The PURPLE GOLDFISH PROJECT: 1001 Examples of Lagniappe

Taken from an article on NYTimes.com

#327. Champers at David Yurman

“They’re offering a glass of Champagne as you enter David Yurman,”
- Kate Kreindler, a suburban student, referring to the high-priced jewelry store on Madison Avenue.

[Editors Note: As the French say, "If you say NO to champagne . . . you say NO to life"]

#328. Macy’s Return Sticker

At Macy’s, where the sales floor at this time of year looks something like a commodities exchange, executives recognized that people seeking to return an unwanted gift — an ugly wallet, a goofy sweater — do not want to offend the gift giver by asking for the receipt, and are frustrated that without one, many stores refund only the lowest price of the sale season. So Macy’s associates recently began affixing a small return sticker to each purchase, with a bar code that tells the amount that was paid.”

#329. Bergdorf Goodman’s ‘Branded Act of Kindness’

“Bergdorf sent out $100 gift cards, no strings attached, to some of its best customers this fall.”

[Full article at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/style/22service.html?pagewanted=2&sq=SALT%20&st=cse&scp=3&%20Pepper%20Group ]

From Mindy Luebke from The Paperwork Assistants

#331. Busse Automotive

“My local car repair, Busse Automotive in Mt Prospect, IL. washes my van for free after any work is done.”

[Footnote: This evening, I mentioned to my husband that I submitted ideas to your project. He reminded me that not only does Busse Automotive wash my filthy suburbanite mom mini-van but Mark Busse, the owner, personally sends a hand-written thank you for our business]

#332. Metropolis Performing Arts

“We have season tickets to our local theater, Metropolis Performing Arts in Arlington Heights, IL. When we receive the tickets in the mail, included are round Metroplis stickers that I can use to put on my calendar to remember our theater nights.”

#334. From Jack Campisi

ESPN Zone

“The bathrooms in the ESPN all have TV’s. You are guaranteed never to miss a moment of the action . . . even while you are doing your business”

[Editor's Note: Remember Jack . . . the job isn't finished until the paperwork is done]

#336. From Marty Desmond who left a comment on the post, ‘What is Your Purple Goldfish’ at http://www.theexperiencefactor.com

Gumba’s on Murphy Street in Sunnyvale, CA.

Kelly,

I went for breakfast, with friends, at one of our favorite places Saturday. We sat outdoors for the first time since street construction began months ago. As we were served, I watched how much fun the employees were having. I told my friends that it was great seeing the restaurant busy again and that I knew the construction hurt much of the business on that block.

I went back Tuesday evening for a quick dinner. As I was eating, the owner came up, patted me on the back and thanked me for my business Saturday morning. Then, he told me how happy he was to see my friends and inquired about them. He asked if the dad had found another job, knowing that he was laid off months ago.

We talked for a few moments more, and then he patted me on the back again, thanked me once more and walked off. I watched him walk away and thought about why I enjoyed that restaurant so much. The food is great, but it’s the experience that makes it worth going back. I realize that no fewer than 4 of his employees approached my friend to tell them how much they had missed his family. The culture of that business includes personal relationships whenever possible. I think that is a missing ingredient in so many businesses today.

This restaurant has endured 6 months of lagging sales, due to people wanting to stay away during construction. Yet, they were genuinely concerned about the lives of the people who walked through their doors. To me, every question of “how is your friend” is a purple goldfish.

Marty

#340. From Dave Carroll of ‘United Breaks Guitars’

Dave was a keynote speaker at the 2010 NewCommForum. I had a chance to catch up with him to discuss customer experience. He shared a great story about his Mom Sharon who manages all of the sales of his CD’s. Dave talked about how his Mom would knit a dish cloth for fans who bought 3 CD’s. This wasn’t advertised. Imagine the surprise when a fan receive that in the mail with their CD order.

If you haven’t seen Dave’s video (over 8.5 million views) here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo

#342. Heather Otto

Scooters

“The barista remembered me. I was running a 1/2 marathon weeks before and he made sure to ask about it: thoughtful”

#347. Submitted by Marty Desmond on the blog ‘The Experience Factor’ (www.theexperiencefactor.com)

Landers Chrysler Jeep

“In 1994, my ex-wife and I read an article about Steve Landers, owner of Landers Chrysler Jeep in Benton, Arkansas. Despite being located in a suburb of Little Rock, a small city, his dealership came within a couple cars from being the #1 Chrysler dealer in terms of # vehicles sold in 1993. In the article was a story about how a teacher once told him that he would not amount to anything. We were impressed with his story and decided to buy a car from him.

After we closed the deal, Steve gave us a package that included an invitation to a barbecue two weeks later. At that barbecue, we discovered why he sold so many cars.

