend's wife was first to order and asked for one of the specialty burgers but without chipotle. This particular burger normally came with chipotle. The waitress said this wouldn't be a...
Say It Like You Mean It
I used to host my websites and my clients' websites on 1and1 (now called Ionos), a large web hosting company. Over the years the outsourced support deteriorated to a point where I moved all websites, to another provider. 1and1's bad customer service reputation is well...
A Lesson From Bermuda
Years ago, I worked in Bermuda for the Bank of Bermuda's IT department. I'll never forget a lesson I learned as a result of an internal campaign the Bank adopted for all its departments. The campaign was called "Do it Right the First Time / Zero Defects". This brand...
“Easier for Me” … and Gone!
Here's one experience I've never forgotten and is worth recounting. It's difficult to believe the lack of service that can be found in an industry where service should unequivocally reign: the restaurant business. A few years ago, friends and I went to Phil's Original...
No Risky Business
Another practice for creating awesome customer experiences is providing customers risk-free transactions. Some companies do this very well. Here are some examples: Home Depot: Home Depot takes much of the risk away from their customers by providing an exceptional...