- Submitted by Erica W. 

Two years ago I was awarded a gift card for my 10 year anniversary at work.  Months before the length of service award arrived, I scoured the website and had a general idea of what I wanted to purchase.  We even stopped in the store in St. Maarten where I tried on various items.  I was ready when the gift card arrived. 

Unfortunately, my actual shopping experience was not what I had dreamed it to be.  After driving 4 hours, we walked into the store and were immediately "claimed" by one particular associate.  When I asked another associate, who was standing by the counter with the necklace I wanted to show it to me, the original associate came up to us and asked if I remembered that he was supposed to be helping me.  Although I was taken back, I allowed this original associate to assist me with the necklace. 

The first thing my husband and I noticed was the necklace was tarnished and needed to be polished.  We were told this was a sample and the one he would sell us would be much nicer.  He then said I could come to their store anytime and have the necklace cleaned, which we thought was a bit strange because we had just finished telling him that we drove 4 hours to come to his store to make the purchase.  He then asked for my name and address for the database, wrapped up the necklace, and gave it to me as if I'd just made a minor purchase at a discount store. 

I left the store very disappointed.  I was expecting my experience to be at par with the Disney or Ritz-Carlton experience, so I decided to submit feedback via the company website.  I simply described the situation, and asked that they consider revamping their customer service because I didn't want anyone else to be as disappointed as I was. 

The next day I received a call from the mid-west regional manager.  We had a wonderful conversation about customer service.  We ended the conversation and I felt happy to have an insightful and interesting dialogue.  The following weekend I received a package at home that contained a hand-written note thanking me for our conversation and a box that contained the matching bracelet to the necklace I purchased. 

It's not the product; it's the experience that goes along with the purchase that we remember the most.  

Thanks Erica, for sharing your story.  It illustrates how important it is to have a guiding purpose for your employees, good listening skills, appropriate measurements and attention to detail.  These elements together can create a good or poor customer service experience.  Your story also demonstrates how important a good service recovery process is.   Service is the differentiator that makes people feel important,  and ultimately impacts the bottom line. 

- Susan