This past weekend, I had two such experiences with exceptional customer service, and I am happy to share those experiences in this space in order to salute those who know the difference between simply doing a job and doing a job particularly well.
My own personal experiences this weekend came by way of a thoroughly aggravating couple of weeks with my two-year-old Apple iPhone 4s, which I acquired to help me in my previous career in radio broadcasting. In that field, you are always connected and have to drop what you're doing at any moment in order to make things happen before anyone else. As such, I decided a smartphone would benefit me in my job, and being an Apple guy, the iPhone was the logical way to go.
For the most part, I have been happy with the phone, although the email setup I was using was rather clunky and many times I would discover to my chagrin my email had never reached its destination. In the past year that was not as serious an issue since I was no longer in a job where always being connected was basically a job requirement.
When I signed my three-year contract for the iPhone in August of 2012, I also decided to shell out the extra cash for the AppleCare Plus plan, in case something happened to the phone like, say, I dropped it on the pavement. It turned out to be a pretty wise decision on my part.
About two weeks ago, just as my AppleCare plan was running out, the iPhone started acting rather oddly, discharging suddenly even while in the dock used for charging. No explanation for this other than, I thought, the battery might be gone.
So Saturday of the Labour Day weekend, while on my way to a short escape to Port Hope for the weekend, we stopped at the Apple store at Mapleview Centre in Burlington and although the place was predictably busy, I was given very efficient service without an appointment. After a brief diagnostic, it was determined the battery was fine, but there was something wrong with the phone itself.
It was decided a complete system restore would be undertaken on the phone, which took about half an hour to complete in the store, and it did indeed bring my device back to life. When I asked how much for the great service, I was told there would be no charge. This I thought was more than fair on their part and besides, I was just happy to have the thing working again.
Fast-forward to last Wednesday evening, when I was reinstalling apps to the phone and noticed after a couple of days of use and now a lot of downloading, the battery could use a charge. I charged it overnight and in the morning it was a full 100% charge. Off to work I went, when I tend not to use the phone during my work hours unless absolutely necessary.
When I returned home about 6 pm, I noticed the phone had discharged while not being used all day and was now in fact, at at 10% charge and in need of more juice. That struck me as rather odd, but I placed the phone on the dock again and about an hour later noticed it was not doing anything, barely holding any charge again like before the weekend.
I decided, in what for me was a rare show of rage, to drive back down to the Apple store and find out what the heck was wrong with the thing - again. This time, not much help was available given the hour and the fact I didn't have an appointment again, but they gave me some ideas as to how to proceed from here and suggested I book an appointment to come back.
On my way out, I decided since I was down there anyway, I would pay a visit to Purdy's Chocolates, a new tenant at Mapleview and a company I have been wanting to experience first-hand since I started following them on Facebook a couple of years ago. There, I ran into young Lina, barely into her first week of work at the location and possessing about the sunniest disposition you could imagine. In spite of the dark cloud over my head after leaving the Apple store with a still non-functioning iPhone, Lina put a smile on my face with her demeanour, enthusiasm and product knowledge. Needless to say, I picked up chocolate while there and made a mental note to stop by again the next time I was down that way.
On Friday I decided to take a chance on booking another appointment at the Apple store and found a time open on Sunday afternoon. While I was not thrilled about having to drive down there on my only day off and a sunny one at that, I did, and it turned out to be a very rewarding experience not once, but twice.
First I met Cameron, a personable young man who knew more about my iPhone than I will ever know. He quickly determined there was no point trying to restore the present one, but suggested it was perhaps a better option to replace the phone with a new one. Ah, but my AppleCare plan ran out a couple of weeks ago, I noted, when the problem was just beginning.
After a brief consolation with his manager he was given the go-ahead to replace the phone for free, and even transfer all my data from the old phone to the new one. However, a problem with the new one presented an unexpected setback, and Cam asked me to give him an hour to sort things out while I strolled the mall. Great, I thought, more time in a mall on a sunny Sunday afternoon. But sure, I thought, I am here, so let's get this done I said.
While I was strolling the mall, I decided to pay a visit to Purdy's Chocolates again for some ice cream, and there was Lina again, smiling and remembering me from the last visit. Once again I was treated like a special customer and once again, I was thrilled with the service. This time, though, her manager was there as well and I made a point of expressing my admiration for the enthusiasm displayed by her new hire.
The ice cream, by the way, like the chocolate, is addictive and wonderful!
Back to the Apple store to see how things were working out there and in about ten minutes, I was up and running with a new phone, with all my data transferred over and I was good to go. Once again, no charge, and this time I walked out with a new phone. That, to me, is worthy of praise.
Now, I know some people are big on Apple and others are not. But no matter which side of the tech fence you find yourself on, I think it would be all agreed great customer service deepens your relationship with the product and the company that produces it. For me, the premium you pay for an Apple product pays dividends should you ever have a problem with it. The company does go out of its way to keep customers happy, and that translates into customer loyalty.
For me, being in a strong customer-service job myself, I know the value of showing how special a customer is to an organization. My present employer, Meridian Credit Union, stresses Member relations day in and day out, and the reason is simple: happy Members tell others about the great experience they received from the company and the employees.
A product is only as good as the customer service that backs it up. If you offer a great product, that's wonderful. But if you fail to back that up with great customer service, your brand loyalty will erode quickly and someone else will pick up the ball and run with it.
That's why I am writing about these two experiences this weekend: two instances, side by side, in fact, where employees of the the company they represent made me feel welcome, appreciated, and yes, special. What more could you want from a customer service experience?
So to Apple, thanks for standing behind your product and showing me I am not just another sales number on your flowchart. Cam proved how important people can be to any organization. And to Purdy's Chocolates, thanks for a quality product backed up by exceptional service as well. Lina has a great future ahead of her, both in her present position and while pursuing her future career plans in the health care field.
Let's celebrate great customer service, and feel free to send me your success stories too!
September 8th, 2014
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