This article might be a little bit long, but it addresses something that is very important and oftentimes overlooked: customer service is important.

How many times have you been out at a restaurant and the waiter was less than friendly? They may have left you at the table without checking on you in a reasonable amount of time, or messed up your order. Did you leave them a tip to reflect their lack of service?

Here’s another example: Have you ever walked into a Coldstone ice cream parlor? If you have, you know that the first thing that happens is they greet you and say “Welcome to Coldstone!” The employees are friendly throughout the process, they work well and creating your ice cream masterpiece, and at the end of the line, you are more inclined to throw something into the tip jar.

What brings it all together? Customer service. In both examples, it is a make or break proposition. Good or bad customer service gains a good or bad response from the customer.

Which brings me to my office coffee guy. So as not to embarrass him, I’ll call him “Jim”. Jim is a good guy. He works for a good company here in Toronto. We see him once in a while. I’ve never really noticed it until I’ve really paid attention, but they take customer service to a whole new level.

If you are not aware, many break rooms are taken care of by outside companies. While it is fine for some businesses to restock their own break room and take care of the office coffee supplies, there are some out there, such as Imperial Coffee (http://www.imperialcoffee.com), which take care of the entire process for you.

Giving them a call, I was greeted by a very cheery account manager who explained exactly what they do. They take care of the coffee, water systems, and vending systems. In addition, they are very proud of being a very green and environmentally friendly company, which I was happy to hear about. So my account manager took me through the entire process and explained that I would have Jim taking care of all my needs.

Jim came by our office a few days later and took a look at our break room. Once again, it must be pointed out, I was amazed at the friendliness and knowledge of this employee. It was clear to me that this company took customer service very seriously.

After taking a look at what we had and explaining our options, Jim stocked up our break room with some fine coffee (to include my favorite Starbucks blends), set up the coffee maker, and ensured that all loose ends were tied up.

Before he left, he came over to me and said, “Well, the break room is all taken care of. Is there anything else that I can do for you?”

I responded, “I don’t think so. Thanks so much!”

He handed me his card, with his personal number and email, and said, “If there is anything else that you need, you can give me a call. I’ll be taking care of you and your company from here on.”

The office coffee guy just taught me a lesson in great customer service.

Robert Shifflett is a blogger/writer and office manager for a business in the Toronto area. He is a big fan of coffee, politics, news, and his favorite Toronto office coffee supplier-Imperial Coffee

Robert Shifflett is a blogger/writer and office manager for a business in the Toronto area. He is a big fan of coffee, politics, news, and his favorite Toronto office coffee supplier-Imperial Coffee, http://www.imperialcoffee.com

Author Bio: Robert Shifflett is a blogger/writer and office manager for a business in the Toronto area. He is a big fan of coffee, politics, news, and his favorite Toronto office coffee supplier-Imperial Coffee

Category: Business
Keywords: customer service, office coffee toronto, office coffee, coffee supplier toronto, coffee supplies