The shop was immaculate, with brand new cars located in all of the stalls. As we were eating, one of the employees passed out gift bags which included a mug. Then, Steve got up and thanked everyone for our business. He said that, because he sold so many cars from around the state, some other dealerships did not like him. He offered to, if we ran into problems anywhere in the state, come and pick us and our vehicle up and bring us back. The final extra was to point out that there was one of each vehicle they sold in a service stall. With each vehicle was a mechanic who was ready to demonstrate how to maintain the vehicle, change tires, check fluids, etc.

His business was booming from word of mouth advertising. There was also a coffee mug from the gift bags which I used for 12 years. For 16 years, I’ve been telling that story. The barbecue was very cost effective advertising.”

#351. Submitted by Ted Simon

Starbucks in Terra Linda

“When the line gets really long, it’s common for one of the staff to come out with a tray of complimentary samples of the latest and greatest beverage. A nice treat while you wait in line”.

#353. Taken from Geno Church of Brains on Fire

Fiskars

Each new member of the Fiskars Community “Fiskateer” receives a limited edition pair of scissors. On the scissor is engraved their unique membership #. The scissors are also accompanied by a handwritten note welcoming them into the community.

#358. Virgin America

Virgin teamed up with Google to offer Free Wifi on its flights from November through January.

#360. Submitted by Anne Perschel

Mark at Chaffins Plumbing in Worcester, MA

“1st time out Mark did a quick fix for free. He was honest & won me over. I’ve been using him for 20 + years”

#362 Delta Shuttle from Laguardia

I flew Delta Shuttle today from Laguardia. Delta has a newspaper rack upon entering the commuter terminal. Grab a USA Today, NYT or WSJ compliments of Delta. Nice touch.

#364. Submitted by Jed Langdon from a comment on the post “What’s Your Purple Goldfish?”.
http://theexperiencefactor.com/whats-your-purple-goldfish/795/

“Hi Kelly,

I promised a Purple Goldfish and here it is, sorry it has taken so long!

My girlfriend’s father is a HUGE Pizza Express fan and I can now understand why. I’m not sure if you have Pizza Express in the US, but in the UK it is a large Pizza restaurant franchise with over 300 restaurants in the UK (it is called Pizza Marzano in some other countries). He visits his local Pizza Express on average about once a fortnight and is on first name terms with a lot of the staff there. When he walks in the chef usually begins to make his favourite dish, but what is even more impressive is that this is a starter that is no longer on the menu. This is a relationship that has been built up over time through him visiting the restaurant and not because he knows any of the staff, which is often the reason for a customer getting this treatment.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, my girlfriend’s father was admitted to hospital (fortunately he is going to be ok) and on hearing about him being in hospital the manager of his local Pizza Express took it upon herself to surprise him with his favourite pizza! She contacted the Pizza Express which was closest to the hospital and asked them to make and deliver the pizza to the hospital, free of charge. This is one of the kindest and most generous acts I have seen from a business, and nobody had expected this sort of thought and effort. Talk about making a customer feel valued, special and delivering service way above and beyond expectations!

Another great post Kelly, keep up the brilliant work!”

See all comments on Kelly’s post here:
http://theexperiencefactor.com/whats-your-purple-goldfish/795/#comments

From a talk today at a MENG chapter meeting by Mark Snyder, CMO of Kmart

#366. Sears Price Matching – Want to check prices when you are shopping for appliances at Sears. No problem – they’ll look up competitors online and match any price. Nice value

#367. K Mart has a program called K-Ching where they randomly reward customers at the cash register. If a customer uses a ‘Shop My Way Rewards card there are eligible. The point of sale system notifies the cashier if the customer is selected. The customer is then invited to press down the K-Ching button. Music comes on and the customer is told what they’ve won. Prizes range from products to a huge honking check for $5,000.

#369. Taken for Chip Bell’s site:

Wayzata Dental

A 60-year-old, 20+ person dental clinic in Wayzata, Minnesota, envisions their goal: to become the Nordstrom of dentistry. Dr. Jason McDowell, the clinic’s owner since 2004, has pursued that goal with a passion, and he has succeeded. Warm smiles with a lively “Hello, John!” greet you as you walk in the door. Amenities are offered to each guest on arrival. They may choose to relax with a heated neck pillow, listen to an iPod, hook up to WiFi,or watch a movie during the visit. The reception area contains three flat-screen televisions (listened to via headsets so as not to disturb the other guests). There are Xbox 360 video games and a virtual aquarium. A refreshment bar completes the anti-dentist office feel.”

