The Fred Factor by Mark Sanborn.
Inspired by a postal delivery man, this book expels the virtues of genuine, caring, thorough customer service. It's cheesy, but a short 100 pages. Fred's example taught me a lot about taking pride in the simplest of jobs, spreading genuine goodwill through work and how excellence, even in simple tasks, makes a big difference in the lives of individuals. It's inspiring and very feel-good (as well as practical).
Ty and I have benefited from the service of a few "Freds" lately, and would recommend them to you!!
1. Our server at the Oakland Indian restaurant, The Tamarind, was amazing. Evidence #1: While reading the menu, Tyler asked him what a certain ingredient was. He explained, we thanked him, and then a few minutes later he brought out a few pieces of that particular ingredient (it was some kind of spice), for us to try. Wow! Evidence #2: We had read on their website that Tuesday was 1/2 price for students. Turned out both individuals are supposed to be students, but he gave us the discount anyways. Evidence #3: As we were getting ready to leave he brought out a to-go cup of the most delicious mango drink free of charge "for the baby." (It was so yummy!) Amazing, huh? What a Fred!
2. We've taken our car to Taylor Auto Repair (now located on McNeilly Road, close the intersection of McNeilly and Library Rd), for our inspection and for a few repairs since we moved here. We liked them before, but now we LOVE them. The story: recently Daq started screeching. It was a terrible noise, so Friday we decided to just stop by to see if we could make an appointment to get the car checked out. But we didn't have to make an appointment. They immediately stopped what they were doing, popped the hood, congratulated us on the baby, and diagnosed the problem. Turns out we needed a new belt that they had replaced nearly a year ago. Immediately the owner got on the phone with a parts supplier regarding the needed part. After receiving confirmation that they had it in stock, he sent one of his guys to go get the part right then. He returned in a few minutes, replaced the part, closed the hood, and refused any payment. Then they returned to their previous projects. Is that service or what? Love it!
3. The owners/operators of Spruce Hill Manor Bed & Breakfast in Philadelphia. I made weekend reservations for Valentine's Day this year. Within 1 hour of booking online I received a personalized email back from them confirming my reservation. Then a few days before the trip, the gigantic snow storm hit and I decided to cancel for fear of driving there in the snow. I had missed their clearly-stated cancellation deadline, and was legally obligated to pay full price for the room despite not using it. But they generously forfeited the $300+ of revenue to give me a full refund anyways. Wow again.
I love these examples! Customer service is such a huge deal to me, but it's SO hard to find in this city for some reason. There are countless times that Jacque and I walk away from a terrible experience at restaurants/stores/repair shops/you name it and are dissapointed - we've even vowed not to go back to certain businesses because of this. It's so refreshing and appreciated when we do get that awesome service!
ReplyDeleteI love this book :) I read it because of the title obviously. I'm so glad it was so positive about FRED'S :)
ReplyDeleteHaha-- just got your comments on my blog. I really did wonder at first if that was Tyler who posted the comment because it sounded so Nicole-ish (with the whole picking a favorite name thing). P.S. I like the names of Butler and Wake Forest too! They sound classy. :)
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