Creating Buzz With Remarkable Customer Service

In Buzz Marketing | 20 comments | permalink

Today I am going to talk about one of the things I learned whilst in LA…. how to create buzz with remarkable customer service.

Barry talked about the word “Remarkable” in our presentation, and for those of you who were not there, you may not know that it is one of the single most important words in my vocabulary.

The meaning of the word has changed over the years, but in it’s essence, it means remark-able, or something worth remarking about.

Sounds a lot like buzz and viral doesn’t it?!?

Anyway, I was chatting with Tony Hseih from Zappos.com (He is set to do $1 BILLION in sales this year), and he was telling me about the level of customer service at Zappos. Frankly, it is amazing. They are so good that people have even called them for directions, and ordered pizza through their customer service reps.

What’s more, Tony introduced the world’s first 365 day refund… on shoes (yikes).

Oh, and returns and shipping are free, so you can order two pairs of shoes and send back the pair that don’t fit.

Can you see why this level of service is worth remarking about? Heck, I am talking about it now, so clearly it works. This is what sets Zappos apart from the competition, and it is one of the main reasons that they are going to do over $1 billion this year from sales of shoes.

What I Learnt from the Saddle Ranch Bar 

Here is another example of remarkable customer service that created buzz for me and my friends in LA…. We went to a sleazy bar in LA called the “Saddle Ranch”, myself and my good friend Mason were keen to ride the mechanical bull (no, that is not a metaphor), anyway, one of our group went to the bar and ordered 6 Coronas, and he accidentally forgot to tip the waitress… trust me, as a fellow Brit, this happens, we don’t do it on purpose…

Anyway, instead of making a scene or sulking, the waitress did something remarkable…

I will give 10 points to the person who can guess what she did.

Answers in the comments section please.

Dean

PS: No rude answers you filthy lot ;-)

email this | tag this | digg this | trackback | comment RSS feed

Subscribe to my FEED or yee hath sinned

20 COMMENTS

  • BenP

    Was it anything like the Kylie Minogue video that see did for Agent provocateur, that was remarkable?

    Current score: 0
  • Dirk

    I don’t think it would be fair for me to answer. I miss you guys!

    Current score: 0
  • http://deanhunt.com Dean Hunt

    We miss you too buddy, twas a fun time, and I still have fond memories of the In and Out burger ;-)

    For those of you wondering what the heck we are talking about, Dirk was in our group at the bar.

    Dean

    Current score: 0
  • Laura

    Did she approach you and ask if there was any way she could improve her service?

    Current score: 0
  • http://hackingmadeasy.blogspot.com/ Travian cheat

    Maybe she thanked you.

    Current score: 0
  • http://deanhunt.com Dean Hunt

    Here is a clue… she didn’t SAY anything. Not one word.

    Dean

    Current score: 0
  • Gerry

    She brought over peanuts, pretzels, or any kind of crunchy, salty snack and she did it with a smile on her face.

    Current score: 0
  • http://renegadeconservatoryguy.co.uk/ Devo’s Dad

    You’re embarrassing me now, Dean. I would like to point out I gave the next waitress double!

    Dirk, how’s it going? Thanks for sorting the problem!

    Current score: 0
  • Dare

    She offered something more? Like 6 more coronas on her bill?

    Current score: 0
  • http://gojeans.com Ben

    She gave him a free beer of course. A “friendly” reminder of her good service :-)

    Current score: 0
  • http://www.thehumanmind.co.uk Thomas Gray

    Maybe she looked at him with an evil glare in her eye.

    Touching him lightly in the stoumach she said in her horrible grindey american accent “Hey hunnie, wana give me a tip?”

    Then your friend, politely whispered in her ear in a terribly brittish way “Oh yes darling, you should wear more makeup.”

    The waitress startled at this responce, then picked up a bunny from the floor. “Ohh that’s cute” said your mate.

    “Really?” Said the horrible waitress who smelled of puss.

    “Yeah!” said the brit.

    “Nope!” said the waitress. “It’s a KILLER BUNNYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

    The killer bunny then wrestled him to the floor and stabbed him repeatedly with a rolled up $5 bill.

    lol

    The End.
    Collez une fourchette dans moi, je suis fini.

    Current score: 0
  • theresa

    she took the beers back?

    Current score: 0
  • http://www.connexted.com/blog/ Craig Dewe

    Damn you for the time I’ve spent thinking about this…

    …and I still don’t have a good answer!

    All I have is subtly slipping a little note saying something like:

    “I don’t mean to embarrass you but I know that you’re probably not aware that it’s usual to tip your waitress in the US. Don’t worry about it now, I’m happy to serve you and welcome you to our country. I just thought you should know to avoid embarrassment in the future.”

    Ok, now I feel free of the chains of thinking.

    Current score: 0
  • http://www.4urworld.com Teresa Caldwell

    You will give 10 points to whoever gets the answer right?

    10 points towards ??? What???

    I want 10 points….let me guess…She continued giving remarkable customer service to you guys, knowing that you were from a different country and knowing you guys usually are into bull fighting, not bull riding. Then she got on the mechanical bull and showed you all how it is done in the good ole USA. She gave you quite a show and actually got a bigger tip for the show she put on.

    Oh I remember the mechanical bull at “Billy Bobs” in Dallas Texas…..oh man the good ole days…

    Current score: 0
  • http://www.betterforbusiness.com Terra Andersen

    I’m guessing she brought over napkins? Perphaps more beers??? I’ll stick with the fact that she BROUGHT you guys something.. *=)

    Current score: 0
  • http://www.customcraftedkeywords.com Tim

    She rode the bull in such a way as to captivate everyone’s attention.

    When the ride was complete, she tipped her hat in honor of the Brits. Then someone nearby stood and said… “the next round is on me”.

    Her tips would have come from every direction and the memories would be written up in a blog somewhere.

    T

    Current score: 0
  • BrianA

    She waited until he was on the bull and hit fast forward!

    Current score: 0
  • http://hackingmadeasy.blogspot.com/ Travian cheat

    A really sad face.:(

    Current score: 0
  • http://BigSellingConversions.com Pugsley

    Customer service is the name of the game,without it you will not last long, and it has to be genuine, not some automated system.
    Now about the Saddle Ranch Bar, first why would you go to a sleazy bar, second she most probably showed you the best customer service you had ever seen, either to embarrass you or to entice you on the second round of drinks.

    Pugsley

    Current score: 0
  • http://gojeans.com Ben

    So… I said she gave you a beer… apparently she gave you liquor… but its the same idea…. wheres my 10 points?? ;-p

    Current score: 0