Free Challenge Inside! You know it’s a good hospital when… May 31, 2008

Recently my fiance had surgery at a local hospital. We could not have been surrounded with a happier, nicer group of staff. This was my (our) first experience with the hospital system here in the Triangle (but then, do you really want many experiences?), but I still did not expect the level of service we received. I expected a name to be called, to be pointed this way or that, brusque demeanors. But instead, as I watched, everyone working there just seemed happy. They smiled even when alone, they cracked jokes, they called out to each other and said things like “Have a great evening!”. A happy staff means happy customers, typically. But in my past hospital experiences, I had not yet encountered it.

Every single person was kind, looked us in the eye, asked questions, made us feel comfortable, and had bedside manners to be rivaled. Before I was even allowed to take him home I thought, goodness, I almost want to sign up for a surgery–so we don’t have to leave! Now, how ironic is that? Not wanting to leave the hospital because you’re having a good time. Yes, it goes against logic; logically I wanted to get us home so I could continue to care for him. But it also got me thinking–

What is a place you received some of the best service? The challenge: it must be a place you never thought you’d have such a good experience.

“Fly someone else.” April 15, 2008

Southwest Airlines has arguably the best customer service of any airline. You can be well assured of being treated equally and wonderfully–I’ve certainly never had a complaint. But those customers who create trouble, mistreat the employees, or otherwise make the experience a pain for those around them get a hand-signed letter from the CEO of Southwest Airlines himself: “Fly someone else.”

Remember the adage “the customer is always right?”

We’ve all seen and heard horror stories where the customer took that adage a little too close to heart.

You’ll always come across “that” customer, or even a few at the same time, who make frivolous returns, scream in front of other customers over the most minor of infractions, harp on you about your prices, haggle for a discount, and then go across the street and buy from your competitor anyway.