One Long-Distance Errands Trip & Four Great Customer Service Experiences

In this commentary, I want to talk about people who are good at their jobs. It's a very simple topic, but there's actually a LOT to say about it.

When someone likes being in a customer service frontline role, it usually shows. (The only time it doesn't - by my observation - is when they're in a miserable working environment . . . but even then, the best of them usually still manage to shine through).

So I had to take my little dog, Harry, to his vet in Feilding last week. I'd built up a list of errands to do in Palmerston North while I was in that neck of the woods. Five customer experiences, and four of them were really good.

Here they were:

Jason at Animates:   Animates is a chain of franchises (I think?) where the customer experience is extremely varied. Both within each store and between stores. My general rating of Animates across the board, therefore, would be below average. Some experiences have been very below average.

A shining light in the Animates store-scape, however, is a young bloke called Jason at the Palmerston North establishment. Management must consider him a keeper, because the first time I encountered him was when selecting a bed for Harry, about three years ago. Maybe more. I remembered him for his product knowledge (which was outstanding) and his patience in making sure I selected the right bed for the very specific purpose for which I wanted it.

On this current visit, I wanted a particular type of natural treat that they once stocked . . . but my attempt at describing it was confounding the assistant, who was trying very hard to find it or something like it. She decided to enlist Jason . . . who I recognised immediately. He also recognised me (and Harry) immediately, too. A conversation about Harry, and his dog, and several other directly related topics ensued . . . as did his utmost efforts to find a treat that ticked the boxes the no-longer-stocked product ticked for Harry and his tiny little mouth.

Having taken the time to understand some broader current needs relating to Harry and a health issue he's been experiencing, he proactively walked us around the store, suggesting some specific products that could prove useful. As it turned out, I didn't end up buying anything on that visit. But I know that won't deter him from his further best efforts to be of completely selfless, well-informed assistance the very next time I'm in that store.

Christine at Countdown:  Next stop, Countdown (the one across the intersection from Animates). A warm and friendly woman with a smile as natural as the sun welcomed me at her check-out, with a "Hi, how has your day been?" Or something similar . . . the key point being that it wasn't one of those "How are you?" robotic questions that compels the equally robotic "Fine, thanks." response. It was actually a genuine question, inviting a truthful answer.

Thankfully, I had a positive to reply with, "Great, thanks! My dog just got a good report from his vet . . . so any day that's a good one for him is a good one for me!"  Thereafter ensued a really nice exchange in which she showed genuine interest about my little dog as she cheerily packed my groceries together with me.

As I left the store, I pondered on whether the top brass (franchisee?) of that store knew, appreciated and encouraged "check-out chick" gems like Christine . . . and I hoped fervently that he or she did. Imagine a whole crew of smiling, high emotional intelligence ("EQ") service frontliners manning (or womanning) a supermarket's check-outs . . . and the consistency of that being a trademark of a particular outlet.

Wouldn't that be something.

Bevan at Mitre 10:   I like "value-added" service from floor staff. Such was my experience in Mitre 10, hunting for something to clean an oven with, minus any harsh chemicals (to which my constitution does not react well).

I approached a staffer who not only took me to the spot where his recommended scrubbing pads were stocked, but also recommended the best value pack of rubber gloves for that and some other jobs. He then volunteered some secret sauce ways of making the oven-cleaning-sans-product task a lot easier than it would otherwise have been. Bonus!

He also then walked me to another part of the store in my hunt for gardening gloves for another specific purpose - where again, his product knowledge was invaluable.

Turns out he was actually the store manager. I guess knowing how to look after customers is quite relevant to moving up the ladder in a store's hierarchy.

BP2Go Main Street:  Visiting this petrol station is always a bittersweet experience. I remember, several years ago, on my first-ever visit to this servo, being impressed with the service . . . primarily because of the happy chappy way they're happy to pump your gas if you ask them (again, I can't stand strong chemical smells and petrol is one of the worst).

I'd just started 'The Customer' and he'd just bought (if I'm remembering this correctly) the franchise of the station. We had had a long and impassioned conversation about the role of customer service in broader business success. We were in violent agreement with every aspect of the topic.

I'd intended to interview him for a feature article at some point. But I never got to do that. The next time I visited that station, there was a plaque from some sporting team on the front counter, commemorating what an awesome guy . . . he had been. Yes, sadly, he had passed away at some age still on the right side of 40, or thereabouts. I remember becoming aware that he likely had known even when we engaged in our cheery conversation that day, that he had a terminal diagnosis. 

What a role model. 

Here's the point, though, that I'm ultimately getting to. 

Albeit I don't go to Palmerston that often, but every time I've called into that station ever since, I have been comforted to find that the customer service has never slipped. Such was my experience last Wednesday when - as usual - I asked them to fill my tank. The response was a beaming, "Happy to." 

I don't remember that wonderful man's name now, but I really hope those that have succeeded him in this particular BP2Go keep his customer service standards legacy alive for many years to come.