Grand Masters

Stories are the currency we use to share our stellar customer experiences. We asked some of the leading Customers First practitioners to tell us their most recent favorite story of where they were treated the way they treat their customers.

Dan Cathy
President and COO
Chick-fil-A Inc.

As told to Chuck Salter

"Let me tell you about my favorite junk store. I've been going to Jordan's Salvage for over 20 years. Robert Jordan started out at Travis Hardware, one of those old neighborhood hardware stores that went out of business when The Home Depot showed up. Before it closed down, he developed relationships with the vendors. They had all this discarded merchandise -- a damaged hose, a claw hammer with part of the claw missing. He collected it in his house and eventually opened a store in an old barbershop in Fayetteville, south of the Atlanta airport. There's junk everywhere, all mixed together. I'm talking lawn mowers, generators, and car jacks, lawn furniture, paint cans -- used paint cans.

I go once a month or so. You've got to go when you have time to rummage around, because you don't know what you're looking for. It's an adventure. Robert and a couple of his employees will help you if you need a hand, but it's the not the deal where they're all over you, breathing down your neck. They let you explore.

Years ago I videotaped an interview with Robert. I was putting together a tape that I sent out to all the Chick-fil-A operators on customer service, explaining why I kept going back to some businesses and not others. I asked Robert, why don't you get a bigger building, or figure out some way to avoid moving those piles of merchandise onto the sidewalk every morning? He said, "I couldn't do that. If I had everything clean and neat and organized, I'd lose my customers. My customers like to dig around and feel like they're hunting for gold."

His store may sound a little unconventional, but I learned a valuable lesson there: You've got to know your customers. Not just the demographics, but the psychology -- how they think when they're in your store. What I just love about stopping in Jordan's is the feeling that I've found some treasure. I can't wait to go back."

Maxine Clark
CEO and Founder
Build-A-Bear Workshop

As told to David Lidsky

"I went to a Borders Books in Northridge, California, an L.A. suburb. I'm not usually a Borders customer where I live. I went in looking for a book, and the woman working on the floor near the entrance directed me to the exact place where they had what I wanted. Her tone of voice was so sincere. She made me feel comfortable. Any other day I might have said, "Couldn't you go upstairs and show me?" But they were so friendly and welcoming.

When I was in line to buy the book, I saw a copy of a DVD I wanted behind the register. The cashier got a colleague to bring one down for me from upstairs so I wouldn't have to. I'd been in line for a while, so she offered me a coupon to make up for the wait. I'm not particularly coupon-oriented, but she didn't wait for me to ask for it. The staff had personality, warmth, and intuition. They were on the same program -- to respond to an apparent need. And no one acted as if they were going out of their way to do me a favor.

You know what? I'm going to Borders more often now. That's all a lot of what customer experience is. I call it the 'Cheers factor.' People don't have to know your name, but there has to be that connection and recognition of your value as a customer and a person. It isn't that hard. Customers are easy to please. But it's that tone. It's not necessarily saying thank you, but the way you say it."

www.borders.com

Scott Cook
Founder and Chairman of the Executive Committee
Intuit Inc.

As told to David Lidsky

"You expect great service at a great price when you're paying for it, like at a luxury hotel. I discovered a great customer experience in a place where you wouldn't expect it -- at traffic court.

I had gotten a ticket for speeding on the Golden Gate Bridge. The Marin County traffic court is in this old Frank Lloyd Wright building (only on the West coast). You had to check in by noon for a 1:30 p.m. court session so they could assemble your records for the judge to review, but you didn't have to wait in line and there was ample parking. And once you checked in, you didn't have to stick around. You just had to be back by 1:30.