Outstanding customer service

So several of my posts are about extraordinarily poor customer service, out of the ordinary events, politics or just plain 'ol stupid people. Yesterday I had an experience that was a good one and although I wouldn't normally write about something like this, I felt compelled to share my experience in the interest of being fair since I think business owners deserve word of mouth for when they exceed their customers expectations as well as when they fail them.

My eight year old son, baseball player who absolutely hates playing catcher because he gets nailed with the ball in the pads, where there's gaps between the pads and occasionally in the head. Not to mention the sand getting kicked into his face on every ball he doesn't catch. I've played catcher during practices and I can assure you, the sand in your eyes on every pitch is quite unpleasant.

Anyway, he wants to be Joe Mauer for Halloween this year. And I'm very happy that he's moving past the Star Wars phase but he wants to don the full catchers gear. So I went online and the total cost for all the gear is slightly above $200. So I check Craigslist and the pickins' is slim. I don't and won't spend that much on a Halloween costume that gets worn once a year (unless it's the Naughty Nurse Costume from 3Wishes but even that is only $42.99).

So I convince my son that he should be Joe Mauer at bat. He already has the Twins/Mauer jersey, a bat, batting gloves, pants, etc. but needs new eye black, the Joe Mauer sideburns and a batting helmet. I agree to buy him a batting helmet since many of the kids now already have their own and he has a younger brother so we'll get some mileage out of it beyond just Halooween.

We go to Sports Authority and pick up the necessary equipment. $19.99 for the helmet, $5.49 for the eye black, $3.99 for a strap to keep the helmet on (don't really know why we need this but we buy it anyway because he wanted it).

My boy is happy and we're pretty well set for Halloween. Next stop, Target. To find a gift for his little brother to give him after his first Scouts meeting next week. Since we're so close to the baseball section at Target, I decide I want to see what equipment they have. Sure enough, there's the very same batting helmet we just paid $19.99 for listed at $9.99. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not going to go cheap on a key protective piece of equipment but they are they exact same helmet. Nearby is eye black for $3.99. We grab both and decide we'll be returning those items to Sports Authority to get our "margin" back.

To the counter we go and when she rings the helmet, it comes up listed at $19.99. I inform her the tag on the display indicated it was $9.99 and that I'm only buying it because I'm going to return the one I just paid double that for at Sports Authority. She calls someone on her walkie-talkie to check the price and after a  minute, the voice comes back and says it's listed at $19.99. BEFORE I could say anything, she says, "I'm going to give it to you for $9.99 since I think there's a chance the pricing might have been confusing."

"Thank you, I really appreciate that," I say.

"Oh, you're welcome," she replies.

'Nough said (although there was more).

MORALE of the story: Target is onto something. A retailer has finally realized that just about everyone from Minnesota spends probably $1,000 or more in their stores each year and it is wise to leave a customer pleased with their experience rather than disappointed.

So to Target I say: Thank you. You did the right thing and as a customer who spends a lot more than $1,000 annually with you, I very much appreciate that you have recognized and acted in a way that treats your customers well. Perhaps the smartest thing any business can do is give competent employees the authority to make a customer happy or sole a problem. Home run on this one.

I only wish I would have paid attention to the womans name to give her praise also.