While it’s a little sad that we’ve come to expect crappy customer service, it causes the good experiences to stand out. Here are a couple of examples from just this week.
One: Monday night, my wife and I went to the local Qdoba restaurant and each ordered one of their Signature Burritos – the Seasoned Shredded Beef Burrito for me, and the Grilled Vegetable Burrito for Casey. As we were going down the line picking our toppings (rice, beans, etc.), they had reached the bottom of their vegetable container, leaving Casey with about 1/3 of the veggies she should have gotten. “No problem – we’ll get you some more!”, was the quick reply from the worker. While they were waiting from more vegetables from the kitchen, we continued down the line for the finishing toppings. When we got to the end to pay, Casey’s burrito was still at the end waiting for the extra veggies. Here is the part that impressed us: As the manager was ringing us up, he looked over at the line workers and told them to throw my wife’s burrito and start it over again. Only about a minute had passed since we originally placed our orders, but he wanted to make sure Casey had the best burrito possible.
Two: I made a quick trip to Target over lunch today to pick up a few things we needed, one of them being replacement watch batteries for a little reading light we have. I first looked in the battery section in electronics with no luck, and then went over to the watch counter. There wasn’t anyone behind the counter when I got there, so I pushed the little “call for help” button and a woman showed up within five seconds. I showed her the battery I needed to replace, and she told me that not only could I could buy them in pairs at the electronics desk, but that they would actually be a couple of dollars cheaper. She asked me if I was interested, and I of course said I was. Before I headed back over to electronics, she made a quick call to confirm that they had them in stock.
The thing about these two examples is that both Qdoba and Target exceeded our expectations. We weren’t expecting a new buritto after the first one sat for a minute, and I wasn’t expecting to have a Target employee tell me I could get a better deal on watch batteries in a different department. Small things make a big difference.
On a side note, is it just me, or does anyone else absolutely love the new Target commercials? I find myself entranced whenever one comes on. They almost have a Japanese quality to them and make me think of the quirky Wario Ware Nintendo games. I’m certain of one thing, however: Wal-Mart has no style compared to Target. Design does matter, and Target gets it just right.