"A+++ Would do business with again!!!"

I am one those people that is always quick to let the entire planet know when I've been on the receiving end of bad customer service.

And unfortunately the sad thing is, while I know and appreciate good customer service, I fail to talk as often about those positive experiences. Shame on me.

So, on that note, here's what happened to me today:

I had a vacation booked, put the deposit down, and then realized the package price went down. I called to ask for a price adjustment (which they did) and could they change it (which they could). But there was a computer glitch and the guy on the phone couldn't get into my reservation. He tried for a few minutes and apologetically asked me to call back in a half an hour. So, I call back, get a different operator (it's a huge outfit, you get a different person every time), re-explain the whole situation and wait while she gets into my reservation (tick tock)... mumbles some sounds of confusion (tick tock)... and finally exasperated, says, "I can't make the change." (grrrrr). "Your package total is Blabbityblahblah and I can't seem to get a lower price."

I do a double take. "How much?"

Turns out, Unknown Operator #1 who couldn't get into my account, remember him? He lowered my fare for me anyway after I was off the phone. Didn't get caught up in the whole "Well, I can't authorize your account unless you are on the line verifying your information" type of nonsense. He just took the incentive to lower my fare for me later when he was able to.

Complete stranger just doing a good job. Novel idea, right?

Now that I've shared my nice story, I'm encouraging you too to share your tales of Customer Service Excellence, no matter how small (even if it's just a cashier saying, "Have a nice day" and being genuine about it).

Give props to the people who, with their simple courtesy and general nice manners, managed to make an impression on you - please name names and stores and stuff so we can finally give a pat on the back to the nice guys out there. They may not even realize that just by simply doing their job and being nice about it that they made a huge impact on someone else.

And, quick, do it now!

Do it now, before someone in some place of business pisses me off and I change my mind!