It’s hard to find great videos about customer support. These five all deliver.
We beat the customer service drum pretty hard on this blog.
We’ve covered the ROI of great customer service for your business.
We’ve gone deep on how to hire, train and manage your support team.
And we’ve touched on dozens of other topics around support, from upselling to productivity.
But it’s pretty much all been written posts.
So today, I want to change things up a bit and share a few of my favorite customer service stories told on video.
These aren’t necessarily “how to’s”; instead, they’re incredible stories of support from companies around the world, designed to get you (or someone you know, like a boss or coworker), excited about the power of customer support.
I love these stories, and I promise that they’re worth the time it takes to watch them. They will get you thinking about how you can make your customers this happy, loyal and eager to share their experiences doing business with you:
1) How a Diet Coke Made a Customer’s Day
When Ross Shafer checked in to the Marriott Hotel in Orlando, he had been traveling all day. He was exhausted and hungry.
Calling down to room service, Ross ordered a cheeseburger and a Diet Coke. When his order arrived wrong, one Marriott employee, Maria Garcia, made a small gesture that ended up paying off massively in loyalty, goodwill and free press for the company.
2) A Nordstrom Manager to the Rescue
Customer service expert James Lloyd arrived at a speaking gig, only to realize that he had forgotten his shirt and tie.
With only 40 minutes before he was scheduled to take the stage, James panicked. It was 8:20AM, and none of the stores in the area would be opening for nearly two hours. After being turned away from a Banana Republic, James was running out of options. Finally, he called the local Nordstrom.
What happened next is an amazing example of taking your customer under your protection.
3) Amazing Customer Service in a Taxi (Yes, Really)
Most of us don’t expect limousine-level service when we get into the back of a taxi.
That’s part of what makes this story from Shep Hyken—one of my favorite customer service experts—so powerful.
Watch it and see how anyone in any business can set themselves apart.
4) Just Give ‘Em the Pickle
One of Bob Farrell’s restaurants lost the loyalty of a customer by trying to charge them for a side of pickles.
The experience led to the motto that Farrell became known for: “give ‘em the pickle”.
It’s an important lesson about not nickel-and-diming your customers that all of us would do well to be reminded of.
5) Cleaning Up Someone Else’s Mess
When Mark Sanborn moved to Denver, one of the first people he met was his new mailman, Fred.
While there’s nothing particularly unusual about that, it’s what Fred did over the coming months and years—including going out of his way to fix a mistake made by a different shipping company—that truly wow’ed Mark.
The punchline at the end, when Mark asks Fred why he delivers such incredible service, is my favorite part.
Did I Miss Any Great Customer Service Videos?
I hope these videos got you excited about customer service.
These are my favorites, but I know they’re not the only great video support stories out there.
Let me know what you thought of these in the comments, and please share links to your favorites if I missed any.
