Friday 25 September 2015

I doesn't hurt to say 'thank-you'.

Sometimes it is necessary to complain about something.  Sometimes it is something 'big' and sometimes it is something that with hindsight we see as 'trivia'.  But nevertheless we seem to find no difficulty in registering our complaint, either on line or by telephone or even in person.

I thought about this yesterday when something quite remarkable happened.   At 11.30 on Wednesday morning I decided to order two Winter sweaters from Woolovers. (if you haven't dealt with this excellent firm do have a look at their website) and I rang their order line.   It was answered by a charming young man who took my order promptly and efficiently, made sure he had all the information he required, said he hoped I would like the sweaters when they arrived - and we parted company.)

Yesterday morning, (Thursday), less than twenty-four hours later the two sweaters were delivered by the postman to my doorstep.   I tried them on, they fitted perfectly, I liked them and their colours, (one deep pink and one blue/green) were really lovely.   No complaints there then.

I thought about how easy we find it (or maybe that should be I) to complain - and I decided to send the company an e mail along these lines:

The two sweaters I ordered less than twenty four hours ago have arrived, delivered to my doorstep by the postman.   They fit perfectly, I love the colours and the feel of the material (a mixture of cashmere and lambswool).   The young man who took my order was charming, helpful and cheerful and I would like all of you in the office to know how much I value the service I received.  Please pass this message round - a thank-you to you all for a job well done.

I had a thank-you e mail this morning saying how much they appreciated my e mail.   Sometimes it is a good thing to say well done.   I shall do it more often in the future..

Still in cheerful mode, as I write this we have had a visit from a grey squirrel, who inspected our bird table, had a nibble at the peanuts and then scooted up one of the Scots pines out of the way.  That is the first grey squirrel I have seen in the garden - I do hope he is a regular visitor.

 

 

20 comments:

jinxxxygirl said...

I do know what you mean Pat. It IS easier to complain i think . Hubs and i make it a point to comment when the service is good too. Perhaps not as often as we should but we do make the attempt... Anyone who makes this walk thru life easier or more enjoyable should be commended and appreciated and we should try to do the same for others... Hugs! deb

Rachel Phillips said...

Yes, thanks and praise is always gratefully received and makes someone's day and there should be no hesitation in giving it even in this age of technology. I am not a complainer so complaints are rare from me and even when EDF Energy upset me a lot I found myself being nice to them while I was complaining. However, it worked and in the end the problem was sorted.

Um, about the grey squirrel, I hope it is not within jumping distance of the house as they can be devils if they get in the roof. I regret I think of them as rats with fluffy tails.

Mac n' Janet said...

Great post and I totally agree. When we travel and receive good service we always make a point to go to Trip Advisor and leave a good review. We try to include names. Most people seem to find it more enjoyable to write bad reviews. Unless things are terrible we accept that sometime things just happen and we take the good with the bad, and as a rule the good things outnumber the bad.

John Going Gently said...

Good for you!

Dawn said...

Good on you, having run my own shop for many years, some customers were very quick to complain if we had sold out of what they were wanting etc, many a time we went that extra mile to help customers out sometimes staying open an extra hour or delivering something to there house and rarely got a thank you it made you think it was worth it. :-)

Joanne Noragon said...

You catch more bees with honey than vinegar, my grandmother always said. I always went out of my way to make customers happy, for my sake as well as theirs.

Heather said...

It is always nice to receive excellent service, and it will have made the day for the Woolovers staff that you acknowledged theirs. I like to thank people for courteous and professional service in the hope that we will get more of it. Too many take everything for granted and perhaps lack good manners anyway.
In spite of living on the edge of a fairly large housing development, we see a lot of squirrels and try to deter them from our garden as they have made several attempts to chew their way into our roof space!

The History Anorak said...

I totally agree. I've even been known to phone one of those "how's my driving?" phone numbers to congratulate a lorry driver for - well, NOT behaving like a lorry driver! More people should use please and thank you. It makes the world a nicer place.

Rachel Phillips said...

There's nothing wrong with lorry drivers it is usually thoughtless, ignorant car drivers who think because it's a lorry coming they can do what they like.

Terry and Linda said...

I like squirrels of all types! I wish we had more here!

Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com

A Heron's View said...

'Courtesy costs nothing' That is a phrase and action which was drummed into me during my formative years and one that I passed on.

In regards to lorry drivers: then during my life as motorcyclist and driver for over 55yrs (I have handed over car to Mrs H ) I can say that rarely did I ever see lorry drivers driving dangerously. In fact on one occasion when driving a small car on the South Wales M-Way in a crosswind at night, one lad used his lorry as a windbreak until all was safe again. I followed him into a service station and gave him a box of duty free cigars as a thank you.

It is as Rachel said above.

Gwil W said...

Good for you Pat.

Jennifer said...

As a person who works in retail, and has for years, I can tell you for sure that your email made the people on the receiving end very, very happy. Compliments and praise are incredibly rare and often get talked about for years afterward.

Good for you!

Frugal in Derbyshire said...

I'm not as happy to see a grey squirrel as you Pat. They have eaten ALL of my walnuts!
Totally agree. Credit where credit is due.
Gillx

Tom Stephenson said...

That's what used to be known as an unsolicited testimonial isn't it? I would thank people more often if they didn't keep sending me forms to fill out saying how well they had done and how their service could be improved for the future.

Barbara said...

It means so very much when someone takes the time to say "thank you" and make mention of good service or products! (and I say this from very personal experience)
I am sure you made a lot of people feel good about the effort they put into their jobs with your email.
Good for you!

Cro Magnon said...

Saying 'thank you' here in France is much more complicated than just a throw away 'Cheers'. It needs to goes on a bit; a mere 'thank you' is regarded as almost rude.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks everyone.

Our very favourite local pub for Sunday lunch got a review in our local paper this week - it didn't read like the same place we knew - everything was 'too expensive', the decor was 'tired'. Do these people go looking for the bad things?

Derek Faulkner said...

Well done Pat, people rarely praise as much as they moan.
Afraid I have to agree with Rachel in respect of the grey squirrels, they may look cute and nice but as well as the problems that they have caused red squirrels, they are terrible predators on songbirds eggs and chicks.

Midmarsh John said...

I like to find a way to pass on thanks for good service. I would imagine most companies receive more complaints than thanks. It takes little time and effort and encourages the companies to keep up a good standard of service.