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When I wrote the QBQ! book, little did I know people would view it as something other than a tool to bust blame, vanquish victim thinking, and purge procrastination from their organizations and lives. Some readers see it simply as Cathy sees it—a way to describe outstanding customer service. Enjoy her story!
Cathy’s Story of Outstanding QBQ! Customer Service:
Hi John,
I love the QBQ! book and subscribe to your emails, but have never been moved to write you before.
My son is at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs and I was there recently for “parents’ weekend.” On my last night before going home to Texas, he and I dined at Zio’s Italian Kitchen.
Not realizing they closed at 9pm, we arrived at 8pm. Ordering and eating quickly, we left at closing time. I then drove him back to the Academy where we chatted for a while and said our good-byes. Shortly after 10pm at my hotel I realized I was missing my cell phone. So I called Zio’s even though I was fairly certain nobody would be there.
To my surprise, an employee answered and said he’d been waiting for me to call or return … he had my phone!
I asked him to just leave it on the restaurant porch and I’d come get it right away, but he wouldn’t hear of it. He didn’t “feel comfortable with that.” He’d wait for me. I got into my car and drove back to Zio’s.
He could have gone home and not waited for me to call.
He could’ve left it on the porch and not worried about it.
He could’ve had me return the next day when they reopened at 11am.
But, he hadn’t made any of those choices. When I drove up he was standing outside with his manager—waiting for me at almost 11pm.
This may not seem like a big deal, but it was a very big deal. What he didn’t know was that I needed to drive 650 miles home to Texas the next day and planned to leave at 6am. If I’d waited until 11am to get my cell, I wouldn’t have gotten home until midnight.
I want you to know his name: Jed Dispoto. Jed, our server at Zio’s Italian Kitchen on Corporate Drive in Colorado Springs, CO, made a lasting impression on me!
Cathy C., ETHICON, INC., a Johnson & Johnson company
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Cathy, thank you for the story about Jed going the extra mile. It’s great to know that Outstanding! still happens!
Do you have a story of outstanding customer service? We’d love to hear it! Share below.
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4 Responses
Thank you Cathy for sharing your story. I’ll be traveling to Colorado Springs in a month and have put it on my calendar to have dinner at Zio’s Italian Kitchen. It’s a pleasure to hear about outstanding service.
I went to my bank, Suntrust, to make a deposit. I also needed a stamp. I thought the bank might have one. Therefore, I asked the guy helping me, Brian, if they had a stamp. Instead of saying no or some other smart comment, he went to his personal vehicle and got me a stamp at no charge. Now that is outstanding service!
And THANK YOU to the manager for not leaving his employee there to wait alone!! Loved the story and hope there are many more out there that haven’t even happened yet!! 🙂
I wanted to follow-up, I did indeed get to Zio’s last week when I went to Colorado Springs. As I was seated and Jed our waiter got us started with drinks and bread, I let him know I wanted to pass along that I had read about them and their outstanding service on the QBQ e-mail. Jed smiled as he let me know he was the waiter in the write up. It was a great opportunity to share with my 8 & 10 year old grandsons that doing what’s rightest is the right thing to do! Thank you for sharing the story, I would mention that the service & food were great, highly recommend them.