For each of us, there are different times in life where our eyes are opened and our worldview becomes a bit bigger. For me, one such experience was an overseas trip I took in high school. I was part of a student exchange program that sent a group of students from the U.S. to China, for a nearly 4-week long trip.
The trip to China was an amazing experience, as we got to see The Great Wall, walk through Tiananmen Square, dine at The Great Hall of the People, visit the Terra Cotta Soldiers at Xian, and do quite a few other interesting things. Further, this was over 20 years ago, so China then was far less traveled by Westerners, far less developed, and not the emerging economic power that it has been becoming. From pictures and news accounts I have seen, it was night and day compared to today.
We also got to visit Hong Kong as a gateway to and from China, for one night on the way in, to two nights on our way out. That was when it was under British control, and was a totally different experience.
There were so many life experiences generated from the trip, it would take multiple posts to share them. I’ll probably bring up some of them in future posts – one of them being a Squirreling Gone Wild post I have in mind about an experience in Hong Kong with some devious characters.
One story from mainland China itself that comes to mind was our trip to The Great Wall. It’s been some years now, but I distinctly remember that it was really foggy the day we went there. Visibility had to be less than a ½ mile, so we felt like we were in a bus to nowhere when all of a sudden The Great Wall emerged. I was young, so I didn’t fully appreciate a lot of things then, but even then I realized how physically imposing this thing was. I totally get how it’s deservedly seen by many as one of the wonders of the world.
While the experience at the Wall itself was the most memorable part of that particular 2-day jaunt, a souvenir purchase experience was also something that was quite memorable for me. More specifically, the customer service experience involved with the purchase stood out as quite interesting.
I had bought something called a “chop”, which was a marble piece that was used with ink to be stamp with one’s name or initials. I picked one out that had a cool, ornate design, and paid something around $5 for it. After I paid, they told that it would be delivered to me in the next few days.
“Hmmm”, I thought. We’re leaving the next morning, so that’s an issue. They proceeded to assured me I would get it early and they would rush to finish it, so I walked out of there content.
“Ha! You were taken!” was the reaction of a fellow student in my group. “You’ll never see that thing. They make easy money like that off American tourists.”
I then had the sinking feeling that they totally got me. That was reinforced when I brought the subject up with another guy I befriended on the trip, and he said there’s no chance I’ll get it delivered. Plus, he pointed out, why would they drive 30 minutes to deliver something that cost $5?
It made sense. I lost $5. Oh well, it would be a funny story to tell someday.
The next morning, to my surprise, there was a knock on the door. A guy stood at the door and asked for a person with my name. There was a huge language barrier, as English was not exactly a commonly spoken language in China during that time. But I soon figured out he was looking for me. The guy looked exhausted and flushed.
Though I couldn’t understand much at all of what he was saying in Chinese, I immediately understood that the cynics were wrong the day before:
The guy delivered the souvenir to me!
There it was, the exact stone I picked out, ornately carved, and with my design on the bottom for stamping. They brought stamps too.
What then struck me was the bicycle that was next to him. At first I thought it was odd that he brought a bike into a motel, but then I realized what had happened:
He delivered the thing on bicycle!
Keep in mind that it took 30 minutes by car to get from that shop to the motel. I couldn’t imagine how long it took the guy to deliver it by bicycle in hilly terrain!
That was the best customer service I have ever had.
Now, keep in mind, that the China (non-HongKong) part of the trip was also peppered with some not so great things either. We were not allowed to take pictures of certain things, not given choices of what to eat. The place as a whole was not positive, and when I got back home to the U.S., I kissed the ground. Literally. It was a great trip and life experience, but I’ll take freedom and my U.S. citizenship any day, everyday!
But I’ll give credit for that customer service by The Great Wall, that’s for sure!
How about you?
What’s your best customer service experience?
That is a great story! Though tourists are especially vulnerable, not everyone’s out to get you! The best customer service experience I have is from Amazon! Ordered a gps just before the holidays, knew it wouldn’t reach me before my road trip. So wrote to Amazon. Guess what? They shipped next day at no charge!
