Great Customer Service Leads To Water Slide

It had been an extremely long day driving out of Colorado, through Wyoming and into South Dakota. We had pushed hard throughout the morning and early afternoon to get to South Dakota so that we could see the Crazy Horse Memorial as well as Mt. Rushmore on our official "final day" of fun vacation stuff. We made both monuments without any problem and majestic would be an understated word to describe both sites. We were truly blown away and so glad we had added the stops to our Harper Family Road Trip 2008.

When we left Mt. Rushmore, our second stop of the day, we were ready to make it into Rapid City, South Dakota, find our hotel and let the kids enjoy the waterpark that was apparently part of the allure for why Kathy had picked that particular hotel as our place of slumber. We were all tired. We were all cranky. We were all on each others' nerves. Those final 20 minutes from Rushmore seemed like an absolute eternity.

The thing you need to know about us is we are a wing it family. We did not make reservations for this particular hotel because we weren't 100% sure when or if we would even be staying in Rapid City. We decided if this apparently popular hotel had a room for us then so be it. If not, then we would suffer the consequences (which would be hours upon hours of whining and crying from the boys about the promised waterpark) and find another place to lay our heads.

We drove into Rapid City and our map was unclear as to how to get to the hotel. The website information Kathy had printed off became clear as mud; potentially a side effect from our worn out state at the time. I pulled up my trusty iPhone and tapped in the address and viola! Still lost! I surrendered and asked Kathy to give me the number which I promptly dialed.

A wonderfully upbeat woman answered on the other end. I inquired about directions on how to get to where she was from the road I was currently on. She gave great directions and as we were about to disengage I just happened to ask if they had any rooms available. "You mean you don't have a reservation?" I replied with the obvious. A tiny uncomfortable laugh escaped her mouth and she said, "Let me check. Hmmm yes you are in luck we have one room left - it's a suite, what's your name...." I gave her my appropriate information and pushed on the gas.

I high tailed it over to the hotel and walked in to a smiling face that I just knew had to be the woman I had just spoken to moments ago. I started to say my name as I approached the desk and she said, "You must be Steve." The warm confident young lady instantly made this last leg of my trip an absolute pleasure. "I have everything ready for you sir. We didn't talk about price though. That suite is a bit pricey at $ 249. I hope that is okay?"

The price was higher than Kathy had printed out, though in truth, it was for a bigger more spacious room. I said, "No problem. Thank you so much for holding it for me." She smiled and processed my key. "What time does the waterpark close?" I asked.

"You just made it. It closes at 9PM." It was 7:15.

"Great. Does our room key get us access?" I asked.

"No sir. The waterpark is $ 49.95" I instantly assumed that meant per person. The color left my face. My kids would be crushed. We can't pay $ 49.95 per person for just 1.5 hours. Oh it was going to be a long night for sure I thought to myself.

"Listen is there any kind of discount we might be able to get given there is only a few hours left and we can't take advantage of the park tomorrow as we are leaving really early?" As with most things in life you never know for sure until you ask.

She reached below her desk and with an enthusiastic smile she said, "Here, it's on the house." She gave me four waterpark wrist bands. I was overwhelmed by her random generosity. I wasn't looking for it to be free and actually argued with her that I would pay something, anything. She refused and said, "You better step on it. The kids are going to want as much time as they can get. You will too," she smiled.

She was absolutely right. After a very long but incredible day I got to see my boys and Kathy absolutely illuminate as they popped out of the three story water slides, got sprayed by the water flood and lazily traveled throughout the lazy river. It was a blast and something we all enjoyed immensly. It was a perfect ending to a perfect day (crankiness and other illustrative issues left off for posterity) and something that I am sure our entire family will remember for the rest of our lives.

I later called down to the front desk to inquire about food delivery options and Ms. Ya the fine young woman that helped me earlier answered. She again was spot on with her suggestions and before I hung up I just had to tell her once again how much my entire family appreciated her act of generosity. You could hear her upbeat voice pick up an octave or two as this direct show of appreciation bouyed her already enthusiastic spirit.

I later discovered that the hotel's discount was for $ 49.95 for up to five people so I misunderstood the pricing she gave me for the water park admission. Whether it was $ 49.95 or $ 200.00 the simple act of what Ms. Ya did made such an impression on me and was so appreciated by our entire family. It was a definite highlight of our amazing trip. La Quinta will absolutely be hearing from me because as you all know, good customer service is something that needs to be recognized and appreciated as this experience is no exception.

And of course...if you ever find yourself in Rapid City, South Dakota I would absolutely suggest you stay at the La Quinta and check out the WaTiki Waterpark but be sure to make a reservation and get there early to give ample time to enjoy the water slides. They were scary as hell for a guy like me but if my kids could do it I refused to be a wimp and not partake. I am glad I did.

If you go be sure to ask for Ms. Ya and tell her the Ripple Guy sent you!

Ripple On!!!

Security With Service

His welcoming smile seemed to say it was going to be okay and the stress of getting through security was almost over. He extended his hand and said, "Good morning my name is Lance, where to Stephen?" His kindly use of my formal first name shook me awake from my early morning haziness and desperate need for coffee.

"Nice to meet you Lance. Headed to Las Vegas," as I gave him my boarding pass and driver's license.

