Service with a stick

I have found the definitive clue that our economy is in full rebound. I’ve written about this topic before, but today I have two new entries in the  “Why things are getting better” series. Number one. I pulled into a Shell gas station and was immediately pounced on by a teen with a stick. I fought him bravely trying to defend my family and was about to finish him off when he yelled, “I was just going to clean your windows!!” Ok…the part about him attacking me was made up, but it appears that this particular Shell station has hired two attendants to pump gas and clean windshields. To anyone not from New Jersey and under 40 years old this is unheard of. I told the guy he missed a spot on my windshield and went inside to ask what was going on. Apparently this gas station has decided that customer service is going to be their way out of the economic downturn. These guys were getting paid a wage and declining tips. I think Shell is on to something. This is my new favorite gas station.

Second. I ordered some checks from the bank the other day and about 4 hours later I get a call from the bank telling me that I could get the checks free if I changed to another type of account and since I get direct deposit it wouldn’t cost me anything. Also…they could take care of my fees on my savings account if I swapped some money around every month. So to recap, since it will sound more incredible this way.

My gas station has assigned a guy to pump my gas and wash my windows and my personal banker calls me to give me money back every once in a while.

You watch…this is the start of a new prosperity.

I WILL have a nice day thank you

I figured I should write about a good customer service day since I complain a lot when I don’t like something. It started at my least favorite place…the cell phone company. Verizon has become so big that I think they are now offering oil changes at their stores. To get your cell phone switched you have to go to the “special” store, make it through the gauntlet of “special offers” from the sales people, and the get on the, you guessed it, “special list”. I happened to catch them looking the other way and escaped the first two steps, the first person I talked to put me on the list, and within 15 minutes they actually agreed with me and gave me a new phone. No signatures, no new contract. Nothing. I do suspect that they are setting me up for some future whammy. I’ll let you know. After that I was encouraged by my success and visited one of my actual favorite places, Publix. They didn’t happen to have the one thing I was looking for on the shelf and I did something I never do…I asked if there was any “in the back”. Here is how the “Is there any in the back?” question gets handled usually.

1. – Employee laughs out loud and says no.

2. – Employee realizes that this is a chance to take a 20 minute break and “goes to check”.

3. – Employee asks the manager who does one of the above for them.

4. – Employee goes into the mysterious “back” and comes back with something completely different that they have determined “might work”

I happened to ask a person who not only knew what I was looking for, but actually said “I think that truck came in yesterday, let me check”. She came back with the exact thing I asked for. I almost hugged her. I managed to hold back because I didn’t want to be the “crazy dish wash detergent guy” every time I went there. I hate to be a pessimist, but I believe in karma going both directions. Let’s see what happens tomorrow.