''Justine'' at Nanaimo Costco

[Nostradama]

I've been looking for very simple pattern (no particular pattern) black and white everyday style dishes for several months. A perfect choice came into Costco twice and went so fast I didn't make it there in time. A friend told me a third shipment had come in and we went there immediately. Nope. The little display they put above the cartons was still there, but all of the shelf space with the black and white dishes was empty, but next to it was a huge carton mountain of the same dishes, but just plain white, not what I wanted. Along came Justine--could she help? I didn't think so, but she was willing to try. This woman climbed onto the floor level shelf, went to the back of the stack of cartons with the plain white dishes and started moving things around. Not easy, they're heavy, especially if you're bent over like she was. She really went to town, and found two cartons of the black-and-white, which is exactly what I wanted.

Thank you, Justine! When I came home, I phoned Costco, asked to speak to a manager because I had a compliment about an employee. Guy immediately knew who I was talking about, and this lady already has a long record of trying extra hard to give good customer service.

[riverrat]

I must be getting emotional in my old age. The last paragraph made my eyes mist a bit. Can anyone recommend a doctor for such a weird affliction?

Anyway, way to go, Nostradama - every time you phone a manager to compliment some employee's efforts, the labour world gets a teensy bit better.

[albertabluesky]

Can you all believe I felt compelled to make a similar call (it was an email) about an Air Canada employee? Those of us working should be inspired to be more like these people!

[grommet]

We've had similar, excellent customer service experiences at Best Buy. After each occasion, we've submitted employee recommendations to the website and have gotten 'personal' responses. The named employees are commended at weekly meetings. Aside from that, I'm not sure how else they are rewarded. As a result, we will now shop no where else but Best Buy and I go out of my way to recommend certain employees to friends and family. Word of mouth goes a long way. I am a bit dismayed tho'..... If one has an excellent experience with a biz or employee then of course, one is encouraged to 'blow the horn' for that business or employee but if one has had a less than pleasant experience, it seems that if criticism is made in a public forum, then, from personal experience, on is advised to be patient, give it another try, put yourself in their shoes, and so on. Just my .02

[Nostradama]

We've had similar, excellent customer service experiences at Best Buy. After each occasion, we've submitted employee recommendations to the website and have gotten 'personal' responses. The named employees are commended at weekly meetings. Aside from that, I'm not sure how else they are rewarded. As a result, we will now shop no where else but Best Buy and I go out of my way to recommend certain employees to friends and family. Word of mouth goes a long way. I am a bit dismayed tho'..... If one has an excellent experience with a biz or employee then of course, one is encouraged to 'blow the horn' for that business or employee but if one has had a less than pleasant experience, it seems that if criticism is made in a public forum, then, from personal experience, on is advised to be patient, give it another try, put yourself in their shoes, and so on. Just my .02

I have a problem, too, with laying a beef out there in public where the person or the company has no way to respond. I don't do it. I've had good reason to beef maybe twice in the last five years. First thing: "Did I deserve to be treated the way I was? Am I just in a snarky mood today and being cranky?" A few weeks ago I was shopping with a friend, and said to her "Did I just get treated like crap, or is it just me?" Nope, she figured the salesperson had messed up big-time in the way she treated me. So I went back and said to the woman "Do you know how you just made me feel?" Etc. I wasn't mad, I just wanted her to know how bad she'd made me feel--and all I was doing was buying a pair of earrings. Boiled down, if I have a beef, I'll deal with it right when it happens. I think it's fairer to the person and it gives them a chance to improve. Or maybe they've got problems at home, or something else I don't know about.

On the other hand, had a justifiable beef with anonymous nation-wide bank, way back in pre-computer days. Sent registered letters to various bank executives in Ontario. Next thing I knew, an audit team was in the bank, a couple of people got fired and charged with a long series of small crimes. I think that's different than someone just having an "off day", I'd lost money I shouldn't have lost, figured others might have, too.

[Nostradama]

I must be getting emotional in my old age. The last paragraph made my eyes mist a bit. Can anyone recommend a doctor for such a weird affliction?

Anyway, way to go, Nostradama - every time you phone a manager to compliment some employee's efforts, the labour world gets a teensy bit better.

In the interests of "full disclosure", there's some self-interest built in there, too, although when I began doing this years ago, I didn't anticipate it. For some reason, I'm permanently on the "call list" of a supposedly independent survey company doing customer satisfaction ratings on the bank I deal with. They're not supposed to be targeting the same customers every time, but I get called maybe twice a year. Been going on for maybe six years. I'm not saying that the fact I've told them about it at the branch I go to makes a difference, but maybe. I told them because I think it's funny and most of the staff have been friends for years--I taught their kids, and am now seeing pictures of grandkids.

But there have been times when that particular branch has gone the extra mile for me before the customer satisfaction surveys started, I've appreciated it, and I've either phoned or e-mailed farther up their financial food chain with my appreciation. It's not like I own a major block of shares in that bank or that I have a kabillion dollars in accounts with them.

Phoning a manager, e-mailing, etc., wth compliments on good service gets you even better service. But if you're filling out a card that's going into one of those little boxes at a customer service counter, I think it's wise to tell an employee that it's a compliment that's going in there, because I wouldn't be surprised if a "beef card" got pulled out. Human nature is human nature.

I could go through a list from a taxi company to a couple of pharmacists, business offices, sales clerks, and a whole lot more where I suspect that I get that little extra bit of help, and all it takes is a genuine compliment on good service. Doesn't cost me a cent.

Everything I say about service is the truth; I'm not after better service. But such a very small gesture, such a small thing, means a lot to people. Why not do it, I figure?

PS--It would pretty well make a whole month for me when I was teaching if a parent phoned me, or a principal or vice-principal, to say "I'm so happy that my kid ended up in Ms. Nostra's class." Another biggie was when I ran into a student's Mom in a mall, shopping with a friend of hers who had a daughter a couple of years younger. Mom introduced me to her friend and said "Make sure 'Katie' ends up in Nostra's class. 'Katie's' gonna love her." I almost cried.

Everyone just plain feels good if they're told they're doing a good job, and it takes so darned little to tell them that.

Sorry for length of this post.

[Nostradama]

I must be getting emotional in my old age. The last paragraph made my eyes mist a bit. Can anyone recommend a doctor for such a weird affliction?

Anyway, way to go, Nostradama - every time you phone a manager to compliment some employee's efforts, the labour world gets a teensy bit better.

here it is. You've been infected. There is no treatment and no vaccine, no wonder drugs. Now go on out there and spread the "You did a good job" infection.