There Is Such A Thing As A Free Lunch
I’m working the counter on a very, very slow Monday morning. Two customers walk in at about 8:00 am, laden down with suitcases and bags.
Me: “Hi, how can I help today?”
The customer has a very obvious American accent.
Customer: “Oh, hi! We were just wondering if we could sit in the corner over here and just rest up for a bit? We’ve just come in off the train and we have a few hours before our flight out of here.”
I’m pretty impressed, because the train station is about twenty minute’s walk, and they carried all that luggage from there.
Me: “That’s no problem at all! Just take one of the booth seats in the corner there, and let me know if you need anything at all.”
Over the course of the next few hours, they order coffee, brunch, and lunch from me, asking only to deal with me and not with my coworker. They tell me all about how they are a cruising couple who take cruises all over the world, and they are visiting New Zealand for the first time after an extended stay in Africa. They are incredibly polite and very interesting to listen to, and they always apologise for “interrupting” me whenever they want to order something.
At about 1:00 pm:
Customer’s Husband: “We’re just about to head off now; would you be able to call that taxi that you mentioned? Our flight’s in about an hour.”
Me: “Certainly. One moment.”
I go into the back, and when I come back out front I see my coworker finishing a transaction with the customer’s husband.
Customer: “You’ve been such an absolute dear to us, we’ve bought you lunch. [Coworker] here told us what you usually order; it’s on us today. Thank you so much for your amazing service today, and I’ll be filing a good conduct report with your management.”
Best. Customers. Ever.
This story was included in our May 2020 Inspirational Roundup.
Question of the Week
Have you ever served a bad customer who got what they deserved?
