Companies all over the world have finally realized that their customers are savvy and will not accept being treated as a secondary part of the sales loop. In order to prosper, multinationals have expanded their approach from being strictly marketing-centric to also being focused on the customer care sector. When you are unfamiliar with a brand, a frequent user or current happy customer can surely convince you that it is worth a try.

Customer care stories have the power to influence public opinion on a company’s image. However, you need to have a spotless reputation first to start a positive word-of-mouth campaign.

When you deliver excellent customer service, you create a positive experience that can guarantee you a higher customer retention rate.

In today’s blog post, we will provide you with insights into the importance of customer care and top customer care stories so you can learn from industry leaders.

A. Why Focus on Customer Care?

Before we jump into these unforgettable stories, let us take a look at why the customer care industry requires so much attention. The most apparent reason is that this sector recognizes that customers are the ones who really run a company. If you have no target audience, who will be interested in your products or to whom will your services be relevant?

Long gone are the days when you could afford to mismanage customers as now, even if a single one feels disappointed, they can spread their sentiments on social media and impact others’ perceptions too. We all know how quickly a single story can become viral and show up on every potential customer’s screen. Therefore, losing one customer based on poor service opens the door to losing countless potential customers who will avoid your company based on the negative review they see. It’s best to keep every single customer happy by providing excellent care!

Let’s talk about customer care significance for your revenue and brand integrity in more detail:

1. Retention of Your Customer Pool

If your customers feel satisfied with your company's work, they will continue to be a part of your clientele. The ability to gain customers is great, but having the strategy to retain them can be a challenging task. Customer retention helps establish a solid, long-term relationship between the company and the client that suggests a certain comfort level and satisfaction with the product or service that’s being provided.

2. Excellent Reviews Act as An Inlet

You might have overheard your parents telling their friends to do their grocery shopping at XYZ place. Do you know what this mechanism is? It is a word-of- mouth recommendation. Giving this advice implies that your parents feel that XYZ is perfect for doing their grocery shopping, and they’re happy to spread the word to others without any prompting from the place itself. This is how great reviews generate an inlet for more customers. The fascinating part in all of this is that the company had a minimal role in this form of marketing success! They only provided a great service; the rest is magic.

3. It Speaks to Your Morals and Protects Your Reputation

The way you cater to your customers is an extension of your company’s values and ethics. The degree of customer care reflects the mindset and actions of all your employees, especially your customer reps who are at the front line. As initially discussed, today’s customer knows when they are being treated as an afterthought. You really can not fool them anymore!.

Only excellent customer care can build and solidify the prestige you want. The morals upheld  within a company are externally represented by the behavior, communication, tone and gestures that their employees used with customers.

B. Heartwarming Customer Care Stories

1. Trader Joe’s Helps WWII Veteran Grandpa!

A worried granddaughter was calling various local supermarkets to ask if they could deliver groceries to her grandfather when he was snowed in during a storm. The war veteran was unable to get out to buy groceries, and sadly no store was delivering. Even though Trader Joe’s did not normally do deliveries, they were ready to make an exception in this case. Not only did they pack and deliver all of the items on the list, but the employee that was on the call even added a few more items that would be good for his health. It should be noted here that this was not a twisted plan to get the price of the bill up. In fact, Trader Joe’s paid for the groceries and delivered them for free!

2. Apple Sure Knows How to Be Sweet

This story came out around the same time as the iPad 2 launch. According to the tale, a man bought an iPad and immediately returned it back to Apple with a note attached that read, “Wife said No.” The team in charge of returns probably found it amusing, so the story of the sticky note quickly climbed its way up the company hierarchy until it reached a VP. This VP returned the cash and the iPad with a message that said, “Apple said yes.”

3. Starbucks Serves All

Ibby was a usual at the Starbucks in Leesburg, VA.However, as he was deaf, he was unable to have the same experience as everyone else. In order to overcome this problem, a barista named Krystal Payne learned sign language. She really went the extra mile to make sure her customer could get his drink of choice with ease!

4. Target Hits a Bull’s Eye

A teenager in Raleigh went to Target to get himself a clip-on tie for his first job interview. Unfortunately, the store did not have any. However, an employee refused to send him home empty-handed and instead picked out a regular tie and showed the teen how to tie it. This outstanding employee even threw some basic questions at him in a mock interview session. As the customer was exiting the store, he was supported by the cheers of many employees, which other customers witnessed and found incredibly heartwarming.

5. The Reason Ritz Carlton Has Five Star

A family vacationing at the five-star hotel in Bali had a son with particularly severe food allergies. Therefore, they were usually mindful to bring their own food but on this occasion it had been destroyed during travel. The executive chef recalled that there was a store in Singapore eggs and milk that would be suitable for the young boy. The chef’s mother-in-law lived there so he asked her to purchase the items and fly them all the way to Bali, which was a 2.5 hour flight!

6. Sainsbury’s Sells Lily-Approved Bread

The United Kingdom has a grocery store called Sainsbury’s that sells a bread known as “tiger bread”. However, Lily, a three-year-old, begged to differ as she thought that the bread’s pattern resembled a giraffe rather than a tiger. She even went as far as to send a letter to the grocery store expressing her concerns over the wrongly named bread. The customer care rep in charge, Chris King, took notice of this and realized that she was right! He agreed that the name should be changed so he sent her a gift card and actually renamed the bread!

7. Morton’s Steakhouse? Anywhere, Anytime!

Peter Shankman went out on a limb and tweeted to ask if Morton’s Steakhouse could bring a porterhouse to Newark Airport when his flight landed. He was super hungry and wanted to grab a bite as soon as he could. To Peter’s complete surprise, they sent a steak over to the airport. Not only that, but they also sent a serving of colossal shrimp, a side of potatoes, bread, two napkins, and silverware.

8. Walmart Employees Can Be Your Eyes

A blind customer nicknamed “Mr. Roy” required assistance in shopping at his local Walmart branch.  Brittany Walton, an employee, spent two hours helping him to navigate the aisles and get what he needed.

They held hands, chatting and pushing the trolley like old friends. The sight was so remarkable that another customer took a photo and posted it on Facebook to highlight the special moment. It quickly reached several news outlets and became viral in no time!

9. Their Care Makes the Cut

A young boy who struggled with autism had always been overwhelmed by public places. For this reason, his parents always had to manage haircuts at home. However, for school picture day, his parents thought that it would be a good idea to try out a hairdresser’s salon. At Marky Fresh Barbershop, the hairdresser noticed how the boy was overcome with emotion upon entering the shop whereas outside he was able to remain calm.  With this realization, the hairdresser grabbed his chair and placed it outside so that the boy could receive a haircut in broad daylight.

Make sure that your customer feels appreciated and catered to at all times. And remember, it’s your clientele that will help your business reach new heights of success. If you need assistance with making your customer support top-notch, visit us here!