My wife is still recuperating from a broken ankle, and finds it difficult to walk through the grocery store. Consequently, I’ve been doing the majority of our food shopping, equipped each trip with a list and very specific instructions!
This past week, however, we were in need of a Boston Fern for our back porch and the odds of my selecting the properly-sized and conditioned plant were not good. So off we went, first to the nearest garden center, then to one of the big box hardware-and-more stores. Neither had a suitable choice, so we switched gears and headed toward the local Hannaford Brothers supermarket.
The effort of walking through the first two stores was taking it’s toll, so my wife opted to call the supermarket to see if they even had any ferns.
Our car is equipped with Blue Tooth, and I heard the person working in the produce department answer the phone with a cheery tone. He listened carefully to my wife’s query about the right-sized Boston Fern…
“Well we have one fern left in stock,” the man said. “And I think you’ll like it! It has done well under the store lights and we keep up with watering and care.”
“Okay, sounds promising,” came the reply.
“I’d be happy to put it on hold for you… how long before you can get to the store?”
“We’re actually pulling into the parking lot right now,” my wife told him.
And then, without having any possible way of knowing about my wife’s healing ankle, he offered to bring the fern outside for us to see!
“Just drive-up,” he said enthusiastically. “I’ll be the guy standing in front of the store holding a Boston Fern!”
Without having to leave the car we were able to determine that the fern was, in fact, in good condition; and it was the right size! The Hannaford Associate then waited while I parked the car, and walked with me to the “self checkout” aisle inside, where he helped me quickly process the transaction.
It was, I thought, a great example of customer service, which will keep us coming back!