It’s easy to rant about poor customer service. But today, I want to shine the spotlight on several companies that have recently given me exceptional customer service:

Dream Dinners

My 17-year-old son and I got up early Saturday morning and headed to Dream Dinners’ Mill Creek, WA store to assemble 12 dinners for the upcoming month (you pop the uncooked dinners in your freezer and when you’re ready to eat one, you just thaw and cook).

When we walked in the door, we smelled a nauseating raw sewage odor. Their plumbing had backed up during the night, and while the store was sparkling clean, the lingering smell was stomach-churning. The staff told us they’d called us, but we had already left home.

They shooed us to the coffee shop across the street, saying, “We don’t want you to have to smell this horrible odor. We’ll assemble all your meals for you. Come back in half an hour and pick them up.”

True to their word, they did all our work for us while my son and I enjoyed bonding time over coffee and donuts. Plus, they threw in a free batch of cookie dough. Think we’ll be back next month? Definitely.

Mardini’s restaurant

My friend, Jenn, discovered a 2-year-old $50 gift certificate for a local restaurant and suggested we try to use it for our lunch date.  We asked the owners if they would honor the ancient certificate, and without hesitation, they said, “Certainly.”

In this day of “Sorry, our gift certificate expired,” it was refreshing to meet people who are willing to honor their gift certificates, no matter how outdated they are.

Boeing Employees Credit Union

One of my clients accidentally sent me an unsigned paycheck, which my business manager didn’t notice before depositing it in the automatic teller machine. The credit union didn’t cash the check and charged us $25 for insufficient funds. When we called BECU to report the mistake, they immediately reversed the charge (it “pays” to be a reliable, long-time customer).

Send Out Cards

I love this greeting card service in which I create personalized cards online and they print them, address them, stamp them, and mail them for me. But during the holiday rush, their quality control people didn’t inspect my Christmas cards, and the family photo on the front of my cards was printed wrong. Really wrong. When I informed them of the error, they apologized and instantly refunded the entire cost of the cards – including postage.

Coldwater Creek Outlet

The week before Christmas, I visited the outlet store at the Seattle Premium Outlets mall. Tried on a dozen items; purchased two items. I told them I’d asked for a gift card for Christmas, and that I’d be back to spend it. A week later, I returned, gift card in hand. When I walked in the door, a sales clerk greeted me and said, “You were in here a week or so ago, weren’t you?”

Amazed that she’d remembered me during the busy holiday shopping season, I said, “Yes, but you didn’t wait on me. How did you remember me?”

She just shrugged. “I’m not sure; I just make a point of remembering people.”

She not only remembered my face; she remembered what I had purchased AND what size I wear (yes, I purchased additional items).

Superior customer service isn’t rocket science. From my experiences alone, we can glean a few guidelines:

1. Make your customers feel important. Remember their faces. Their names. Their preferences.
2. Honor your promises.
3. Respond quickly and pleasantly to customer concerns and complaints.
4. When you make a mistake, apologize. A simple, “I’m sorry” carries a tremendous amount of weight.
5. Deliver more than you have to. Even a little bit of extra effort can reap huge dividends.
6. Practice saying “yes.” If a customer requests something reasonable, make it happen.

What about you? Share one positive customer experience you’ve had lately.

I stopped by my local florist to place an order. Whipped out my American Express card to pay.

The clerk put my card on the counter, stared me in the eye, and asked, “Can you pay with cash or check? That way, we don’t have to pay expensive credit card fees.”

Taken aback by this unusual (and unexpected) request, I thought a moment. I didn’t have enough cash on me to pay for the flowers, and I only write checks when absolutely necessary. I said no.

I’m having second thoughts about patronizing this florist again, because I don’t like being put in the uncomfortable position of saying “no” to a clerk who should never have questioned my use of a credit card in the first place.

The sign on the door says they accept the usual credit cards. As a consumer, I assume that businesses who accept credit cards build credit card fees into their prices (the flowers I ordered weren’t inexpensive, which furthered my assumption).

Am I too sensitive? Have you had this experience? What would you have done in this situation?

A new Sports Authority opened in our area. To celebrate their grand opening, they sent us a “Spend $100, get $25 off” coupon.

Our sons are embarking on basketball and wrestling season and needed new shoes and equipment, so my hubby took the boys on a trip to the new store.

When they hauled their $100 in merchandise to the cashier, the grand total came to $99.99.

“Sorry, we can’t accept your coupon. The total has to be $100,” said the cashier.

My husband offered to give them a penny to make up the difference – heck, he would have given them a quarter… maybe even a dollar!

No can do. “Your merchandise has to total $100,” insisted the cashier.

I understand that the employees at Sports Authority are mainly high school and college students who’ve been threatened that if they bend the rules, they’ll get fired. I get that.

