Have you gone out of your way to comment when someone does a great job?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Another thread I’m posting into got me thinking. It is frequently the case that those who are sufficiently irked write an email, make a phone call, ask to see the manager, etc. If they feel they’ve been done dirty or are dissatisfied with the level of care or service, they get on the stick.

It seems rare that people go out of their way to send a note, make a call, talk to a manager when they deal with a professional or service person who does an exceptional job. Have you ever done that? What were the circumstances?

I deal with a guy in the shipping department of a company on a regular basis. He packs my orders and gets them out. Frequently he’s sending them to different addresses. The orders are almost always different sets of items.

When he makes the rare mistake, he catches himself by the end of the day on it- long before I see the shipment. He calls me immediately and tells me, and makes good on the mistake. ( This has only happened twice ). On the other hand, he is almost always on the ball, making a huge effort to turn around my orders very quickly. In December I had a particularly rough week, with three orders going out to different places, all in a rush. He nailed all of it, and it occurred to me that this gentleman labors in the back with little if no feedback, unless someone’s royally pissed off at him.

I wrote an email, all the way up the ladder. ( Due to the nature of my relationship with this company, which we can call the Smith Company, I know Mr. Smith himself ). I sent the note to the shipping man, but cc’d it all around. It was a professional, non-gushy note of real appreciation for how he does his job, and how it affects ME and MY customers.

Apparently this just doesn’t happen with this company. I got emails back from him, from all the cc’d recipients. Made me feel good, because the guy really does try to do his job very carefully. What did it cost me? Five minutes of my time?

This cannot be so rare ( cause, I’m not such a rare human. :smiley: ). Have you taken the time to give good feedback, unsolicited ? How was it received?

Cartooniverse

p.s. this isn’t an attempt to pat myself on the back- I just wanted to know how others have handled this kind of a thing.

2

Magnificent OP!

3

The World’s Second-Best-Selling Commercial Jet Airplane Company has an internal rewards program in which you can nominate someone for an award and they get redemption points for stuff out of a special catalog. Works really well for thanking someone who’s done a good job for you, and to grease the skids for the next time. Our group has been handing them out like crazy–we’re in a customer-service-like group, and we depend heavily on other groups to support us.

4

Oh, yes I have. I’ve even sat down and written letters to companies when they have particularly good service. I do it as often as I write for bad service, which is only once in a blue moon, but I definitely do it.

5

I just did that this morning…we’ve got a report that I’ve been generating on a daily basis that no on ever does anything with. Finally one individual took it upon herself to clean up everything in it (it’s basically a list of accounts that have something wrong that need correcting). It’s been ten-twelve pages long for months, but in two days she’s got it down to 2. I sent an e-mail to several people in charge thanking her for doing this.

(although my motive is not entirely selfless…what I really wanted to demonstrate was that the very people who cried out for me to set this report up months ago so they could be ‘proactive’ about these errors never did anything at all with it. I want to make sure the wrong people don’t try to take credit for this down the line, just because the report was their idea. It was someone else’s idea entirely to actually look at the report and fix the stuff that was wrong).

6

It’s all too rare. I’ve been on both ends of that scenario, and it is enriching either way. There’s a cynical expectation that a job well done is reward enough, but it’s always nice to get an out-of-cycle pat on the back.

7

Yes, I almost always comment on a job well done. Depending on what it was and how well done, it may be a letter. Usually it is just verbal.

I was in a bar in Florida and the staff was exceptional. The bar was busy, but they were all friendly, quick for service and my glass was never empty. I asked to see the manager and told him that since I traveled a lot (I did then) I was used to entertaining myself in a bar and I thought that his crew was exceptional. He sat there like a lump. He barely thanked me for my input and left. But that doesn’t stop me from doing it.

8

Yes, I did it recently with Netflix. The rep handled my problem professionally and with courtesy, even though I was quite obviously irate, and I wanted to make sure her supervisors were aware. So I sent an email asking them to let them know she did a good job. It’s a rather basic bit of psychology: people are more likely to repeat behavior they are rewarded for.

I also often make a special effort to thank people at work when they do their jobs quickly. Even the man responsible for putting my stuff into production, whom I’ve given the nickname Growlface. (you’ve never seen someone so good at growling until you’ve seen them do it through email.)

9

Yep, and often. I got good service from MS, emailed supervisor. Got exceptional service from Avon, emailed to thank. Really appreciate the extra mile my FedEx guy goes to, email the website.

For almost each bitch-and-moan there is also a well deserved pat-on-the-back. I can’t think of ANYONE who doesn’t appreciate knowing that their effort will be communicated to a supervisor or corporate website.

