We’ve all had experiences as a customer when we’ve heard things like “I don’t have the authority to do that” or “Sorry, we have this policy…”.

It can be pretty frustrating and it seems to happen more when dealing with big companies than small companies.

Recently, I became a customer of a big company named Sprint. You’ve probably heard of them. :) I wouldn’t expect excellent customer service. In this case though, there’s one person named Dennis who works in the store in Garner, NC who seems to consistently attempt to delight customers. He’s one person working for a large corporation whose actions affect customers on a daily basis and cause them to start yapping about how great their experience was as a customer of Sprint.

Example 1: I was having trouble getting my new 4G card activated because it doesn’t handle Macs well yet. Dennis tried a bunch of things and then offered to let me follow him home so he could activate the card on his home computer since there were no available PC’s in the store. A crazy offer. Not something most folks would offer. One I accepted. One that helped me get up and running with the card.

He’s also going to get a PC running at the store for new Mac customers because he knows this solution won’t work long term.

Example 2: Here’s part of an email I just received from Dennis:

This is Dennis at the Garner Sprint store. I was nosing around our 4G rate plans and found a better 4G plan for you. Unlimited 3G+4G for… $10 less than you’re paying now! It will take effect on the start of your next bill cycle, 12/07/2009. Let me know if you have any questions.

This is amazing to me. It’s a remarkable thing when we’re delighted as customers. Perhaps because so few people consider unconventional solutions. Perhaps because there’s often little incentive to delight the customers you interact with when you’re working for a conglomerate. When it happens though, customers remember it and talk about it.