Bill Gates and Warren Buffet often vacation together. On one occasion they went to China. Wherever in the world Warren Buffet travels he always brings his favorite beverage, Cherry Coke. On this specific trip Buffet and Gates left the luxury hotel they were staying at to take a rented yacht down the Yangtze River. Some hours into the cruise it was discovered that Warren Buffet’s inventory of Cherry Coke had not been transferred from the hotel to the boat. The captain radioed the hotel which immediately dispatched a staff member with a case of the soft drink. The hotel person headed down river to catch up with the boat in a rented cab. When the cab came to the end of the paved road and the boat was still further down river the hotel person paid for the use of a bicycle and quickly loaded the case of soft drinks in the basket and headed off to the find the boat. Eventually he sighted the yacht, paid a fisherman to row him out to the boat and delivered Mr. Buffet’s Cherry Coke.
Question: Is this an example of extraordinary customer service on behalf of the hotel and the diligent and resourceful staff member? Or, is this a case of poor customer service by the hotel for not transferring the soft drink in the first place?
Let me know what you think. Have you had a similar customer service challenge in your business?
