There seems to be a trend these days:
everything costs more and what you get is less. OK, I know I’m just another “old guy”
who remembers the “good old days” when
things like this were taken for granted:
Fresh cold milk was delivered to your
doorstep. Butter and cottage cheese too.
The gas station attendant not only
pumped the gas, but cleaned the windshield, checked the oil and gave you a free
map. Oh yeah, forgot to mention, gas was 35 cents per gallon.
Postage stamps were 5 cents, except
for air mail: that was 7 cents. Mail never got lost and there was no such thing
as “junk mail” to clutter up the mailbox. The mailman was a friend.
People actually used words like “please”
and “thank you.” If you gave a gift, you could reasonably expect to receive a
handwritten thank you note.
Everyone nowadays seems to be
stressed out, in a hurry, and pissed off. That’s why it’s such a shocking
experience to encounter old-fashioned service, so extraordinary these days. And
that is why I wish to briefly acknowledge the outstanding service I recently
received.
Men’s Wearhouse: I bought some good sports coats and dress shirts for work several years
ago. The coats get heavy use with all the stuff I carry in my pockets, such as
my real estate electronic key, my iPhone, business cards and my wallet.
Recently I put my wallet in my coat pocket and it went right down to the bottom
corner of my jacket. Something’s wrong with that! I decided to go back to the
store with my coat. They said, “if you can wait just five minutes, we’ll have
that fixed for you.” Indeed they did. The pocket was sewn back together, my
coat was good as new, and there was no charge. Prompt, courteous, efficient
service. Kuddos to the Men’s Wearhouse. I will return again and again.
Pastime Hardware: It’s a crowded and busy place,
and easy to see why. They have everything you could ever need or imagine and
much more. But so does Home Depot. The difference? Pick a number, just like
Baskin-Robbins. Your number will come up quickly and a well-informed employee
will escort you to wherever it is in the store you need to go to find the item
in question. Sometimes you might not even know what you need to solve a home
repair, but never fear, they know the answer! In my case, I have an old swamp
cooler up at my country house. The belt which drives the fan was starting to
fray. The clerk took the old belt, measured it on a wall device, looked up the
number, got a long pole and fetched the replacement belt from high on the wall.
A couple of minutes and I was out of there. Kuddos to Pastime Hardware. They’ve
got it all, including the best customer service anywhere.
I am a real estate agent at Berkeley Hills Realty. Nothing is more irritating to a buyer or seller than having to
wait hours or worse yet, days for a return call. Not with our agents and not
with me. I will answer your e-mail or phone call right away. It’s about
“old-fashioned” customer service. Courtesy, caring, efficiency and professional
expertise are the services we provide. Sometimes it’s good to be
“old-fashioned.”
Tom Knight
Broker Associate
tom@berkhills.com
vm 510-524.9888 x56
DRE #01441406
