December 18, 2013, As a customer service activist, I am constantly on the search for the good, the bad and the ugly of customer service as I live and travel in this country. Mostly, it is the negative experiences that I rant about, however, today I have 2 ‘feel good’ stories that will inspire you and create a ‘warm and fuzzy’ for your Christmas holiday.
Scenario #1:
Last week, I was travelling to Cincinnati to deliver my keynote, ‘The Future of Retail’ to the wonderful folks at Bryan Equipment Sales, in Loveland Ohio. As per usual with United, I was 2 hours late arriving in Cincinnati and took the shuttle to the Avis lot for my car. It was 9:15 PM, freezing cold, and I was tired and cranky from my day long air travel (up at 4:30AM PST). Having gotten my keys from the attendant, she informed me my car was in stall C-11 and I proceeded out the door to find my car. I look across the lot, see the car and notice someone cleaning the snow of the car and my immediate reaction was, “ Great! This lady has mistaken my car for her’s and that is the last thing I need”.
Lo and behold, the woman was an Avis employee who, not only removed the snow from the car, she had started the engine, put on the heater, she had Christmas music playing on the radio and as I stepped into a warm vehicle. she say’s “Welcome to Cincinnati and thank you for choosing Avis”
WOW!
Did she make my day?
Will I remember this experience?
I gave her a $5.00 tip and a hug and wished her “Merry Christmas”
Can you brainstorm ideas on how create a similar experience for your clients?
Scenario #2:
You probably have seen this 5 minute video by now, however, in case you have not, here is an example of an ingenious feel-good moment that created 29,159,239 views on Youtube. That is 29 MILLION PEOPLE have viewed this wonderful event! This event has brought joy and happiness to a group of travellers and speaks to the humanity and connection in all of us.
This is an ingenious promotion and deserves KUDOS for the idea. I know, some folks will say it is a marketing ploy, however, I believe, if you make people feel great and you can promote at the same time, why not?
Congratulations to Westjet and their wonderful employees for pulling off this amazing experience for people.
Here is the video now- enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIEIvi2MuEk
Sarah and I want to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous New Year and thank you for being a subscriber to my newsletter
Cheers
Roy