It’s a damn shame that employers don’t do this for their employees. I’ve had instances when I’ve sent email/letters regarding a helpful rep and will see the person again. If I ask if anything came of my compliment, most of the time they’re completely unaware that one was made.

I DO appreciate a job well done, especially in this day and age where customer service has become a hindrance to most companies. In the day when I was a retail manager, every night that I closed I would walk out the door and tell the employees thanks and that I appreciated their help.

On the other hand tho, I’m quick to shoot off my dismay now since email has made complaining so easy and it usually comes with a payoff via coupons, giftcards, etc.

10

Absolutely, and often. :slight_smile:

11

Yes. I’m a great beliver in “what goes around…etc.”

12

All the time.

13

Yes, and as publicly as possible. After all, if I am going to rag on them for their mistakes in front of their peers, I must also reward and praise them in front of their peers. Only fair.

14

OK, who is going to be the first to say “Hell no!”?

15

Well, I try to remember to write. Often I forget that I’d intended to, though. When I ordered dishes from Crate and Barrel, I was so impressed with how well they were packed (and in an environmentally friendly way - all paper!) that I sent the shipping department a letter. Really, you could have dropped those boxes off an overpass and nothing would have broken.

16

The company I work for does a decent job of institutionalizing this. Each of us is given 50 thank-you chips per year. You hand them out to people, in varying quantities, along with a quick note jotted to them to say what you’re thanking them for. Each chip is worth a buck toward various goodies (gift cards to DQ, Barnes & Noble, Home Depot, etc.) Those who turn in large numbers of chips throughout the year get an extra “attaboy” note from the big cheese at the end of the year recognizing them for being good at supporting others.

Having that program in place seems to make people more free with the thank-you emails, too, generally with a cc: to your boss.

17

I take great pleasure in commending someone for their great service. It seems so rare that people go beyond what they absolutely have to do, so when a person in any industry goes out of their way to give me personal attention and make sure that I’m taken care of, I think employers need to know that.

And as someone else pointed out, that kind of feedback also tends to encourage repeat behavior. Having been on the receiving end of commendation, knowing I’m actually making a difference to the people I’m trying to help is only going to make me want to do that more.

18

Oh yes, often. I had a nice encounter about a letter I left at a hotel for the housekeeping person that did my room once, too.
I was at a hotel on business for a week. Every day my room was straightened up, the bed made up, etc. (You know, all the stuff they’re supposed to do so never get thanked for it.)
I left a nice letter thanking the person (who I never saw, by the way) for taking such good care of my room that week, and how nice it was to come back to a clean room every day.

A while later I stayed at the same hotel on business. The housekeeper saw me, and recognized my name. Asked me if I’d written a letter to the housekeeper last time I was there. I said yes, and she told me that she’d had a really lousy week at work, everything was going wrong, and she was ready to quit - until she got that letter.
She thanked me for the letter and said that things were much better now, because sometimes someone is grateful.

And I gotta tell you, the manager of any restaurant I’ve ever been to, when I ask to talk to them on my way out, has always been very grateful to hear that I want to compliment their staff and not complain.
It always brightens their day a little.
A corollary effect seems to be that certain restaurants near us now recognize us and the staff all want to have us in their section. Even if we’re not, they’ll stop and say hi on their way to their tables.
:slight_smile:

19

I do it whenever a service person strikes me as having done an exceptional job. If they made an effort to help me, or to be friendly, or just did something nice , I’ll call the store and ask to speak to the manager and tell them that [employee’s name] did a wonderful job and should be commended.

If it’s a chain, I’ll sometimes send a note or e-mail to their corporate headquarters.

I do it because I know that they don’t hear often enough about people doing a good job. Everyone calls to bitch, not to praise. Once, I had a manager tell me on the phone, “Oh, I’m so glad you called to tell me this. The employee had a bad day today, and it will really lift their mood to hear this.”

20

Two years ago, after a nasty snowstorm, I called the city street department. I knew they’d be knee-deep in complaints. When the weary clerk answered, I said, “I’m not calling to complain. I want to thank you for your excellent work. When there’s a chuckhole, you folks fix it. Compared to other towns around here, our streets are very well-maintained.” She said, “Would you mind repeating that for my boss?” I did. He asked me where I lived. He asked if my street had been plowed yet. He thanked me for calling. Fifteen minutes later, a snowplow rumbled up and down my street.

About a month ago, I called the police department. Not 911, just the front desk. I said, “I’ve heard that nobody ever calls the police to say everything’s fine. Well, I’m doing just that. Everything is peaceful here, and I thank you for your vigilance.” The cop was astounded and happy. He has caller ID, so he didn’t ask where I live.