And I understand that customers try to get away with buying $95 or $98 in merchandise and they complain if the cashier doesn’t accept the coupon. But $99.99?

I’ve also heard that retail stores have people called “managers” who have the authority to bend the rules just a teensy bit. Over things like, say, ONE PENNY.

So, you’re probably wondering what my husband did. Normally, he’d leave the store, never to return, just on principle. But in this case, we really needed the equipment that day.

So he bought a piece of gum for 15 cents, which brought his total purchase to $100.14.

Coupon accepted.

And my hubby and our sons left Sports Authority, never to return.

I would think that a new store that’s trying to create a customer base during a dismal economy would build a bit of wiggle room into its coupon policies.

Was it really worth losing what could have been an extremely loyal customer over one penny?

You tell me, Sports Authority.

P.S. Read the comments. Sports Authority, did, indeed tell me.

Related articles

• Why Stellar Customer Service is Critical to Business Success
• The iPod Touch Limited Warranty Debacle

This post started as a response to comments posted on the previous article, The iPod touch Limited Warranty Debacle. But it got lengthy, so I’m turning it into a follow-up article.

Seemingly small things, such as the ability to exchange a watch (see John’s comment in the iPod post) are often the determining factor of whether we choose to continue giving an establishment our hard-earned dollars.

My hubby and I recently went on a dinner date to McCormick & Schmick’s Harborside on Lake Union (Seattle). We were there around 9 p.m. the the restaurant was nearly empty, yet our dinner was extraordinarily slow in coming.

We didn’t comment about the slow service to our waiter, but he probably noticed us drumming our fingers on the table and craning our necks toward the kitchen, and offered us dessert, on the house. Think we’ll dine there again? Of course we will!

McCormick & Schmick’s gets it. They know that taking a temporary loss is worth it compared to the dollars they’ll forfeit if they lose my business for good (along my friends’ business, because disgruntled customers always tell at least 10 friends).

I have made customer service bloopers that have resulted in the loss of clients. We all make those mistakes. But part of improving one’s business involves:

1. Realizing and admitting that they were indeed mistakes
2. Apologizing to the client whenever possible
3. Seeking to make things right with the customer
4. Trying not to repeat the same mistakes

…and if you work for a large company, advocating for policy changes in customer service.

Let’s end this discussion on an up note. What positive customer service experiences have you had lately?

My husband and I are members of a dying breed of parents; we don’t give our kids everything they ask for just because they beg us incessantly or whine, “But all my friends have one.”

So when our almost-17-year-old decided he “needed” an iPod touch, we researched it, discovered it cost $300, and said, “Great. Get a job and use your earnings to buy yourself one.”

For months, he saved Christmas and birthday money and his wages from refereeing youth basketball. Two months ago, the glorious day arrived: he bought his iPod touch.

And he loves it… probably more than he loves me, his dad, his brother, and his girlfriend—combined. He takes exceptionally good care of it and stores it in a safe place at night.

Yesterday, the unthinkable happened. His iPod died. Just like that. After only two months of use. My husband dug out the 1-year warranty and headed to the Apple store to exchange it.

The guys at the Apple store ran his iPod through their scanner thingy and pronounced, “Water damage.”

Water damage? Who are they kidding?

Of course, the 1-year LIMITED warranty doesn’t cover “water damage.” They offered to repair his iPod but that would cost him. A lot. Or he could get a new one for half price – $150. My son grudgingly paid for a replacement iPod (now he’s hard at work again, earning more money).

Turns out our son isn’t the only one having problems with his iPod. Several other unhappy customers were trying to return their gadgets at the same time as my son. One guy’s headphone jack had broken (a common occurrence, I’m sure). Sorry. The limited warranty doesn’t cover headphone jacks.

What does it cover?

Seems like this you-can-replace-your-broken-iPod-for-half-price-because-our-warranty-is-worthless offer is a scam to make even more money for Apple than the outrageous price tag they’re already putting on iPods.

Apple’s limited (and I mean LIMITED) warranty is an example of customer service at its worst. It doesn’t take much to convince a consumer to avoid purchasing from a company that doesn’t honor its product warranties – and to spend our hard-earned dollars with companies who do honor their warranties.

Case in point:

My overworked Bluetooth died a couple of weeks ago. I’d had it just over a year (it has a 1-year warranty). But thankfully, I’d purchased it at Costco. I took the Bluetooth and my receipt to Costco, and they took it back without batting an eye.

My laptop is about to give up the ghost. I need to replace it. Now.

Apple or PC? Which do you think I’ll choose?

You’ve got it. I’m heading to Costco right now to buy my new PC. The one with the no-questions-asked warranty.

Readers: How does good–or bad–customer service influence your buying decisions? Share your stories.