Examples of great customer service

When you experience great customer service, you never forget it. Some examples of customer service are so great that they’ve become memorable to people who didn't experience them, only heard about them. Here are some of our favourite stories of great customer service. They’re not from workshop businesses but they show just how powerful good customer service can be, and they may get you thinking of similar ideas that you can put in to practice yourself.

Going the extra mile

Author and business consultant Peter Shankman was getting ready to board a 2½ hour flight after already undergoing a long day’s travel. To express his frustration, he moaned on Twitter that he would be starving by the time he landed and jokingly tweeted the well-known restaurant chain Morton’s Porterhouse, saying: “Hey, @Mortons – can you meet me at Newark airport with a porterhouse when I land in two hours? K, thanks. :)”

At the airport, Shankman was greeted by a guy in a tuxedo who presented him with a 24 oz. Porterhouse steak, an order of Colossal shrimp, a side of potatoes, bread, two napkins and silverware, all ready to take away in a Morton’s Porterhouse bag.

Somehow, the nearest branch of Morton’s Porterhouse tracked down Mr Shankman’s flight information, worked out where he was landing, cooked the food and then drove 23.5 miles to deliver it. The incident became a legend on Twitter, and so did Morton’s Porterhouse.

Creative genius

Sometimes even a brand renowned for its impeccable customer service can go up a gear, and that’s just what the Ritz-Carlton did with the help of the now famous soft toy Joshie the giraffe.

On returning home from a holiday at the Ritz-Carlton on Amelia Island in Florida, customer Chris Hurn’s distressed son informed his father that he had accidentally left his beloved soft toy Joshie the giraffe behind in their hotel room. Responding with a creative solution to the problem, Dad assured his son that Joshie was just staying on for an extra few days’ holiday in Florida and would be home soon.

Mr Hurn called the Ritz-Carlton to see if Joshie had been found, which he had, and asked the hotel to send him on. During the conversation, Mr Hurn also happened to mention Joshie’s imaginary ‘holiday’.

The Ritz-Carlton then made Mr Hurn’s creative solution a reality. Before sending Joshie back, the hotel staff captured Joshie enjoying his extended vacation with a series of holiday snaps. This included pictures of him relaxing by the pool, enjoying a massage at the spa and going for a round of golf. The story was circulated heavily both on social media and traditional media and has since become a legendary tale of great customer service.

Being genuinely helpful when it matters

A customer of glasses manufacturer Warby Parker once received what he described as, “possibly the very best customer service of all time.” Having accidentally left his beloved Warby Parker reading glasses on a train, Michael John Mathis ordered himself another identical pair the following day. However, when the package arrived he received not one but two pairs of those same reading glasses, plus a copy of the classic travel novel On The Road by Jack Kerouac and this note:

"Hi Michael, This might be odd... but you sat across from me on the train ride from NYC to Boston a few weeks ago and left your glasses on the train! As luck would have it, I happen to be the GC of Warby Parker, and there is nothing I like more than a good mystery... I hope these find you in good health! (also, we noticed your lenses were scratched so we made you a fresh pair!).

True care and consideration

This is a sad and touching story, but perhaps the most powerful one of all. Grandfather Mark Dickinson was heading to Denver to see his grandson, who was in a coma and was not expected to live another 24 hours. Having managed to book a last-minute flight by explaining his situation, Mr Dickinson was then delayed by traffic and ended up arriving at the departure gate 12 minutes after his Southwest Airlines flight was due to leave. He was met at the gate by the pilot, who said: “They can’t go anywhere without me, and I wasn’t going anywhere without you. Now relax. We’ll get you there.”

Offering good customer service is often something people talk about but don’t actually do anything about. Many talk of ‘going the extra mile’ for customers but do they really? All this shows what a massive difference great customer service can make if you really do give it.

Whenever you can, take the opportunity to deliver a truly thoughtful and memorable piece of customer service. You’ll win lasting loyalty from the customer who benefits, and like the stories you’ve read here, you may well find that your customer service story spreads and wins you many more customers. Good news travels fast, so they say, and that’s never been truer since social media became a part of our everyday lives, so get a great customer service story out there and yours will be the name on everybody’s lips.