Great customer service stories that warm the heart

As Director of Customer Service, I read a lot of articles on the topic and find that many of these focus on poor customer service. That may be why it was refreshing when I ran across this article about Heartwarming Stories of Great Customer Service. It got me thinking about the ways we impact our customer’s lives each day and I asked our Cadet customer service team if they had any heartwarming stories to share. One of my Technical Support Representatives, Thomas, told me about the time he helped a canine customer. We received a call in March from a dog owner who was using one of our heaters to warm his pet room. The heater had stopped working properly, and given the time of year, there was still plenty of cold air coming in through the doggie door to the space he spent most of his day, so it was important to get the heater back up and running immediately. The customer called on a friend to help him fix the heater so their “old dog” (his words) would be comfortable. When they realized that there wasn't necessarily an easy fix for the heater, they called around to some local parts suppliers, but unfortunately the parts they needed were not readily available. Luckily, they called our main line and, after troubleshooting the situation with the customer, Thomas invited them to come down here to the factory. As a manufacturer, we sell our products through wholesalers and retailers, so we're not set up well to handle a lot of walk in business. As a fellow dog lover, Thomas understood that the customer just needed to have the heater fixed as quickly as possible. When they came in, Thomas had exactly what they needed waiting for them at the front desk to get the heater running as good as new. Later that day, we received an email from the customer, who described his interaction with Thomas as “Priceless”. He went on to say “Thank you for the ‘over the top’ help/generosity! Thanks for being a fellow Dog-Lover :)! I've added CADET to my ‘short’ list of businesses that still possess that “extra” something.” As his manager, it warmed my heart that Thomas recognized that a simple act of generosity would mean so much to the customer, after all, our pets are part of the family too. He truly embodied one of our core values of striving to do the right thing. I would love to hear from you about other Great Customer Service Stories.