At Your Service

Recently, I have had three wonderful interactions that reinforced the basic rule that good customer service makes for a loyal customer base.

1. Have you seen this clip?

I fell in the love with the lyrics and with just a little help from GoodSearch (which donates money to my shul — or another non-profit of your choice) discovered that it was written by Marcy Heisler with music by Zina Goldrich. Through a series of strange events, I ended up ordering their CDs through a site that they are no longer running. I, of course, did not know that at the time and after waiting…and waiting…and waiting for the discs to appear, sent an email to them. Well! Within a few hours, they had not only refunded my money but put the CDs AND the songbook into the mail. At no charge. Marcy happened to mention that they would be in SoCal the following month and of course I immediately bought tickets.

Which we never attended due to Peach’s ear surgery.

But we will definitely go the next time!!!

2. Some of you may recall that XM Radio has run a special Chanukah station the past two years. I listened loyally and heard the funniest guy this past year. His name is Sean Altman and he might be better known to parents at the brains behind the group that sang the theme song to “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?”

So I headed over to his website and sent him an email to let him know that I really enjoyed his music. He asked me to say something nice about his music…and sent me his CD so that I could listen to it before writing a testimonial.

How nice!!!

3. Not long ago, I ordered a book from Amazon and eagerly awaited its promised two-day arrival. Which slowly but surely turned into not one or two but three weeks. I’m not sure what I was waiting for…but I kept hoping it would be sitting on my doorstep when I got home from work. So I sent off a query to customer service. Hours later, Amazon responded with a heartfelt apology backed up by action; another copy sent overnight at NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE!!! Reinforcing my loyalty as an Amazon customer.

So here’s the thing; it doesn’t cost extra to treat customers well. In fact, treating customers poorly can have a negative effect on the bottom line.

Where’s the Torah? Hillel said it best. “Do not do unto others what you would not want done to you.”

What if the employees at a local and unspecified bureaucratic office took this to heart? I am thinking that when I asked them whether my kid’s interdistrict paperwork was to be sent to the elementary department or the special ed department that I miraculously would have received the same answer from all FOUR people with whom I spoke. Saving me two trips and a heap of aggrevation.

And that’s MY Torah.