#371. A comment from Courtney on Kelly’s post, “What’s Your Purple Goldfish?” by Kelly Ketelboeter

iTreadmill

“Here is my purple goldfish: I have an Ipod app called iTreadmill. There is a function that allows me to email my fitness/workout stats to myself and copy/paste it into excel for a nice, neat chart. Well, for whatever reason I wasn’t getting the nice. neat chart…so, I emailed the support guy. Within an hour, an I had a response. We then exchanged several more emails trying to troubleshoot the issue. The semi-final result was this: “I know what the problem is. Your email provider seems to be replacing the tabs between each field with spaces. Since Excel is looking for tabs between the fields, it does not separate them.
I’m not sure why the tabs are getting replaced, but I will look into it by creating my own yahoo email acct and trying this out.
If I can’t get it working for you them I will look into what kind of update I may need to do ao that you can use it. I may need to put in a comma separated value format that I’m sure will work. Meanwhile, im sorry for the inconvenience. Will let you know how it goes- may take a day or so to test this out.”

I have NEVER experienced customer service like this before, and was actually quite shocked. Thanks for doing this!”

#373. Schering-Plough Pays for Poison Control Calls

It’s not often that you hear goodwill towards a drug company, but one woman and her puppy had a pleasant surprise when calling the ASPCA poison hotline. Her dog had eaten seven Claritin tablets, and it was uncertain whether or not the puppy was in danger.

After dialing the hotline, the operator informed the distressed owner that the call would cost $65 to speak to a professional. But when the operator learned that a Schering-Plough product was the harmful substance, she informed the concerned dog owner that the drug company pays for the calls on any of their products.

The dog is now doing great, thanks to the generosity of the drug company.

Source: Consumerist

#375. Free Tickets From the Jet Blue People Officer

If you fly Jet Blue, you might just run into the mystical People Officer. One such passenger reports of the People Officer standing up mid-flight and announced that he had free tickets to give away to anywhere that the airline company flew. The man played trivia games, and handed out tickets to anyone who knew the answers. In all, around a dozen free tickets were handed out during the mid-flight games.

The Jet Blue employee then went on to ask if anyone had any suggestions or concerns with Jet Blue, and answered questions about upcoming possible promotions. Think he made any life-long Jet Blue customers from that one plane ride?

#377. BWI Airport Fast Park

The Airport Fast Park at the Baltimore Washington International Airport is a little different than other “park-n-ride” airport shuttles. When you enter their lot, an attendant greets you and shows you the best row to park your car so you don’t have to search for an open space. The shuttle meets you at your parked car so there’s no waiting at a shelter. Then the bus driver helps you with your luggage, and if it’s raining meets you with an umbrella.

While on the bus, the friendly driver actually talks to you, and on your way back the shuttle takes you directly to your car, with a complimentary bottle of water.

Who knew bus rides could be enjoyable?

Source: Simple Complexity

#379. From Marty Desmond

Growing up in southern Louisiana, I often heard the word Lagniappe; that little something extra. I also grew up to enjoy the local cuisine.

Last week, I found out that a restaurant, Louisiana Territory had a catering truck that served their food at various places here in
Silicon Valley. I looked on their website for the menu and schedule then, for a week, had a catfish poboy on my mind.

Yesterday I went and picked up food for the office. When I got back, instead of catfish, I had a blackened chicken poboy. While it was delicious, it was a disappointment.

I emailed the company and got an answer within an hour, offering the next sandwich free. At that point, the opinion in this office was a unanimous thumbs up.

#381. Take from a talk by Jim Pandise from salesforce.com:

Comcast

Jim talked about how he called up Comcast when his introductory rate for his bundle ended. Thinking his rate was going to skyrocket he was pleasantly surprised when they informed that his rate would be slightly lowered. They also gave Jim a couple of free movies as a ‘thank you’.

#383. From Nicolas Nelson

Great Harvest Bakery

“The Great Harvest Bakery is a relatively small franchise chain of
wonderful American-style bakeries that is growing slowly on purpose–they want to make extra sure that every new Great Harvest Bakery is top notch and fully reflects the ethos of the original one.

Lagniappe is what Great Harvest Bakery is all about– it comes across in a dozen ways. But the first one any visitor will notice immediately is the free bread tasting every time you come in the door.

Yep, everyone who even stops by gets a free slice of their choice of the day’s fresh-baked bread. A generous free slice. Whether or not you buy something. Whether or not you even stay in the bakery after you take their bread. Whether or not you say thank you. Free bread, every visit!

Of course, there’s a catch: the bread is unbelievably good. That free slice of bread will convince you to buy a whole loaf. We do, almost every week. The panini sandwiches are pretty amazing too, by the way (but not free).