The World's Common Tater

I’ve shared some negative customer service stories recently regarding my interactions with Verizon and AT&T. I think both of those isues are resolved, though we have had some billing issues with Verizon’s autopay. I decided today to write about a small, positive customer service experience I had yesterday.

My wife shops at Safeway regularly. The app will always have random coupons and freebiues available. Recently, she received an app coupon for a grande drink at Starbucks for $2. She doesn’t drink coffee, so she tol me I should use it. The expiration date was today so I went down yesterday to get the drink.

The last time I used an offer from the Safeway Starbucks neither I nor the barista knew how to make the offer work. I finally wlked away and played with the app until I figured out what I had done wrong and then went back and got my drink. This time before ordering I told the barista I ahd the coupon and that last time I had trouble getting it to work. She immediately said that if it didn’t work she would just make it work for me so I would get the offer. That was a good start. I ordered my usual drink.

She then pointed to a sign I had missed that the espresso machine was broken and my usual drink would not be available. My usual experience when something like this happens is for the person to point out the sign and then just wait for me to choose a new drink or walk away. In those instances, I usually just walk away irritated. This experience was different. Instead of just pointing to the sign and waiting, she asked if I was interested in trying something new and gave me some options. I chose one that sounded good and walked away happy with another drink option for the future. For the curious – I went with a chocolate almond milk cold brew.

To recap:

• Pleasant and friendly from the begining
• Assured me she would make the coupon work even if I messed it up
• Offered me options when my first choice didn’t work
• Wne through flavor options until she found one I liked

In the past at other places I have encountered staff who didn’t care if the app deal works and have told me they can’t make it work if the app won’t work. I have encountered staff who tell me they can’t make or don’t have wa=hat I want and then don’t care if I walk away. In these cases, I did walk away and likely won’t make an effort to go back.

This was a pleasant experience even with me not getting the drink I was looking forward to.