Praiseworthy Customer Service

source:connectedaustralia.com

A week ago, I had a rant about the poor customer service I received from the manager at the pharmacy in my local shopping centre. Today, I had the opposite experience. It was late in the day, right at closing time when I walked into the Harvey Norman Superstore in Chatswood Chase. The guy was literally about to shut the doors, when I rushed in explaining I wanted to buy an SD card for my camera and will be quick about it. Surprisingly, he gave me a smile and said I could come in, when I was expecting him to shut the door in my face, since it was home time. I quickly made my way to the camera section. There I was greeted by another sales person with a smile. For a millisecond I was frozen on the spot with a stunned mullet look (Note: a mullet is a type of fish). Once again, I was taken back by the excellent customer service I was experiencing. I explained to this guy what I wanted and he took the time to explain the different brands and prices before making a recommendation. Remember, this is already past their usual closing time at 5:30pm. I thought I pushed the envelope further and ask about UV filters for my two camera lenses. Again, this guy was extremely helpful, he went to check the correct measurements for the two lenses and recommended the correct UV filters. By the time I left the store it was close to 5:40pm, even the cashier was friendly. Harvey Norman actually kept the store opened for an extra 10 minutes to serve me.

After HN, I popped into David Jones to check out their iPad2 covers. Once I again, I was impressed with the time the guy, Matt, took to explain the different cover types and which ones he would recommend and ones he would not. He went on further to explain why some of the covers were not good due to the quality etc. This was way better service than what I would have received at the Apple Store in the same shopping centre (which is always busy that one is hard-pressed to find someone to ask a quick question).

Wow, I was floored..... two praiseworthy customer service experiences within 30 minutes of each other. Thanks HN and David Jones. Not sure if this is an indication of the times - poor retail trade, so staff are working harder to go the extra mile. Keep it up guys!