Making Lemonade out of Lemons

I don’t want to disappoint fans of my curmudgeonly take on customer service. It has, after all, provided me with loads of entertainment to regale friends and colleagues.

But even I must concede that praise must be given where praise is due. Herewith are what I hope (but fear will not) be a frequent list, Good customer service experiences that deserve hosannas:

The staff of the Transportation Security Administration at LaGuardia’s Delta terminal.

Believe it or not, the x-ray machine ate my scarf a few weeks ago. I had placed my winter coat in a plastic tub at the airport security and had thrown my scarf on top of it. Then I watched it go through the x-ray machine. On the other side, out came the coat, but no scarf. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize the scarf was missing until I emerged from the plane in Chicago. “Oops!” I said to myself, “I must have left my scarf in New York!”

Three days later I was returning from my trip through the same airport. It was midnight. I walked dejectedly over to the TSA guards, sleepily waiting for the last plane of the night to leave. “Any chance you have a Lost and Found for articles lost here? I left a green alpaca scarf here early Monday morning.”

“Of course,” one of the guards said, helpfully. He walked quickly – quickly, mind you – to the TSA office at the end of the platform. There he picked up a clipboard with a log of items that had been left at security. He scanned it and, voila! At 6 am Monday there was an entry: “Long green scarf.”

I was given a phone number and a copy of the log. The next morning I called. The next day I had a Fedex package arrive at my office. I was reunited with my green scarf.

Bravo to the TSA!

The parking valet at Sonny’s Realpit Barbecue in Atlanta.

Even Atlanta can be cold in the winter. And this was a particularly cold day in January. A colleague and I had lunch with one of our large customers. When we emerged the temperature had dropped 10 degrees – it was probably 30 or so, with a blustery wind – and we needed to walk around the back of the restaurant to pick up our car.

We both dreaded the anticipated routine: Give your claim check to the attendant, wait 5 minutes while the attendant finds your key and then saunters at glacial speed to find the car. Then stand another 5 minutes while your car sits behind a long line of other cars waiting to be picked up.

We got to the valet attendant and handed over our ticket. He handed us our keys. The car was sitting at the curb. “Whaaaa?” we each began, confused.

“I saw you leaving the restaurant,” he said, “and I didn’t think you’d want to wait around. So I ran to get your car. It’s cold this time of year!”

Wow! Hats off to you, young man! (On second thought, keep your hat on, it’s cold. Thumbs up!)

My Audi dealer in Fairfield, CT.

So my wife and I leased a lemon. It happens. Of course, we didn’t realize it was a lemon until 13 months after the lease date, just a few weeks after the Connecticut lemon law deadline for asking for another car. Thereafter, the car lived in the dealer’s garage more months than in our driveway.

But we’re not complaining! Why? Because our misery turned out to be an extremely pleasant experience. You see, we would drop the car off in the morning and Carlos, the attendant, would say, “Mr. Mayer, we’ll call you at 3 o’clock and let you know what’s going on.”

And at 3 pm, give or take a couple minutes, the phone would ring. It was Carlos, with a report. “Sorry, Mr. Mayer, we need to order a part. It should be in by Thursday. Would you like a loaner?” The loaner would be dropped off for me at my home.

Of course, on Thursday, the part would not come in. But that was OK. Because, like clockwork, I would get a call! “Sorry, Mr. Mayer, the part has been delayed. But we’ll let you know where it stands tomorrow around 2 pm.” And sure enough, at 2 pm on Friday it was Carlos: “Mr. Mayer, just wanted to let you know the status.”

Go ahead! Surprise me with better service than that. If you’re going to lease a lemon, better to do it with people that serve lemonade!

Kudos, Carlos!

Have a story about great customer service? Let me hear about it. One can’t go through life whining!