These purple goldfish were lifted from the book, “Customer Love” by Mac Anderson. Kudos to Kristina Evey for her recommendation of the book.

#434. Lexus – “Lexus treats each customer as they would a guest in their own home”. It’s as simple as making sure the coffee is always fresh, the loaner car is always clean, or just giving a friendly smile and hello when passing a customer in the showroom”

#435 Jansport – “Jansport guarantees their zippers. They call any issues ‘zipper disease’. While the back pack is getting repaired they send a note to the owner saying the pack is in Warranty Service Camp. The bag gets returned with a cute note detailing all the things the bag did at camp.”

#436. Nordstrom – “It starts with employees. Nordstrom only has one rule . . . ‘Use good judgment in all situations’. It has only one goal . . . ‘To provide outstanding customer service”

#437 Nurse Next Door – Humble Pie. “When this Canadian home health care service provider stumbles . . . they deliver a fresh baked apple pie and a note apologizing for poor customer service. Each year they spend about $1,500 on pies, but they estimate it saves about $100,000 in business going elsewhere. That sounds like pretty strong ROI”.
[65% of customers that take their business elsewhere do so because of poor customer service]

#438. Capital Grill – “Personalized business cards for the servers. They make an effort to get to know their customers. They want you to build a relationship with your server.”

#439. United Airlines – “Captain Denny Flanagan is a purple goldfish. He had been known to buy food for planeloads of passengers on delayed flights. He snaps photos of dogs in the cargo hold to show owners their pets are safe and calls the parents of children traveling alone. He sends handwritten notes to frequent flyers and will raffle off bottles of wine”.

#440. Alaska Stock Images – “A handwritten note and a small gift after the first piece of business elicits a strong first impression.”

#441. Amazon – “Joe Nocera talks about how Amazon puts ‘Customers First’. He tells the story of how Amazon replaced his PlayStation system and made sure it arrived before Christmas. No charge for expedited freight.”

#442. Broadview Hotel – “The Broadview has a practice of calling guests in advance of there stay. They ask if there is anything special they need.”

#443. Ritz Carlton – “Planning for failure. Ritz Carlton uses ‘the lineup’. Each day the employees review guest experiences and discuss ways to improve service. The book talks about a guest that brought eggs and milk because of food allergies. Upon arrival the eggs were smashed and the milk soured. The employee arranged for milk and eggs to be flown and hand delivered to the hotel.”