Last week I let Sears have it for their poor customer service during my quest to procure a photo of myself for this Web site. But the story didn’t end there.

My next call was to a local studio, Dig It Photography. The owner, who answered the phone himself, asked me to come in for a shoot at 12:30 pm that very day. Wow! Now we’re getting somewhere.

Or so I thought. When I arrived at his studio, the door was locked. Taped to it was a scribbled out note saying he’d be back at 2:30 pm.

Grrr. Big company or small, customer service is dead, I thought. Wrong! The phone was ringing when I returned to my office. It was the photographer, Don. He couldn’t have been more apologetic. He had gotten hung up on a location shoot. He asked for another chance and said if I came in again, he’d take me immediately.

How could I say no? I returned that very afternoon. Don showed a real interest in my business, asking lots of friendly questions. He shared a few humorous stories about his experiences as a photographer, including an anecdote about William Shatner.

He made me feel at home. He made me want to come back.

After he finished prepping the photo (you can judge the results for yourself), he insisted on giving me a 50% discount! It was the last thing I expected, and I told him it wasn’t necessary. But he said his reputation was more important than money (!) and he felt he had not treated me up to his standards.

Needless to say, here was a textbook example of how to take care of a customer. He’ll absolutely get more photography business from my family and me. He’ll get referrals every chance I get. Simply by expressing concern and maintaining high standards, he transformed an irritated prospect into an advocate!

How many millions (or billions) in extra sales could a company the size of Sears bring in, if only they could follow the simple example of a neighborhood photographer?