- Fry's (www.frys.com) is a chain of computers and electronics stores in the US that is a toy store for geeks. Imagine a Loblaws with an entire row of motherboards and hard drives, another of mice and keyboards, and so on and so forth. I went to the store in Renton, Washington and purchased (among other things) a Seagate hard drive and an external hard drive chassis. I got back to my hotel and found out over the first few hours that one of them did not work, but I did not know which one. Without going into detail the manager went out of his way to make things right, and even let me exchange a pair of relatively expensive headphones on which the jack had been physically broken. Kudos to Fry's!
- United Airlines (www.unitedairlines.com) had me booked to fly from Seattle to Fort Lauderdale through Chicago. As I was preparing to leave for the airport I got a message from an automated system telling me that there was a problem with one of my flights due to weather, and to speak to a CSR. I could not reach one, so I decided to go to the airport anyways. When I arrived they told me that O'Hare was closed, and that they had taken the liberty of rebooking me on a flight on America West (another carrier) through Las Vegas. It worked out that I left Seattle an hour later, and still arrived in Fort Lauderdale an hour earlier than I was supposed to, with the added bonus of not having to deal with my least favorite airport.
- On my return leg to Seattle I was again worried about Chicago so I called and asked if they could change my flight, and while we were changing it could I fly a day later than I was scheduled. The CSR told me that normally there was a $100 fee, but still found a way to accomodate both of my requests and waive the fees.
- America West airlines (part of US Air www.usairways.com) checked me in with a smile. When the attendant saw that my luggage was overweight she told me that normally there was a charge, but because she was in such a good mood she would waive the charge. As well she booked me in the exit row (with a lot more legroom) on the aisle for both of my flights.
- On the second leg of my journey (a very full flight from Las Vegas to Fort Lauderdale) the woman sitting next to me had been unable to get a seat next to her fiance. The flight attendant asked me if I would be willing to change my seat. I agreed, and ended up in a less comfy seat at the rear of the airplane. However the grateful flight attendant brought me a number of drinks and snacks and refused to charge me for them, thanking me for my cooperation.
- Best Buy (www.bestbuy.com) in North Miami Beach sold me a headset on Sunday. Before I opened the package but miles from the store I decided to return it and take my chances with Fry's. The following week I walked back into the store with the headset and as I stood in line I realized I had forgotten the bill, and oh, there's no Best Buy price tag on the box. Knowing how things are in Canada I knew I was S.O.L. To my utter surprise the cashier asked me for the credit card, and refunded the money in full in less than a minute! Thanks Best Buy USA! (It should be noted that the Geek Squad in this particular store were comparable to those in any Best Buy I have been in. Read what you want from that)
I can honestly tell you that I do not know why it is that customer service in the US so outshines service in Canada. I just know that it does. I have noticed the wait staff in restaurants have been nicer, the CSRs on the phone were nicer and more helpful, and the sales and cash staff in stores are nicer and more knowledgeable. I have been here too long for it to have just been a couple of exceptions so I ask not why are they so nice here... but why aren't Canadian waiters and CSR reps and sales staff as nice? Isn't our reputation around the world 'like Americans, but friendly'? How can one segment of our population be so blatantly at odds with this?
I will appreciate any answer you can give me!