After 15 years with bright peach walls in a corner bedroom of our house for our oldest daughter (now an adult and with her own daughter), it was time for a re-paint. With my paint fan deck in hand, I had selected a subtle blue color called – blue bonnet. It would take our citrusy fresh walls and transform them into soft beach waves of comfort. A good transition. My husband was happy about the transition (white walls are his favorite color so it was a closer match than the previous peach) and even happier because I had hired a painter to do the job.

I had made an early morning stop at my local paint store to pick up a quart of paint and I don’t care how early you are, someone is always earlier. In this case there were a half dozen more early birds than me. A young woman was waiting next to me when my turn was up. My order was filled and I was paying for my paint when a gentleman behind the counter said to this woman, still waiting, “I appreciate your patience in waiting. I’ll bet you thought we forgot about you however, we had a problem with the pigment and we were trying to figure it out.”

Wow! What a dynamite way to acknowledge the customer, the problem, and the possible solution! I am not sure if this guy had on the job training, behind the scenes training, or good training from his parents but wow! So, my question for you is – how do your words convey excellent customer service?