Comments on: Surprise and Delight

By: Walter

Walter — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:06:52 +0000

Surprise and delight, it’s challenging. I must admit that this is a no easy task for me but I believe in the wisdom you presented here.

I will always remember this when I’m in my word processor and I will do my best to make an impact to my readers. I will strive to go above expectations.

By: Matt Cheuvront

Matt Cheuvront — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:25:20 +0000

Will do Mari – I’m sure you are already doing some amazing things to have established yourself and your company so well in such a short period of time. IN fact, the “old fashioned” courtesy, respect, communication, appreciation, and consideraton goes a long, long way. That in it of itself can be something that really defines your company and how you operate – because, for the most part, those qualities are never a guarantee.

Thanks as always for coming by Mari – I hope our paths will cross again soon!

By: Matt Cheuvront

Matt Cheuvront — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:19:05 +0000

Awesome Suzanne – great to hear you had such an outstanding experience. That kind of above-and-beyond action really sticks with you. It’s something that I’m sure will not soon be forgotten!

By: Matt Cheuvront

Matt Cheuvront — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:15:36 +0000

Customer service over the phone is, 95% of the time, pretty terrible. So Schnucks has clearly done a heck of a job in training their staff to maintain a positive attitude, even if they may not be having the best day. From the other side of the fence, having experience in the world of retail, it’s no easy task to be asked to put on a happy face 100% of the time (which is probably why I would never survive in that world, I tend to wear my emotions on my sleeve).

You’ve illustrated the power good customer service can have. That one experience has now been shared with everyone who follows you on Twitter, everyone reading this blog, and probably in other ways as well. One person TRULY can have an impact on MANY.

By: Matt Cheuvront

Matt Cheuvront — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:52:26 +0000

That’s interesting Lindsey. Full disclousre: I am completely ignorant when it comes to most cultures outside the states (something I hope to remedy by traveling sooner than later) – but my expectation was that customer service was much better outside the US than here at home. Don’t ask me why that is.

To your point, we are a society (globally) who is used to mediocrity, which only further illustrates the point that being memorable and leaving a great impression is so easy and takes such little effort. Thanks for sharing your perspective from the other side of the globe!

By: Matt Cheuvront

Matt Cheuvront — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:35:00 +0000

Thank YOU for the inspiration Tim. Love what Chicago Street Musicians are doing and you did a great job of sharing their story. You are right about monotony, it does get old. We don’t want to continually do business with a company who simply meets our expectations – we want customer service experiences to write home about, to talk about with our friends, blog about, tweet about, etc.

This is especially important in today’s Web 2.0 world – if we have a bad, or in this case, good customer service experience/interaction, the first thing we do is send out a tweet and update our Facebook status. That online word-of-mouth can be extremely beneficial (or detrimental) to a companies brand. The small things can and really do add up!

By: Matt Cheuvront

Matt Cheuvront — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:26:54 +0000

Great point Emily – something I didn’t even really think about when watching this was having that extra challenge of TRYING to get people’s attention. At a concert, people are paying to see you – you don’t have to try to keep their attention, it’s assumed that if you’re there, you want to be there. With the street musicians, it’s all about coming out of your comfort zone and really having an impact on other people.

I think it’s an amazing thing that they are doing – It’s little things like this that can completely turn someone’s day around!