In a recent blog entry, I asked for your comments on practices and policies that annoyed you as a customer.  http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/helpdesk/?p=13.  Thanks for your comments (115 at latest count).   

Now, I’d like to switch things around and ask you (assuming it’s ever happened) about good service that you’ve received.  What happened?  What did the company, organization, or person do that made you remember the good service?  How did it help you, and more importantly, what effect did it have on your emotional state?  Did you do anything to acknowledge the good service?  What and how can you learn from the experience?

I’ll start:  last week, I was out of town on business.  The day before I left, I e-mailed another client there about meeting with him about a proposal.  In the e-mail, I asked if he could validate a parking sticker for the visitor’s parking lot that his organization had.  The client e-mailed back, saying that he wasn’t sure, but he would find out.

About an hour later, he e-mailed me again, telling me that he already had the validation sticker, and that all I had to do when I met him the next day was attach it to my parking ticket.  I obviously was delighted at this news and was especially impressed that he exceeded my expectations.

Many of you who expressed frustration with service mentioned or at least alluded to similar issues regarding your expectations and how they might have been unmet.  The example with the client is the “flip side of the coin.” 

What similar stories can you share?  What lessons do you think we can take from your stories?