Lowe's

Yesterday I took a friend to Lowe's so that he could get a bolt for his car.  He and I aren't particularly familiar with the layout of the store as we rarely frequent there.  As we walked in we looked around a little lost looking for the bolt section.  We began to search.  Within one minute of being in the store an employee approached us and asked if he could help us find something.  My friend took the lead as he knew what he was looking for and began to work with this employee.  I hung back looking at all of the gizmos and taking in the situation.  I noticed after another minute or so that this employee was the service manager and that he had been on his way to do something when he stopped to help us.  He helped my friend find the correct bolt and then admitted that he knew very little about cars but one of his employees knew quite a bit and began to look for him.  During the sixty second search for this other employee twice he was asked for help/instructions by other employees.  Each time he informed them he was with a customer and would come back when he was finished.  After finding the car savvy employee it appeared that the service manager stayed for another minute or so to make sure that my friend was comfortable with this other employee and that his needs were going to be met.  Then he wished him luck and assured him once again that he was in capable hands before he departed.  He then hurried away.  The second employee, the car savvy one, stayed with us for another five or six minutes walking my friend through every scenario he could think of (everything that might go wrong with the automotive repair my friend was about to attempt) explaining how he could handle it and what the appropriate tools might be.  He did all of this in a very gentle manner, not pushy in the least.  We ended up leaving the store with a few ideas and a purchase or two but most importantly we left feeling we were important and my friend with confidence in the endeavor on which he was about to embark.

What a wonderful example of service at its best.  A busy, "important" employee took time to help a confused looking customer.  Another employee did the best he could to explain what might solve the customer's dilemma and went above and beyond what is required of the job.  We were in and out in less than 15 minutes.  What a brief period in which to make such an excellent impression on the customer.  Most customer service opportunities are similar.  The employee/business has just a few minutes to make whatever impression it can.  But, by following the cardinal rule of customer service, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, each of your customer's experiences can be the same as ours was at Lowe's last night.  It's common sense (which, in the end, equates to cents).