Our customer service comprises quality, speed, and pricing—please choose two. 😆
I saw the sentiment above around 1990. Never forgot it. When we wrote Outstanding! decades later, we kept in mind exceptional organizations provide all three. Outstanding “vendors” indeed do exist, like Cutco Knives.
Is your organization outstanding?
On a Monday, we mailed our 2003 Cutco knives (19 pieces including two with broken tips from eBay) to Olean, NY for sharpening. Using the postal service, we prayed for safe arrival. A new set costs … a lot.
Early Friday, a humorous email came stating our knives were “vacationing,” soon to be returned like new.
Then, on Monday, a message arrived saying we’d be “reunited” with our beloved cutlery on Saturday—they were already heading toward Colorado!
They landed Thursday, two days early, shiny and sharpened … ready to cut steel again. Those broken ones? Replaced new under Cutco’s “Forever Guarantee.”
What did Cutco do right?
Everything.
Timely communication, quality work, quick turnaround, no delays/excuses, honored promises, and pricing. Yep, this service is free.
Cutco exceeded expectations—again. We’ve done this twice in 20 years.
Does this describe your organization? Is your organization outstanding?
2 Responses
The Cutco story resonates with me. I was introduced to Cutco this summer in an online sales pitch from a lovely young lady earning money for college. Normally I would never sit through such a presentation. But since it was my favorite niece doing the pitch as a practice round before selling to strangers I wasn’t going to miss out on time with her. The pitch was filled with humor such as the explanation of why their specially designed cheese knives can’t be used on Sunday…because they are “holey”.
I knew I would end up making some purchase on the basis of helping my niece out, but getting an entire set plus some extra items was based on the “Forever Guarantee”. The kicker was that the only evidence you need for the guarantee to be honored is the knife itself. The product becomes your proof of purchase.
My wife hates the knives. Not the knives themselves, but the fact each time she uses one she ends up cutting herself. And they are every bit as sharp as they claim. I cut myself often with them as well. But I love the way they cut and more how Cutco backs up what they make.
Craig, wow … fun note. And what a kind uncle you are! Holy knives!!! And, yeah, sharp is right. Thanks for sharing!