The Happiest Walmart Worker
No, you didn’t misread the title. I truly met the happiest Walmart worker this week.
And I’m not being sarcastic!
My husband and I recently made a trip to Wally World to upgrade his iPhone3 (yes, his phone was that old) and the associate who waited on us was just phenomenal!
The Happiest Walmart Worker provided us with lots of practical and informed advice on whether or not to stay with our current carrier or transfer to a new one. He knew every nuance between the iPhone4 and the iPhone4S, the two we were considering. He peppered his conversation with personal antidotes and industry information to build his case. He politely excused himself during a lull in the transaction when another (impatient!) customer was demanding his attention. He assured us of Walmart’s return policies and let us know when he would be working again should we have any further questions or concerns.
Wow!
Incidentally, the Happiest Walmart Worker also sold us our new TV a few months ago. Each time, he displayed this same level of professionalism and personality. And, let me remind you, he’s a Walmart employee; a place not known for its pleasant workers and even less for its pleasant clientele. We truly felt like we were getting top notch service…at our local Walmart. During our transaction this guy’s manager happened to walk by and asked us if he could be of assistance, we quickly told his manger that this associate had everything under control and was a truly stellar performer.We can be so quick to voice complains, have you ever taken time to provide a good review when it’s been earned?
This isn’t the first time I’ve written about customer service on the blog, and knowing how fired up I can get it probably won’t be the last. What I loved about this employee’s approach is he genuinely cared about his work and providing the best information to his customers. Service, embodied. He probably would do extremely well in any sales office or board room, but he was exercising his talents at Walmart. Even at Walmart, he worked with dignity and excellence.
A great reminder for us all, I think: work well where you are.
Have you ever had an amazing customer service experience? How did it make you feel? Do you ever report good reviews, or just bad ones? What do you think is the key to serving with excellence?
I’ve known a lot of wonderful people who worked or still work at Walmart. One time I was looking for swimming diapers in the middle of the winter. Obviously I didn’t have much luck, but this one employee insisted on looking through the entire diaper section for me just to be sure. People often surprise me with their willingness to go out of their way to help.
That’s an awesome story Heather 🙂 I do think Walmart (the corporation) could do more to honor these stellar employees (like raising wages, etc.) BUT I am always impressed when I see excellent customer service no matter the business!