Another Customer Service Story: Berto and the Amazing Customer Experience

In a previous post, I gave an example of using a customer service story to provide both “inspiration and simulation” with a customer service or sales team.

Here’s another one.

First, a quick review: These types of stories, when shared with customer service teams, provide inspiration to “raise the bar” in the service they provide. They help people think bigger—and better—about what constitutes great service.

They also provide “simulation” because they give the listener ideas on how they might act. These types of stories act as idea-generating catalysts for a team to come up with their own version of what the “hero” in the story did.

Here’s the story:

A friend of mine, Fran Liataud, told me about Berto, a salesman at Prime Auto in Saco, Maine. She knows I love great stories, and especially stories about great customer service, and couldn’t wait to share hers.

More specifically, it was about the service he provided her teenage daughter during her first car buying experience. She talked about how mindful he was of making her first car buying experience a wonderful one, and how kind and thoughtful he was.

He even turned his car around while driving home from a long day at work, when Fran’s daughter called saying she would like to come in to pick up her car. He knew that would be something she would always remember and he wanted it to be perfect, and wanted to celebrate it with her and her family.

So…since I’m always interested in cool stories and love to collect stories about great customer service, I contacted Berto and asked if he would be willing to be interviewed.

During the interview, after asking him questions about his philosophy related to dealing with people and selling, I asked him to share some stories with me.

Here’s one he shared:

Berto had just emerged from a meeting when his extension rang.  The voice on the other end said “Hi, I’m looking for a Berto Arrar.”

“Oh…Berto Aroyo, that’s me, sir. How can I help you?” he responded.

The man said he was calling from West Palm Beach, Florida. He wanted to buy a car for his daughter, and had found Berto’s  “all over the Internet.”

“I asked him if he realized I was in Maine and he said he did know that. He said his daughter would be going to college in Maine that fall and he wanted to get a car for her.  He said he wasn’t sure whether he should get a car in Florida and have it shipped to Maine, or get one in Maine.”

Because of Berto’s reputation,  he sought him out for advice.

The man said he wanted to purchase a Toyota Corolla and they discussed the various options.

When Berto returned with a price, the man attempted to haggle.

In his gentle, sincere voice, Berto assured him “Sir, I’m giving you my best price, not my second best price.” He reminded the gentleman about the many testimonials he had read on DealerRater.com about how Berto takes care of his customers.

“Good point,” said the man. “What do we do next to get this started?”

Later, when the gentleman’s wife and daughter flew up to Maine, Berto met them at the airport, drove them to their hotel, got them a bite to eat, and then drove them to the dealership.

There waiting for them was the young woman’s new Toyota Corolla, festooned with balloons.

Days later, Berto received a call from the man, who began the call with “What did you do with my family?”

Somewhat taken aback, Berto asked: “I beg your pardon, sir?”

The man went on to explain that his wife had not stopped talking about the unbelievable treatment they had received, and how much she and her daughter loved Berto.

Reflection Time

Please reflect on this story, both as an example of being on the lookout for stories that you can use as teaching stories, and–if you’re involved in sales or customer service–how to collect and use these stories to raise the customer service bar in your company.

If you want suggestions about how to use these kinds of stories to stimulate discussion in your cusotmer service or sales team, check out the  heading “So How Can You Use This Story and This Type of Story?”  in the previous previous blog post. 

If you’ve got a cool customer service story you’d like to share, feel free to below.