Customer Service Kudos: Gold Stars!

In the past 24 hours, I've two amazing customer service experiences. I feel compelled to report on them, since I spend so much of this blog complaining about bad customer service.

We'll Buy Your Lunch: Robin and I went to Fish. for lunch around 1:30pm on Sunday. Fish. is a great fresh-fish place that I've been to at least a dozen times. Right on the water in Sausalito, so perfect for lazy weekend meals on warm, sunny days. Funky place, all cash, fairly expensive: Our tab was $75 for one entree, two sides, one glass of wine and one beer. The entree was a whole striper grilled. The server checked to make sure they still had a striper to cook for us and confirmed it. After we sat down outside and were enjoying the sun and drinks, the owner came out, apologized profusely, and said they had run out of the striper. (He confided that someone else had bought the last four out of his fish counter at the same time I was ordering.) He asked us to let him buy us lunch and asked what I would like instead. So I ordered the sea bass, which was excellent. But he came back later and gave us all $75 back. We were stunned; I had expected him to refund the cost of the striper, perhaps, but not the entire meal!

I'll Go Find Your Charger: I stayed overnight at the Best Western Seacliff in Aptos, California to attend a birthday party for a friend. I left my phone's charger plugged into the wall when I checked out and didn't realize it until last night when I went to plug the thing in. I've left things like this -- chargers, electric toothbrushes, umbrellas -- at hotels all over the world. Usually, I just write them off and get a new one. For some reason this time, I called the hotel on my way to work. Shannon answered. She asked me to describe the charger. She went and found it. Called me back. And is mailing it back to me. I don't know if I'm going back to Seacliff; and usually I stay in higher end places when I want to go hang out in a place (as opposed to getting a bed to sleep in for an event). But I feel so good about the Seacliff now that I might think of an excuse to go back!

I wish every business would have this attitude toward their customers.