Grin & Grumble

I often find myself lamenting the decline of customer service. How many times do you buy something or hire someone to do something and the customer service you receive makes you want to hit something and hit it hard?

So the last two days I’ve had some superior customer service stories. The funny thing? I didn’t have to buy anything.

I direct the marketing efforts for a non-profit. A current project I’m working on is creating a multimedia slide show for an upcoming donor appreciation night. The slide show needs to evoke emotion. It needs to resonate with donors, helping them understand how their gifts make a difference.

I wrote the script, identified a client to feature, and took loads of photos. I needed music to run behind the voice over. We just don’t have the budget to purchase music so I thought of the podsafe music network. Once upon a time, I had a podcast and I used this great resource. I knew the music was available to podcasters, but I didn’t think I could use it for the slide show. I e-mailed C.C. Chapman, the man who brings so much indie music to listeners’ ears. He offered a simple solution: ask the artists if I can use their music for the slide show.

I grumbled a bit because when I was developing my podcast, I had e-mailed several artists asking if I could use their songs. I never heard from them. But, I put that aside yesterday and went to town. I created a play list and then e-mailed about 10 artists. So far, about six have responded, all with the general sentiment of, “Heck yeah, go ahead, use my song. Hope it goes well.” Well wishes clogging the inbox. You have to love it.

There is some good customer service out there. And, sometimes you don’t need to be a customer to get it.