The PURPLE GOLDFISH PROJECT: 1001 Examples of Lagniappe

#516 Taken from a blogpost on ‘Baller Status’

Gold to Go

“Talk about stuntin’ … what if you could hit the ATM for gold bars? In Dubai, you can do just that.

At Abu Dhabi’s top hotel, they are upping the ante in the race for Gulf luxury by the addition of a gold-dispensing machine.

According to reports, the Emirates Palace has just added an ATM-style kiosk machine, which offers small bars up to 10 grams or coins with customized designs.

It monitors the daily gold price and charges accordingly. All you have to do is put in your cash, and you got gold! They plan to add a credit card option at a later date.

The Associated Press reports that the idea came from German entrepreneur, Thomas Geissler, who began testing the cash-for-gold machines in his native country in 2009.

It debuted at the Dubai on Wednesday (May 12), and is being billed as the first international foray for Geissler’s “Gold to Go” brand.”

#519 from Ann-Marie Lavoie

Market Basket Supermarket

“I’d like to add, Market Basket Supermarket to the Purple Goldfish. They always have complimentary coffee, regular and decaf, avalible to customers while they shop. They also have free cookies for the kids at the bakery.

The particular store I’d like to nominate is at
27 Portsmouth Ave #6
Straham, NH 03885
(603) 772-2952

Thanks!”

#525. Submitted by James Sorenson @expertinservice from a post by Gwen Tanner on Gwen’s Blog:

Skullcandy

I want to share a story about some good, no EXCELLENT, customer service I just received.

I had (still have) my heart set on securing a pair of Skullcandy Aviator Headphones (I wanted (still want) a pair of brown/gold ones). So when they were taking pre-orders, I eagerly ordered mine. The advertised shipment date was June 21. I believe I ordered mine late May or early June.

Just a couple of days ago I was thinking “hmm, wonder what happened with my headphone.” But I didn’t much more about it being that I hadn’t been charged because they haven’t been shipped. I’m aware of problems with manufacturing and ship dates, etc.

So, today, Saturday afternoon, I heard the doorbell ring and it was FedEx. I wasn’t expecting any packages, but I opened the door anyway. He was nice and friendly, explained how hot it was outside and showed me how much he was sweating (too much information, but a friendly guy nonetheless). I’m wondering who the package was from, and I see Skullcandy on the box.

Now, I’m excited because even though I didn’t get a shipment notice that my headphones had gone out, I was still pretty excited to get them! I ripped open the box, like a kid on Christmas day, and pulled out a bunch of paper and found the headphones… hmmm, these were not what I ordered at all! These were their Holua Gold earbuds! What??? Now I’m getting a perturbed, after waiting so long, they send the wrong item?

So, I went back into the box and grab all the paper to see if I was charged for these things. I notice on the packing slip there were no charges made to me.

Then I read the accompanying letter:
Fellow Skull: (that would be me)
Thanks for your patience in receiving the hottest headphones on the planet. We’re sorry it’s taking longer than we expected for your Roc Nation Aviators to arrive. We hope you enjoy these Holua ear buds as a token of our dedication to maintain the highest level of service possible. Please know your order is at the very top of our list and you will receive your goods as soon as they are available.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me directly… (from Customer Service Supervisor at Skullcandy)

What!!?? Not only were they thoughtful enough to apologize and let me know my order is delayed, they wrote me a nice letter with a very nice gift (Holua earbuds are $95!) AND sent it by FedEx Home delivery for me to receive it on a Saturday.
I was grinning from ear-to-ear and even said “Awwwwww! Thats so nice!” Even though it was not necessary to do this, I think making your company, your brand, your service, and your name stand many heads and shoulders above the rest, is what will give you customers for life. And that is why I’m now, from this day, a Skullcandy customer for life!”

#529. Submitted by Kevin Sheehan

Artuso’s Bakery

“Artuso’s Bakery in the Bronx has been on the Purple Goldfish bandwagon for decades. There are many times when you go in and out of the blue, you’ll get a free cookie or pastry or even a whole cake if it’s near the end of the day. The owner, who passed away recently, loved kids and equally loved giving them a little treat from time to time. The best part was, this wasn’t something that happened every time, so it didn’t become just another thing that you expected to get.”

#531. Ann-Marie Lavoie

Zenni Optical

“I was looking to order an extra pair of eye glasses online. A customer of mine had told me about Zenni Optical. Well I was just checking out the eye glasses, and found they offer single vision lens at no additional cost. That makes me want to order through them.”

#533. Honda of Westport

Honda does one better than the standard 7 year / 100,000 mile powertrain warranty. Buy a certified pre-owned and they give you a lifetime warranty on the powertrain.

