Human nature is perpetual — and there are few things in life and in business that we enjoy more than seeing one person helping another. And learning from remarkable customer experience examples.
Truly remarkable customer service goes beyond fixing a bug or handing out discounts. It’s about leaving people with a positive memory of your business.
When a flight attendant goes above and beyond for a frightened passenger, or a fry cook helps an elderly man to his car in a rainstorm, you’re witnessing something more than “good” customer service—the customer getting what they asked for.
You’re witnessing someone going out of their way to make a customer’s day, week, or month, and that’s an important part of customer service that shouldn’t be forgotten.
Read on for remarkable stories of customer experience reps who went the extra mile for their customers.
Customer experience examples … ATM gifts, no ATM fees
It was the height of summer, and at four TD Bank locations across Canada, a group of customers was being invited in to test out a new model of ATM.
When they used the machines, however, they found that these Automated Teller Machines were actually Automated Thanking Machines. Rather than balance checks or cash, they only spat out gifts.
A mother who never had the chance to take her kids to Disneyland received a family-pack of passes to finally go. Another, with a sick daughter in Trinidad, received a plane ticket.
And one lucky Blue Jays fan received an invitation to throw the first pitch at a home game.
They weren’t the only ones to get thanked, however. Over 30,000 TD Bank customers received recognition from TD on #TDThanksYou day.
Every customer in a branch at 2 p.m. received a $20 bill. Customers logging in through their online banking or over the phone were informed that they would receive a direct deposit of $20.
Customer experience examples … how Bob the waiter got a 200,000% tip
This Redditor’s husband, fresh off a root canal operation that left him unable to eat real food for days, was dying for some diner fare. When he finally regained the ability to chew, his wife took him out. She was excited to celebrate his return to the land of real food.
After an unusual wait, the husband and wife were finally seated next to a noisy blender at the end of the bar. Problems with the dinner service cropped up almost immediately.
Their waiter—“Bob”—hurriedly took their drink orders. He didn’t ask if they were ready to order food. When they finally did, Bob brought out one of the side dishes before the entrees themselves arrived. And it was the wrong side dish.
After a few apologies and a “divine” burrito, the husband and wife were ready to pay the check and leave. When they got the check, they first thought the $0.01 listed was a mistake.
Discounts are so often used as last-ditch attempts to salvage a terrible experience that we forget how powerful they can be as preventative maintenance.
Restaurateur Danny Meyer, whose restaurants have consistently beaten the odds in a very rough industry, talks about hospitality in terms of “good” vs. “great.”
With a “good” experience at a store or restaurant, things may go fine. You may get everything you wanted precisely the way you ordered it.
But it’s rare for an employee to make you feel special like they’re on your side. That’s what Bob did here by recognizing something crucial.
Few would expect a discount in this situation. And that’s precisely why the discount is so powerful.
In the end, the family left Bob a $20 tip—or 200,000% of .01. Not bad for Bob!
Customer experience examples … comfort through the turbulence
When Garrick, a Southwest Airlines flight attendant, found himself in the position to help a passenger in need, he went above and beyond the call of duty.
Nine-year-old Gabby, a type 1 diabetic, was severely anxious about being on an airplane. Garrick, a Southwest crew member, worked throughout the flight to make her more comfortable, bringing her special drinks and trying to make her laugh after he noticed her struggling during takeoff.
Meanwhile, when the plane hit a serious patch of turbulence, he let her sit in the empty seat next to him, talked to her about his daughter (the same age as Gabby), about her pets, her school, and even let her grab his arm for comfort.
At the end of the flight, Garrick used the PA to tell the whole plane that his friend — Gabby — had just overcome her fear of flying and that she deserved a round of applause from the whole plane.
“The whole plane clapped for her,” her mother reported afterward, “It was a wonderful experience on Southwest. We are forever grateful to have met such a beautiful, selfless soul.”
“She is a brave girl and it was a pleasure having you and her both on board with us,” Southwest wrote back on her Facebook photo. “Rest assured, we will make sure that Garrick gets the recognition he deserves for his kindness.”
Customer experience examples … the aloha bear
For instance, it’s always nice to see outstanding service recognized by a happy customer. In a heartwarming story shared on Reddit, a service rep tells the tale of an older customer who called in because her netbook wasn’t working.
Having recently suffered two strokes, she explained that she was struggling with writing, and she was forced to call in due to her malfunctioning netbook.
The service rep initially explained that the traditional thing to do was to mail it in for repairs.
The woman grew teary over the news, explaining that this was fine, but that she was dependent on the netbook to communicate with her daughter stationed in Hawaii and her deployed son-in-law.
Knowing that red tape shouldn’t stop her from taking care of a customer in need, the support rep quickly exchanged the netbook for her (sending her a new one). And even spent the extra time helping her set up the old passwords and account names, in addition to re-downloading Skype so she could talk with her family.
Above all, what really makes this a great story, however, is the follow-up. Out of the blue a few months later, our heroic service rep gets called down to the office.
To her surprise, waiting there was the woman on the phone, holding a card and a teddy bear with a hula skirt:
“She says that what I did mean so much to her and her family that she called our corporate office and told them what I did, and that her daughter sent up the card and bear as a thank you.”
Customer experience examples … no shoes, great service
Zappos’ customer service is the stuff of legends. Here’s an example that has some interesting lessons to teach about the dangers of red tape.
A customer was shopping for shoes for her elderly mother. Due to a medical condition, her mother had very sensitive feet and was often in pain when wearing hard-soled shoes.
The customer bought six pairs of shoes from Zappos, and her mother tried them on and found two that she could bear to wear for long periods of time.
When it was time for her mother to return the other four pairs, she called Zappos, and in talking with the employee, this woman discovered that the person on the other end of the line could relate to her plight; the employee’s father had suffered from similar foot problems due to diabetes.
The employee ended the conversation by saying that she would pray for the woman to feel better, but the story doesn’t end there:
“My mom called me to relay the news, and I could hear the smile on her face from 600 miles away. She said that the lovely Zappos person had sent her an enormous bouquet of lilies and roses to let her know she was thinking of her. My sister emailed the company to thank Zappos for taking such good care of my Mom. Two days later, my mom, sister, and I were contacted and told we are now “Zappos VIP Members,” which entitles us to free expedited shipping on all our orders. My sister vows to buy every pair of shoes, from now on, from Zappos.”
So what’s the conclusion? The conclusion is there is no conclusion. There is only the next step. And that next step is completely up to you. But believe in the effectiveness of word of mouth marketing created by remarkable customer service. And put it to good use.
It’s up to you to keep improving your creative marketing strategies. Lessons are all around you. In this case, your competitor may be providing ideas and or inspiration. But the key is in knowing that it is within you already.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new lessons.
When things go wrong, what’s most important is your next step.
Try. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
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Do you have a lesson about making your marketing strategy better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?
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More reading on Customer Experience from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of a small business. Find him on G+, Facebook, Twitter, Digital Spark Marketing, and LinkedIn.
