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Image Credit: Gokoroko
My husband is back with another guest post, this time around he is sharing his thoughts on the fact that not all great deals are about the money you save, but instead about the service you receive.
“Attention Devoted Deal-seekers! I just got the most AMAZING deal on movie tickets! I took my wife out to the movies, purchased tickets, and they GAVE me the correct change that I was owed! Is that a ROCKIN’ BARGAIN or what? ”
How ridiculous would it be to read this type of endorsement about any business? Okay, actually, there are a few stores that I could name where getting the correct change is rare enough that it may seem close to miraculous, but most people only go to these places when they are real desperate, like they have a severed limb and need a bandage or something. In general though, nobody would be excited about just getting what they expected to get. As consumers we insist on receiving certain basic things…like getting the correct change. This is what I refer to as “Dial-Tone-Service”.
No one picks up the phone and then jubilantly shouts to nearby friends, “Hey! This phone has a dial tone!” (If you do get excited about a dial tone, contact me so I can sell you a Magic Bread Box. It is an astonishing device that miraculously transforms plain slices of white bread into fancy golden-browned food that chef-wizards call “toast”. Ooooh…)
The point is, great deals are not great because they give you what you can get everywhere else, they are great because they exceed your expectations or provide you with savings that are out of the norm. Likewise, great companies are not defined by how they treat customers when everything happens as it should. The true measure of a great company is how they handle hiccups and challenges. Consequently, I want to extol the virtues of one of my favorite companies, Disney.
Recently, my wife and I took a quick side-trip to Disneyland while I was traveling on business. As part of the trip we decided to splurge to see whether a Disney Hotel was worth the premium you pay to stay at one of their company-owned facilities. We had a wonderful time at the parks and strolling through downtown Disney where we enjoyed the carefree ambiance that permeates every clean, friendly corner of the development. However, when we got back to our room, there was a problem that dampened the euphoria of our day in Disneyland. Having stayed out late, we determined that attempting to remedy the situation that evening was not worth the trouble so we went to bed agreeing to attend to the matter in the morning.
We called down to the front desk early the next morning to have them address the problem and were assured that everything would be resolved that day. We spent another memorable day enjoying time together and again returned late at night, ready to sleep soundly at the Grand Californian Hotel. To my profound dismay, there was a breakdown somewhere in the service delivery process which resulted in the problem not getting resolved, in fact, the problem was worse.
The reality of life is that sometimes things go awry. Even the most polished and meticulous businesses will at some point experience an occasional bump in the road. What separates the good from the great is how they respond to these difficulties. Thankfully, I am happy to report that the Disney organization did not just offer me “Dial-Tone-Service”. They acknowledged the misstep, and then went out of their way to rectify the situation. They were gracious, apologetic, honest, and sincere in wanting to fix things and make them right. They exceeded my expectations and reaffirmed why our family has come to love the Disney organization. Because of their commitment to excellence, they continue to hold a place of prestige when our family decides where to spend our vacation dollars. Are they perfect? Of course not. But do they try harder than most? I believe that they do, and this adds value to the deal.
As an aside, the location of the Grand Californian Hotel was phenomenal! Being able to walk out of the Hotel into the parks was a huge benefit. But great amenities coupled with apathetic service will not win my loyalty. However, outstanding service that is meaningful and genuine will secure my devotion; for that I submit that the Disney experience is a wonderful deal. Not all great deals are about how much money you save, sometimes they involve paying a little more to get greater value because you receive superior service or a premium product. The key is to find those companies that provide value in their product or service offerings over the long run, ones that consistently deliver and therefore stand out.
If you have had an experience with a company that turned a bad situation into a good one, share your story so we can all expand our pool of “go-to” businesses. We all love a great deal, even if the great deal costs just a little bit more.
Vicki Montgomery says
My new favorite biz is All About Automotive in Gresham OR. It’s a small family run shop. They are super nice and easy to work with. They explain car issues in a easy to understand way. They do charge a bit more then your national change, but I like that I can support a local small business.
Leigh says
Our family prefers to pay a little more at REI if needed for their amazing return policy and guarantee. They are awesome.
Christy says
@Leigh What a coincidence! A package from REI just came in the mail an hour ago for my husband. I guess he feels the same way.
Mallory says
We just got a subscription to Hulu Plus and at first I was against it but my husband thought it would be good for us so we signed up. It’s 9.70 per month and I love it so much that we cancelled our cable. So not only is it saving us 40 dollars per month but also we had a problem with the program and the way it works with the playstation. I emailed them about the problem and the next morning I had an email in my inbox addressing my problem. It was something they knew about and were working to get the programming fixed. They credited us for a month and said that if we didn’t have the problem fixed they would credit us another month but it was fixed in about 10 days. Then when the playstation network was down they automatically credited us and sent an email saying they weren’t going to charge us for a service that we couldn’t use.
I can’t say enough good about Hulu Plus and how they went above and beyond for us. (I also love REI)