There's a difference between good customer service and exceptional customer service. Longtime Kinko's manager Shane Adair Roginski used to tell this story in her training classes:

My mother and I went to dinner at Spago at the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. When the waiter came to take our drink order, I ordered Mountain Dew (as I always do, knowing that very few restaurants carry it). As expected, the waiter said they didn't have it - what else would I like? Jokingly, I said I would like Mountain Dew, but would, of course, settle for a Coke. He took my mother's order and went away.

A few minutes later, another server came by with my mother's beverage and told me that our waiter was delayed with another order and would bring my Coke soon. I couldn't understand why this waiter couldn't bring it. I mean, how hard is a Coke?

After a few more minutes, our waiter did return with my beverage - a nice, cold glass of Mountain Dew on ice. Needless to say I was both surprised and delighted. He then told me he hoped that I wouldn't order more than two, because that was all he had. As I later discovered, he took some of his tip money, ran down the mall to a snack kiosk, bought a 20 oz. bottle of Mountain Dew, and ran back to serve it.

On the way out, I sought out the manager to compliment him on this waiter's ingenuity in making our dinner a good experience. The manager did not know that the waiter had left the restaurant, but did not seem surprised by it. He said that what the waiter did was what was expected - to take care of the customer. I congratulated him and told him that I would be using this example in my classes. He said that he hoped that what he tried to instill in his staff would help to teach others that the best way to get good service is to give good service, no matter what business or position you may hold. I could not agree more!

The restaurant business is tough, and every little detail can make or break the customer experience. An otherwise fantastic evening that ends with a bad cup of coffee will be remembered as the night of the bad coffee. Part of the power of Shane's story is that she expected to NOT get Mountain Dew and would have had a lovely dinner even if forced to drink Coke. But the waiter seized an opportunity to exceed her expectations, and in a big way. The waiter could have simply served his customers and no one would have complained. He chose, rather, to delight his customers. As a result, he got a big tip, was commended to his manager, and this story of exceptional customer service has been shared with hundreds, if not thousands, of people.

In Good to Great (Harper Business, 2001), Jim Collins writes that "good is the enemy of great." That is certainly the case with customer service, as customers notice when someone has done something extra special just for them. We may not be able to surprise and delight every customer, but we should build a company culture of people who will jump at the chance to do so.