(pic taken by Jon the waiter-the reason you can't see Jamie is because he didn't warn us before he snapped the pic and then refused to take another one)So in the last week or so I've had some two very different experiences with customer service.
The first was last week in Park City-at my favorite PC mexican restaraunt-Baja Cantina. Fab food I tell you-and the diet coke definitely did burn on the way down and cause my eyes to water. Doesn't get any better.
However the service could have. Our waiter-I think his name was Jon, looked, as my cousin Jamie said, like an out-of-work construction worker (due to the economy) who could get no other job than being a waiter at the restraunt. Jamie is too kind. I decided he was an aging ski bum who was attempting to make money on tips to subsidize his winter lifestyle.
But I digress.
Jon struggled with his customer service skills. It took him like 5 minutes to figure out how to write out that Jamie and Jessica only wanted 2 beef tacos with cheese, nothing else (do you want tomatoes? no. Do you want lettuce? No, I want them plain). I was told that I ordered the wrong quesadilla because I requested chicken instead of pork. I was mocked for wanting a plate of limes, Elisha had to literally flag him down for us to get refills, and in the end he mixed up all of our checks, which I think was his revenge for the fact that we wanted the bills separate. And what did he receive as a tip? Well, since we had a party of 6 or more they automatically add a 15% gratuity. Disgusting.
Fast forward a week. Today I decided to take my car to the Mike Hale Acura Dealership where I purchased my car to get the oil changed. I did this because they do a free car wash and since I never wash the car myself this worked well for me.
I got to the dealership and parked my car and went to check in. There were desks inside the service area where men dressed in shirts and ties were ready to assist me with my service needs. I found out that I was actually supposed to pull my car into the garage, I said I'd go get it,
but service man went and got my car for me. He then told me I could sit in the waiting room while my car was taken care of. I proceeded to the nicely air conditioned waiting room where I sat in a nice leather chair and enjoyed the complimentary beverages while I read my book, or if I'd taken my laptop I could have enjoyed free wifi. Maybe next time.
When my car was done I saw a mechanic park it in all of it's clean and shiny glory. I started to get ready to go when one of the tie-guys ran to my car and pulled it up in front of the door and then ran back in, came to me and said my car was done. He told me that he had it turned on with the a/c going since it was such a hot day. Seriously? Does this really happen? I went to pay for the oil change and my bill was actually $5 than what I pay at Jiffy Lube. I left very happy with my experience and I plan on going back again-I mean how can I not?
And so my point is-you gain customer loyalty by excellent customer service. If only everyone could understand that. I'd like to start with my flex spending account company.....
