I first tried SusieCakes when my boss bought a little treat for a week well done and I grabbed a slice of their German Chocolate Cake. I’m usually not a fan of coconut topping (while I do love fresh coconut) but their cake just looked too appetizing to pass up! I was not disappointed. The slice was huge and I ended up having some more of it for breakfast the next morning – and I still couldn’t finish it.
In January, my company celebrated its first anniversary. Many companies don’t make it past the first year so I was extremely proud of what my team had accomplished and very excited for the next months to come. I went to go pick up our cake and while I was there, I dropped my business card into their fishbowl for a chance to win two dozen cupcakes. I completely forgot about it until February came along and I received an email telling me I had won the drawing! That makes two drawings I’ve won in my entire life. Pretty exciting :]
What surprised me most was SusieCakes excellent customer service. They emailed me and verified my office address and then told me that they would deliver the cupcakes two weeks later. Needless to say, our office was extremely excited. The day they arrived, the cupcakes were accompanied with a handwritten note congratulating me again. Handwritten notes nowadays are so rare and it’s really a special touch to add that to an already sweet surprise. They even specially decorated a cupcake with our company name!
Customer service is an attribute that lacks in many industries. I’m sure we’ve all experienced the horrendous wait on the phone during a tech support call. Help should be easy to come by, not painful. SusieCakes is a reminder that there are still businesses and companies out there that truly care about their customers and make an effort on their part to reciprocate the kindness. At work, we’re reading “Delivering Happiness,” the book written by Zappos’ CEO, Tony Hsieh. Throughout the entire book, he stresses the importance of customer service and customer interaction and how it’s the most important thing a company could deliver on. It’s not just about the revenue but success is measured by the happiness of the company and the customer. It’s a practice that my company tries to uphold and put into all of our interactions and it’s a practice that should be much more universal. How much more forgiving would a customer be if their initial interaction was that much more positive? How would a customer’s loyalty to a brand or product be if they were not on hold for hours at a time to solve or troubleshoot a problem?
Customer service is the crux of building any sort of business. It can make or break your company and it’s a so important to be aware of how each and every interaction affects the customer, the interaction, and the culture of the company you’re trying to build.
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