Like many other Americans, I made my weekend pilgrimage on Sunday to the local Costco to load up for the week (with inevitably things that I do not need). One of the items I picked up was a bunch of apples, like I do every week. When I got home, I washed off one of the apples and bit into it anticipating that sweet taste, instead I was greeted with a rotten, sour taste. I took one look at the apple and knew what the problem was, it was rotten to the core (in this case, one bad apple did ruin the bunch).

Given that Costco has the best return policy known to man (one of the many reasons we shop there), I packed up the bad apples and headed back intent on returning them and getting better ones. When I walked through the door, I was greeted by one of the nicest guys. I have seen him there before and always say Hi to him, but today he really stuck out. He made a funny comment and I responded, and then was off to return the apples. What made this experience even better is the fact that on my way out the door, he remembered that I had returned bad apples, and commented that he hoped the new apples I had just purchased turned out to be better.

Now that is what I call good customer service. He made an otherwise mundane experience personal, and for that I remembered it (which is always a good thing, especially in the context of customer service) and I will always strike up a conversation with him every time that I see him. In the world of customer service, you always hear about the bad experiences, but you seldom hear about the good experiences. This good experience has stuck out in my mind, and I thought it was worth sharing. By making my experience personal, he solidified an already frequent customer into a loyal customer. Costco has done a very good job about stressing that the customer comes first, and by so doing, they have built a very loyal customer base. It is the small things that stand alone do not have that much significance, but on aggregate it is what sets Costco apart from the competition.