#535. Mystic Pizza

Mystic Pizza gives away a little matchbox full of mints with the check. A little slice of heaven with a little something extra for good measure.

#537. Submitted by Rick Cerrone

Here is a superb summary of the Plus concept by John Torre:

Normally, the word “plus” is a conjunction, but not in Walt’s vocabulary. To Walt, “plus” was a verb—an action word—signifying the delivery of more than what his customers paid for or expected to receive.

There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of examples of Walt “plussing” his products. He constantly challenged his artists and Imagineers to see what was possible, and then take it a step further…and then a step beyond that. Why did he go to the trouble of making everything better when “good enough” would have sufficed? Because for Walt, nothing less than the best was acceptable when it bore his name and reputation, and he did whatever it took to give his guests more value than they expected to receive for their dollar.

Perhaps one of the best examples of Walt’s obsession for “plussing” comes from Disney historian Les Perkins’ account of an incident that took place at Disneyland during the early years of the park. Walt had decided to hold a Christmas parade at the new park at a cost of $350,000. Walt’s accountants approached him and besieged him to not spend money on an extravagant Christmas parade because the people would already be there. Nobody would complain, they reasoned, if they dispensed with the parade because nobody would be expecting it.

Walt’s reply to his accountants is classic: “That’s just the point,” he said. “We should do the parade precisely because no one’s expecting it. Our goal at Disneyland is to always give the people more than they expect. As long as we keep surprising them, they’ll keep coming back. But if they ever stop coming, it’ll cost us ten times that much to get them to come back.”

#539. Virgin Atlantic

You can sent text messages on flights.

#541. Trek Bicycles of Fairfield, CT

“Every weekend, owner Lisa ‘Lou’ Joaquim assembles a large tent outside her store where customers can stop for free brake and gear tune-ups. “It’s a quick adjustment and it encourages people to come into the store and hang out,” she says. The store has become a gathering place, hosting events that have drawn as many as 450 people.”

#543. Submitted by Tim Heath

Port Chester Coach Diner

“I recently enjoyed a business lunch on the fly with a colleague. Wewere pleased with the rapid and attentive service and quality of food. I walked away from the table content; but you guessed it, I was seeking a little something more from the dessert to satisfy my appetite. Much to our pleasure, there was a container of complimentary small chocolate chip cookies morsels next to the cash register. My colleague and I looked at each other simultaneously with a smile and then enjoyed. We both consumed two free cookies and we shared our pleasure with the owner/manager who was observing our enthusiastic response to his offering. A pleasant ending to a fine lunch. I look forward to my next meal at the Port Chester Coach Diner”

#545. Taken from a tweet by @SpaAtlantis in New Orleans

Spa Atlantis

“A little lagniappe can make visting your favorite spa more special. We offer complimentary parking, ring cleaning w/manis, mimosas & wine!”

#549. Submitted by Ariel Savrin-Jacobs

“Dear Stan,

I spoke to you after blogging about your purple goldfish project this summer when I interned for STELLAService. I’m happy to finally say I’ve found a purple goldfish! I checked your list, so if its updated I think this is a new one.

Last week I bought a few fun things online for my dorm room from PerpetualKid.com. It was my first time buying from them, and I’ll certainly be a repeat customer. The site is overall really fun (for example, I got measuring cups that stack like a Russian nesting doll), and it definitely didn’t hurt that my order placed at 10 pm on the 18th shipped the next morning and arrived on the 20th. But the best part of it all was the surprise “finger monster” (for lack of better words) sitting on top when I opened the package. While I don’t quite know what to do with it, I sure got a kick out of it, and I bet many other customers probably did too. I’ve attached a picture of this rubber “finger monster”. Hope it helps on your way to 1,001 and I will let you know if I come across any others!

Sincerely,
Ariel”

#551. Enterprise 50 million tree pledge

“Enterprise Rent-A-Car — the largest rental car company in North America — marked a significant milestone in February 2007: its 50th anniversary. To commemorate this achievement, thank the customers and communities that made this success possible, and look forward to the next 50 years, Enterprise made an unprecedented gift to The Arbor Day Foundation. Enterprise has formed a partnership with the Foundation to plant 50 million trees over the next 50 years a gift, in total, of more than $50 million dollars.

In an outstanding example of a public-private partnership, The Arbor Day Foundation will work with the U.S. Forest Service to plant these trees one million of them each year in National Forests located in the United States, Canada, and Europe to restore areas damaged by fires, storms, and disease, as well as to help expand and preserve habitats for endangered species.

The Enterprise gift to The Arbor Day Foundation is the largest in the charitys history. To put this gift into perspective, there are 25,000 trees in New York’s Central Park. Planting 1 million trees a year is like planting a new Central Park every 10 days for the next 50 years.”