"Excellent. Lots of things going on in Las Vegas this week it seems. Have seen off quite a few passengers going there this week. Are you going up for a little fun," he impishly asked as he completed his check of my boarding pass and driver's license.

I answered him that my trip, unfortunately was all business; a quick up and back in fact. He simply smiled and said, "Well you'll be walking through here tomorrow afternoon with a smile having not lost what you didn't put down." With that, Lance TSA Agent # 25082 gave me another big smile and said, "Do try and have a little fun while your up there won't you? Have a safe flight Stephen."

If you read my BLOG with any regularity, you know I am big on customer service. So imagine my surprise when I found this rather unique example of customer service occur right before my eyes and in one of the most unlikely places....the security gate of an airport!

As I meandered through the remainder of the line I continued to watch Lance interact with other passengers as they progressed through his check point. Each time he had something unique and different to say to each person. He would comment on the uniqueness of a person's last name or remind the person when their driver's license was going to expire. He wished one young woman a happy 23rd birthday a week from the next Tuesday which, as you can imagine, made her smile big time. I think she may have been in her early thirties which seemed to help strengthen her glow from the special attention that now other passengers were giving her.

Whoever the passenger/customer was, Lance made his point to do what he could to make the experience of going through his place in the security hierarchy just a little bit better. I wished I could have stayed there a little bit longer and watched him work his magic as there was no doubt Mr. Lance was creating a positive Ripple in the hearts and minds of the otherwise stressed, rushed, irritated and not yet awake morning travelers. That's good customer service in my mind.

I found myself looking for Lance TSA Agent # 25082 this past Friday as the family and I made our way through the security line at the airport to head to El Paso. Unfortunately he was no where to be found and the two encounters we had with separate TSA agents were not nearly as memorable. Unlike Lance, neither seemed to relish their job or their customers with nearly as much enthusiasm. Sad, but true.

We are all in the business of serving a customer each and every day (see my other posts on customer service). We can choose to simply do the deed and get the job done or we can take a page from Lance's book....and we can simply choose to do it better.

Which choice do you think a Rippler would make?

Fortune Cookie Says....Customers and Friends For Life

One of my favorite sayings when I give a talk, do a corporate training or coach a client goes something like this.....

"People seldom remember what you said. People rarely remember what you did. But people will always remember how you made them feel."

I guess it was about a year ago that this little Chinese food restaurant called Hunan Ranch opened up near our house. My entire family became instant fans because the food was so good. We easily went there for lunch or dinner a few times a month. That was...until we discovered FREE DELIVERY. I am quite positive we will have to take a second mortgage out on the house to pay for all these Chinese food cravings that now seem to strike without warning and come with complete disregard for our household eating budget.

To be perfectly honest we started ordering more regularly for another reason than it was easy, we were lazy and the delivery was free. No...we ordered for the delivery guy. Perhaps the greatest delivery guy ever!

The first time the delivery guy showed up to our house with our order he struck a cord with my youngest son Josh. He showered him with atttention as my wife paid for our order. His playful way of connecting with Josh who is four mind you, was hard to ignore. He affectionately called Josh his "little buddy" and Josh swelled with pride at the sound his new nickname.

Every delivery since has only gotten better. Josh and the delivery guy have become very good friends! The delivery guy, whom I am ashamed to admit we don't know his name (yet), always inquires about where "his buddy Josh is" and it has become sort of a game for Josh to hide out and jump out to give "his" buddy a big strapping hug. The delivery guy eats it up and really seems to enjoy it too.

I am convinced we get our orders faster than anyone else and I won't swear to it but I think our portions some how get super sized! Plus he always seems to have a few extra fortune cookies for both of my boys that just so happen to come with each hug. My oldest son Zachary even has gotten into the act of hugging and high fiving the guy when he comes with our delivery. It's quite a sight to see them blast down the stars when they hear the doorbell and see who gets to give a hug first.

Each delivery is fun to watch and by and large would be enough to keep us loyal customers forever. But it was something that happened the other day that just blew me away and made me want to share this with you.

Kathy and Zach were about to go pick up Josh from daycare when there was knock on the door. Kathy answered the door and there stood our favorite delivery driver complete with a big old smile on his face. He said he hoped he wasn't disturbing her but that he just wants to stop and say hello to his favorite customers. He asked Zachary where his "other buddy" was and Zach explained Josh was still at school. Zach said he seemed a little bit sad to have missed Josh because out from behind his back came a handful of fortune cookies that he had hoped to give to them both.

He had just stopped by to give them to Josh and Zach.

No order had been placed.

No reason to make a stop other than an intentional act of kindness that was guaranteed to make two little boy's day!

An act that has since become legendary in the old Harper household.

Talk about customer service! We were already guaranteed customers but now Hunan Ranch has evangelistic customers that will hopefully bring many, many more customers to this great little restaurant. Though I must admit I suspect our days of ever eating there are over....the kids won't hear of it. They only want delivery!

Customer service over an above the call of duty and an act that I bet leaves even Confucius speechless.

So if you are running a business, working with customers or simply have a chance to impact someone's day, what kind of Fortune Cookie act might you conjure up?

Psst....here's a secret....your customers will swell with adoring pride, just like Zach and Josh do, simply because you did something unique and memorable.

Talk about a Ripple.

Ripple On!!!


Steve