Customer service is exhausting. We blog about it, rant about it, and take pot shots at the excuses. But a recent good experience brought me back to the topic.

Unfortunately, the good experience arrived on the heels of some really bad experiences. So, I’ll share the good and the bad, and feel free to share yours as well.

A Bucketful of Customer Service Examples

We certainly have no shortage of customer service examples. Unfortunately, the lousy customer service examples tend to be more prevalent. Or at least it feels that way.

So, when I encountered a great customer experience in response to a complaint, I decided to shine a spotlight on it. I’ll also share some of the bad examples leading up to the good.

Customer Service Examples Offer Food for Thought

What we eat is pretty personal. That may be the reason so many customer service problems center on food.

During the pandemic, my mom and I wanted to support the restaurants. We started ordering takeout once a week. It became known in our household as Takeout Tuesday. 🙂 Even after the world crawled out of that nightmarish part of our history, Mom and I continued ordering takeout.

The Lousy Customer Service Example

Last week, I placed our order through DoorDash. We chose a later delivery time than normal. So, I was a bit surprised when I received a text from our driver 45 minutes before the selected time.

• The driver indicated he was at the Cheesecake Factory waiting on our order.
• The good news was we ordered salads. So we could just refrigerate it until we were hungry.
• About five minutes later, I received the following text. You can see my reply.

I received no response from DoorDash. No explanation as to why and no offer to choose another item. So, I decided to send a tweet calling out the Cheescake Factory (see below). Nothing but silence.

A friend of mine suggested perhaps it was a staffing issue. I recognize *stuff* happens. But that’s when it’s more important than ever to step up customer service.

• An apology from Cheesecake Factory would be a start instead of silence.
• Offering an alternative meal would also be a good idea.
• And a discount or meal comp adds a nice touch.

Another annoyance to this ordeal?

• DoorDash forces you to go to its site to get the refund applied to your original payment source.
• The default method applies your refund as a credit on DoorDash.
• I don’t have the DoorDash DashPass so there is no reason to take my money and apply it toward DoorDash credit.

I guess there are plenty of equal opportunity offenders when it comes to customer service.

The Great Customer Service Example

My mom celebrated her 101st birthday this past weekend (I know, right? 101!) My sister and I went in on a gift together from Harry & David’s.

My sister planned to drive up the day before Mom’s birthday. I did not want the gift to arrive too far in advance. I thought it would be nice to have my sister here when it arrived.

• So I paid extra to secure an exact date delivery (no small fee).
• Instead, the gift arrived over a week early.
• Because it was an edible gift, we had to open the package.

I never thought I’d see the day I would complain when a gift arrived early. 🙂 But this was special circumstances. I complained about paying extra for a service I did not receive. Harry and David’s response was stellar.

• They apologized and had already refunded the charge to my account.
• The representative offered to send a formal apology to my mom for failing to deliver closer to the requested date (and her birthday).
• She emphasized the importance to “maintain the quality of our products and provide the best possible service to our customers.” For once, it did not sound like hallow words.

Weep No More

As my friend, Ann Wayman says, customer service is not rocket science. How difficult was it for Harry and David to offer an apology and refund the service fee?

Those simple acts totally changed my view of the situation. Frankly, they surprised me. And isn’t that a sad commentary? We are surprised by good customer service.

Life’s Little Jokes

The morning I started this post, I went out for a morning latte at Starbucks. Once again, customer service decided to play its little joke.

The first Starbucks store‘s espresso machine was down. This same store just became fully functioning after being down for 3 months for the same problem.

Store #2 was closed for renovations. They were supposed to reopen the day before.

The 3rd store (yeah, how stupid am I to keep trying?) had a long line. It became even longer after I foolishly pulled into a line I could not escape from (it’s a winding driveway with a concrete curb on both sides).

After every car in front of me had orders for half of the Idaho population, I finally pulled up to the window. Grabbing my drink, I pulled out of the driveway. While sitting at a stoplight, I took my first sip.

I almost sprayed my windshield. They had given me the wrong order. *Sigh*

At least their Twitter/X account responded to my tweet. See, Cheesecake Factory. That’s how you do it. We’ll see where this goes.

Feel free to vent (or praise) in Comments. What are your customer service examples?

Credit: Bigstock Photo

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