Moneycone – yes, I agree that tourists are vulnerable. They’re easy prey. In my case, I could have been, but the guy went the extra mile and then some in order to provide great customer service and deliver the purchase. As for your example, that’s pretty good customer service.
.When I visited Japan a few years ago I had some similar (yet not so extreme) experiences like yours.
Yesterday I got a call from City Hall that some paperwork was ready for me to pick it up. And I quote, ‘I could pick it up anytime.’
I got there at 12:30pm. My paperwork was not ready because city hall was actually closed for lunch. (Really quite civilized). The woman at the desk is stuck there during lunch just to tell people like me they are closed! She apologized and was sorry that I had to come back. She went a bit further and tried to contact the person that could release my paperwork. No luck, but I felt she was on my side!
Molly – glad that they at least made you feel like they were on your side. That means something, at least. The thing they shouldn’t have done of course is tell you to come “anytime”. Why not tell you that they may not be there around the lunch hour?
That’s a great story. Sometimes people surprise you, and it sounds like you were pleasantly surprised that the person actually delivered your chop.
Now if only every customer service transaction went down this way. 😉
Little House – yes, they raised the bar high for customer service. If anybody tries to say that “we’re doing the best we can”, I know that I’ve seen someone abroad who really did do the best he could do.:)
Wow, cool story man. I have a story too. We were looking for one of the little palace in Beijing and couldn’t find it. So we flagged down a tricycle cab guy and he said 20RMB. He took us around the corner and proceeded to charge us 20 RMB each. That was the only time I felt taken in China. This was only a few years ago though.
Your trip sounds like a great life experience. We’ll definitely encourage our kid to take advantage of similar opportunities.
retireby40 – that’s quite the opposite experience you had. Maybe China has changed in more ways than we thought in the last 20 years. As for my experience there, yes – it was a great experience. I’ll have another post coming up where I talk about an experience in Hong Kong…it was quite different!
that’s a great story. That guy could have easily taken your $5 and disappeared, but he went out of his way to fulfill his end of the bargain.
Mike – yes, theoretically he had every opportunity to pocket the money and never come back. It was quite remarkable how he put forth such effort, that was the key thing. That bike ride must have been arduous.
Its always nice when you realize that there are people who keep promises. I hope they got a lot of good business karma from operating like that.
This is a small example, but at Christmas I ordered an art print from an Etsy vendor to be delivered to my brother-in-law as a gift. It was the Saturday before Christmas, which was technically too late to get it there on time within this seller’s shipping estimate. I just figured I would let my brother-in-law know that it would be late.
Then I had to email the seller because I forgot to have him include a gift note. The seller emailed back promptly, said he would include the note, and ship the print out priority mail on Monday morning so it would get there before Christmas. I was so impressed that he offered to do this without my even asking.
A little bit (or a lot) of extra effort can go a long way.
Lindy, that’s a good example you shared. The guy went the extra mile without being asked, which is smart business. As for my story, as I reflect on it, the culture/freedoms in that place at that time made me feel bad for the guy for all his effort – as cool as it was that I got the chop!
That’s a great story, Squirrelers. China is a great contrast of rudeness and politeness. Rudeness, in the way that you’ll get run over a dozen times in a train line, even by little old ladies that might jab at you with their umberella for not getting out of the way fast enough! And politeness, in that customer service stories like yours are not unusual. I’ve always been impressed in restaurants at how the customer is catered to.
101 Centavos – good points, and your comments remind me of how there were masses of people on bikes trying to get around, and they were quite aggressive from my view. Those motorized vehicles that were on the road seemed to follow a “might is right” approach. I recall on a bus in the countryside, the driver practically ran a biker off into the fields! Definite contrasts with other experiences, most particularly the Great Wall one.
