Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Tuesday's Tribute - To exceptional customer service

Not too long ago, I wrote a post about a great day that I had. I had time to myself, went shopping, ate at one of my favorite restaurants, enjoyed a good book, held a newborn baby. It was a fabulous day.

I happened to mention that there were sneaky little red onion pieces scattered throughout my otherwise delectable Turkey Waldorf Salad that I got at Wildflower Bread Company. It was a small part of my post, but just a few short days after the post went up, I came to realize that my little mention of the onions (of which I had asked to not be included) did not fall upon deaf ears.

I received an email from the founder of Wildflower Bread Company, Louis Basile, who was rather bummed to find out that my salad wasn't prepared just as I ordered it. We've emailed a couple of times about the experience, and I can't tell you how flabbergasted I was to actually receive an email from the founder of the company itself. Each email was personal, and obviously not a canned response to an email.

We've all experienced the checker at the grocery store who didn't give a rip and had no personality, and we've all had experiences with pushy retail people or businesses who don't operate with the customer's best interest in mind.

In a time when people are in such a hurry and so many are all just about making a buck, it was so refreshing for me to have such a positive experience with a restaurant that I love. The Wildflower Bread Company has been a favorite place for me and my girl friends when we have a mom's night out, and just like I talked about in my previous post, it's also a place I love to go even by myself.

A few unwanted red onions wouldn't have stopped me from going back to Wildflower - I realize people make mistakes, so it really wasn't a big deal. But, the fact that this company cares so much about keeping their customers happy has definitely sealed the deal in making me a lifelong customer. And, Mr. Basile is sending a coupon for a complimentary meal for my next visit.

I just wanted to make sure and recognize Mr. Basile and his restaurant for going above and beyond. It's also a nice reminder to all of us that good customer service is still alive and kicking!




This post is a part of Tuesday's Tribute over at Angie's 7 Clown Circus.

3 comments:

Deb said...

this is exactly the kind of thing that is just so rare... and totally makes me want to support their business (too bad they aren't here in d.c.)... however, what i really want to talk about is the original post. i guess i was on my hiatus when you wrote it, because i missed it the first go round. so, anyway, i had my baby 12 years ago, do i still qualify for lasagna, bread and brownies? or even just pizza and cheesy bread?

Molly said...

That is amazing! Too bad I don't have one around here!

Jenners said...

Cool! I wish more companies would realize the value of customer service! They just got themselves a customer for life!

 
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