Several of my blogs are inspired by service delivery failings of one sort or another. Every once in a while however, I hear about a customer experience that depicts service above and beyond. As a little change in pace, I'd like to share one such story.
Last spring, Paul, the brother of a friend of mine, and his business partner Steve started a mobile restaurant and catering business on the Sunshine Coast. Like most new businesses, Feastro Taco Truck & Catering suffered it's share of teething pains, but thanks to a lot of hard work and some great weather, by mid summer, things were beginning to take shape.
Then one especially hot summer day, much to Paul and Steve's horror, the generator that powered their refrigeration and other electrical needs suddenly up and quit.
An emergency trip to the local hardware store brought both good news - a relatively minor part was all that was needed to put things right; and bad - that part would have to be ordered and could take as long as ten days to arrive on the coast!
For Paul and Steve, losing 10 days in peak season was simply not an option, especially after they'd worked so hard to build up healthy number of regulars, who understandably expected the little purple truck to be at a particular place at a particular time. Buying a new generator would mean another dip into the chilly pool of debt, and renting one would put a serious crimp on the margins which had only recently started to show a little potential.
Frantically, Paul started calling parts suppliers further afield, but the story was pretty much the same all over. Finally at 2 minutes to five he made one last call to only half expecting anyone to pick up so late in the day. Much to his surprise, not only was the call promptly answered by the friendly voice of Al Watson at Surfwood Supply; they had the part!
Now the only problem was it was after five and the part was in Langley, some 60 miles and a ferry crossing away. But Paul keep talking and despite the hour, Al seemed in no great hurry and conveyed a sincere desire to help. As it turns out, Paul's wife, Laura, happened to be in Vancouver visiting friends. Al, who was headed that way once he closed up shop, suggested a meeting spot and a few hours later, delivered the part.
The long and the short of it, by ten the next morning Paul had the generator up and running and while as a result of this ordeal, his heart may have missed a few, thanks to Al at Surfwood, the business never missed a beat.
As you can imagine, the Feastro Team remains extremely grateful to Al for literally going the extra mile to help keep the business up and running. I suspect the next time he's up the Sunshine Coast, there will be a tasty meal waiting for him.
I'd recommend the pulled pork.
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great story Jim and way to go Al! Surfwood Supply is my kinda place!
ReplyDeleteTerrific story Jim, and you know what, it also follows a pattern I've seen here. Whenever you're dealing with another small business owner (as opposed to a monolith), the chances of getting that service which goes the extra mile are maginified many times over. Good on us small business owners huh? :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Jim and others on the blog,
ReplyDeleteThis is indeed a great story and exemplifies that Al is probably also a genuinely nice person apart from also being a good businessman. And that makes all the difference because what he did was real and genuine. As Zephyr says, probably something you get more from self-employed / small businesses. So how do you get that level of service and commitment in larger organisations? Probably by getting employees more directly involved with the results and motivated and rewarded for going that extra mile. A lot of business objectives / targets are numbers driven on sales etc. How many of you actually measure customter service and have incentives related to those results, and how many of you notice / recognise and reward employees for doing it?
From Justin. Thanks.