Richard Branson knows how important a "thank you" is

It's great that someone as senior and busy as Richard Branson has taken the time to write a post about the importance of thank you notes. See here for the link:

http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/why-we-should-all-send-more-thank-you-letters 

This is exactly what the Compliment Corner blog is trying to achieve. Do let me know if you would like me to send someone a handwritten letter on your behalf.

phil@complimentcorner.com 

A compliment for the New Year

On New Year’s Eve I visited Sainsbury’s in Leamington Spa to pick up a few final supplies for a mini-gathering I was hosting that evening. It was quite busy with many people doing the same. For one thing, lots of the drinks offers had already been taken from the shelves.

I’ve never worked on a checkout at a supermarket but I’ve worked for a while in a ticket booth of a busy tourist attraction. I can understand how difficult it is to serve different people throughout the day and how hard it must be to stay interested in your job. For that reason, I’m sure we all have stories of checkout operators who are surly and glum when we’re buying our goods. Of course, it’s not just up to them to speak to us – many customers treat checkout operators as nothing more than machines, and a bit of politeness and human spirit wouldn’t hurt on both sides.

For that reason I wanted to send a Compliment Corner letter to a lady called Meena, who was working on the checkouts on New Year’s Eve. She made the effort to chat to me even though I wasn’t feeling very chatty, and consequently she cheered me up and sent me on my way feeling good about my visit to the shop. Sometimes it’s just nice to smile, chat, or even just make eye contact while paying for the shopping. Meena made that easy to do. She didn’t have to do anything but scan my shopping and take my payment but she went the extra mile to brighten my day. My letter is below. 

A locomotive compliment

Train travel can be expensive, unpredictable, stressful, and depressing. We often find ourselves delayed waiting on a cold station platform, or crammed into carriages forced to stare at our fellow commuters with faces only inches apart. At time of writing, there are storms and gales buffeting the country and some trains are even being cancelled entirely. I’ll never know how trains in Russia manage to still function, perhaps the UK is just soft?!

Well, I had a good experience at a train station recently and I wanted to write a Compliment Corner letter about it. I’m breaking a rule here that I should always know the name of the person I’m complimenting, but on this occasion I didn’t catch his name – let’s call him Station Manager.

Warwick Station is a quaint stopping point for tourists interested in visiting the castle or town. It’s an unassuming station that most commuters never have reason to visit, and many trains simply pass through without stopping on their way to London. Warwick Parkway station just up the road is the main commuter station with space for hundreds of cars. I rarely visit Warwick station but I recently had cause to walk over there to catch a train to Birmingham.

The station manager at Warwick Town station is a polite and efficient gentleman who obviously takes his job seriously. He is polite without being effusive and efficient in that he wants you to have all the necessary information for your journey. He maintains a welcoming atmosphere in the waiting room and when I visited we were being treated to some light classical music. The manager simply served me in a friendly manner, helped me to find the best ticket for my journey and processed my payment. This is perhaps nothing more than he, or any other station employee should do, and yet it evoked something of the nostalgia of old train travel. He treated the elderly couple who came after me with the same respect and decency. He was obviously happy with his job and it showed in about he went about it. My letter is below. 

A tailor-made compliment

I recently went to a restaurant in Warwick called Tailor's. It was a surprise visit organised by friends, and prior to that I hadn't given the place a second thought. By the end of the night I was left amazed at the amazing food on offer, served in such unique ways. However, this isn't a food blog or restaurant review site - Compliment Corner exists to say thank you to individuals who make a difference. 

The man whose service I want to recognise is Mark Fry. It turns out he was one of the chefs and owners of the restaurant, but I didn't know that at the time. From the moment we walked in, Mark welcomed us and explained the menu. Even though the place was full he took time to chat with us and recommend what food we might like and which drinks would go with it. He didn't have to do this as there was a very friendly waitress on hand to help us. It showed how much he cared about what he does that he spent so much time chatting to people. There were obviously regular customers on that night, too, as it seemed like he had taken the time to get to know them on previous visits. 

The meal was fantastic and we thought it was worth every penny. This is down, in no small part, to Mark's passion for food and efforts he made to make us feel special. My letter to Mark is below. 

Phil

First compliment back

It's very exciting for us today as we've received our first feedback from Daniel Henderson Jewellers who received our second compliment corner letter. Daniel wrote some very nice things on his Facebook page, which you can find by searching for "Daniel Henderson Jewellery". 

Daniel said "so nice to see that in a day and age where the internet is used to vent and criticise someone has taken the time to make sure that good experiences are equally publicised".

That's exactly what we set out to achieve! Thanks!

A literary compliment

For my next compliment, I would like to recognise the fantastic customer service of Keith Smith at Warwick Books. I have visited Warwick Books now on a number of occasions and have always been pleasantly surprised by their helpfulness, knowledge of books, and general efficiency.

On my most recent visit, I was after a book titled The Four Hour Work Week, because I thought it would change my life (I'll let you know how it goes). Keith did not have the book in stock, but he knew all about it. We had a good conversation. He ordered the book and to my great surprise I received a phone call the following morning to say that it had already arrived. This is fantastic customer service and demonstrates a real passion for helping others.

Not only that, but it seems Keith and his wife are championing the cause of independent book sellers everywhere by challenging the corporation tax laws of the major book sellers. Now whatever your view on tax is, you can certainly commend Keith for his passion for the book selling sector.

My letter to Keith is below. Please do pop in to the book shop next time you’re passing. I’m sure you will be pleased you did.

A Scottish Compliment

To continue with the wedding theme, I decided to send my second compliment to Daniel Henderson who runs a jewellers in Edinburgh. I got engaged in Edinburgh last year and we walked up and down the main shopping streets looking for somewhere to buy a ring. For anyone thinking of getting engaged I would recommend choosing the ring together. For one thing the man can't be blamed for choosing something horrible or tacky (both things I'm prone to doing!)

We walked into Daniel's shop and he was very welcoming. He helped us to create a ring from our budget and treated us just the same as if we were spending thousands. He obviously knew a lot about his products and was passionate about his business. Perhaps most important of all, Daniel wasn't afraid to let us walk away to think about things. He even recommended an amazing independent coffee shop (worthy of a Compliment Corner letter if I can ever remember their names). We went back to buy an engagement ring, and have since bought the accompanying wedding ring and some cuff links.

Here's the letter I sent to Daniel:

Dear Daniel,

I'm writing to thank you for your great service to us over the past year.

Last year my partner and I walked into your shop, having just gotten engaged, looking for a ring. You took time to help us find the ring we wanted and have since arranged for the accompanying wedding band. We really weren't sure what to expect when looking for a jewellers, but you definitely exceeded all our wishes. I hope you'll accept this Compliment Corner letter by way of a thank you.

Compliment Corner is simply a way for me to say thanks to people who given great customer service. I wanted a way to share these stories with other people so have created a blog, and I hope you don't mind that I posted this letter and a little description of your service on there.

Thanks again, and I look forward to doing business with you again in the near future.

Phil