My wife took her car for its annual service last week. Because we didn’t have the brand’s dealer in our town, we had to travel over 100kms. A bit of a hassle, but no big drama.

However, when the workshop manager called my wife to let her know the service was complete, he mentioned they’d found a puncture in a rear tyre.

She fully expected him to follow up with “....so, we’ve obtained a quote to repair it. If you’re happy, we’ll organise to have it fixed today so you can drive it home with nothing to worry about. We’ll just add it to your bill.”

But he didn’t.

Instead, he said “... so, we’ve put the spare tyre on. When you drive home, make sure you don’t exceed its safe limit of 80km an hour. You can sort it all out once you’re back.” 

What a missed opportunity.

The dealership missed the mark wildly by not going the extra mile with its customer service. Instead of delighting a customer and building brand equity, they did the opposite. (They could have even added a margin and made an additional profit!)

Conversely, a week later, I ordered a takeaway coffee from a local cafe and chocolatier. As I turned to leave, drink in hand, the barista called out and said ‘you forgot this.’ In a little paper bag were two handmade chocolates that I hadn’t expected (or paid for.)

Small action, big impact.

Customer service matters.

We need to make it easy for people to do business with us, and add value wherever we can. If we can surprise and delight our customers - and go the extra mile - we’ll have them for life.