Heh… I also often want to kiss the ground when I return to the US. 🙂
Nicole – yes, while it can be exhilarating to travel abroadh, it’s a great feeling to come back, I agree! No place like home for me.
I always find it interesting that people feel it is extraordinary when they just did what they said they would do. If everyone would do what they said they would it would be an amazing world.
krantcents – I see that point and agree in most cases, but what this guy did was extaordinary. He biked what was probably hours through very hilly terrain, just to deliver some trinket. It was the service of doing that which was remarkable, never mind he was doing what he said he would do. Just that he would even commit to doing that with the intent of follwing through is remarkable.
What a fun story. And from the sound of it memorable enough for you to enjoy it years later. I want to visit China as well (it’s on my bucket list) but I want to go with enough time to do it justice and see many different parts of the country. It’s so vast and different from region to region. I figure at least two weeks.
Sandy – it was a cool experience, and I can see how it would be a bucket list type of trip. Yes, there are vast differences between areas in that country. I noticed them as we went from north to south, and from what I understand there were other areas that were incredibly different that we didn’t visit. We used Hong Kong as a portal city in and out of China, and THAT’s vastly different than mainland China…or at least it was back then.
I want to track down the guy on his bike and give him a huge tip! What a great story. It is impressive they could track you down. I hope he had other ones to deliver too and that he didn’t ride all that way for just your stamp. Do you still have it??
I honestly cannot think of an ‘above and beyond’ customer service story. Darn it!
Everyday Tips –
As long as it’s been since then, and as old as I am now – I still have some old stuff at my parents’ home:) So yes, it’s still there. At least I think it is, unless they threw stuff out. I don’t know, actually, now that I think about this further.
Writing this has inspired me to retrieve it now. It was something that I thought was cool at the time but really gave it no more than a passing thought….when you’re younger, everything is ahead of you and other memories are to be made. Now that it’s been quite a long time since then, I can appreciate my life at that time and the whole experience of that trip. It was a great time and truly broadened my worldview to a large degree. Just going there at a young age was a big step for me, and it really opened me up to the world. It would be cool to find that thing and look at it, show it to my daughter, etc.
That is an awesome story and some seriously great customer service. I think the best customer service experience I’ve ever had was with my web host Squarespace. I had an issue that I emailed them about for my website http://www.financiallydigital.com I think because of the late hour and my limited brain function I had trouble executing the instructions in their prompt response email. So I called explained who I was and they verbally walked me through my problem. It was amazing!! I felt like I had my own IT tech right there with me and that is there model for everyone. So far they are the best customer experience I’ve had by far and now I try to think of crazier things to do with my website just so I can ask for help 🙂
Great Story. If this was in metropolitan India, I would have said the same thing – you were taken for a ride. But the rural Indians always have more values. I am sorry to say this, but something about the over commercialism changes people when they move to the city.That is survival I guess. I could hug that guy!
Suba – yeah, it was cool. Probably not the most street-smart move by me (what was I thinking?), but my innocent, trusting thoughts ended up being validated by this guy’s excellent work.
Ray…great story! I strained my brain but failed to come up with any over the top service to compare to what you received. The lesson, to me, is that if this quality of service is so rare, anyone who gives extraordinary service should be VERY successful.
Joe – it’s funny, the more I reply back to everyone’s comments, the more I realize just how impressive this guy’s work was. That was not easy terrain, and he was on a bike. I certainly haven’t received customer service anywhere near that level again.
Squirrel – I want you to go to your parents and retrieve that wonderful souvenir. The memories it will evoke periodically will be a great thing!
WOW, What a AMAZING customer service experience. I’m lucky to get my pizza delivered here ontime with the right order, I can’t believe some guy in China delivered your stone by bike. I guess the perception of China customer service is wrong. Glad to hear your inspiration story.
That must have been a really great experience to have back then.
Wow, I would have thought you would have been taken too, but who would have expected that? About tourists being easy prey, I saw this happening a lot in Phuket and also in Damnoen Sadeuk, Thailand. Too many tourists can ruin a place.