Hardware Store Scores an "Ace" in Customer Care

Bill Bell, a member of my prestigious "Circle of Champions," lives in Otto, NC. He sent me this account of a Customer Care incident incident he witnessed in nearby Franklin:

In our Ace Hardware here in Franklin, I was looking for some wood screws. The aisle with the screws and bolts was temporarily blocked by a store clerk and a lady who needed some kind of a fastening device, but had no idea what kind it was or hardly how to describe it. I was pleased to overhear and watch the kind, patient and genuinely helpful assistance that the clerk rendered this customer for one very modest sale. He asked a few questions then showed her several kinds and sizes until she found one that she thought might replace the one that was lost. It was a heart warming scene especially thinking of stories my Pat has told me about being intimidated, hurried and talked down to by hardware store clerks in times past when she needed some rare, almost undescribable item that might be found in a hardware store.

Two observations:

• Note that I use the term Customer Care. I prefer that to Customer Service. Why? Because we can service someone without demonstrating care. You have seen that happen many times, I am sure.
  

• Second, the Pat that Bill mentions is his lovely wife, who has been a gracious hostess every time I have visited in their home.

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