It was over a month ago that the Western Sponsorship Congress™ took place. The accolades are still coming in. I was talking with two Congress sponsors this past week about other business. Again both brought up the service and delivery they received from Nicki and the Congress team. They spoke about how everything was turnkey for them and how they were treated special, or at least felt as such.
They noted how within 48 hours of the Congress they received follow up (personalized) thank you notes and an anticipated date that fulfilment reports would be to them. They said they were really wowed. I thought to myself, hey that is great. I also thought about what a great job the team does. Then I began to think about personal experiences of service what seems to be “above and beyond type service” and how much of an impact that can make.
I used to relate everything to Disney service. I have always been in awe of how they make an experience marvellous. The friendliness, the characters staying in character, the cleanliness, the organization, the 90 minute line waits where you hardly know you are in line because they entertain you throughout. That was my gold standard for service.
I now have a new gold standard. It is still California, but it is the San Francisco “Muni”. Yes the municipal transit system; the busses, trolleys, subways and cable cars. I was there the week before the Congress with my wife and five year old daughter. We bought passes and used the “muni” quite a bit. Every time we rode it, because we were tourists we asked the questions like “will this get us to the aquarium” or “do we need to take this or the other bus to get to the market area at the Embarcadero” etc. Every time the drivers and “muni folks” were helpful and polite.
They would say things like “oh no, take the number 49 it will drop you off at the doorstep, this one will leave you 10 blocks from there and you will have to walk” or “yes get on, I will let you know when to get off” or when we were going on the L Line one time the lady at the booth suggested we take the street level bus rather than the underground as they were having delays and it may be scary for our daughter when it stops underground in a tunnel”. Then beyond us, they had wheelchair accessible seats with the drivers assisting the disabled passengers get locked in. We commented on what a user friendly, hospitable transit system they had.
Then the clincher came! This is when I changed my gold standard. We went to the 49ers game on the Sunday afternoon at Candlestick Park. We took the L line and street car and then transferred to the Express Shuttle service that took us from the L Line stop right to the front gates of Candlestick by bus. It was great. (By the way 50% of the people around us were tourists too!). Then after the game we stuck around to chat with our friends Carol and John Vidalin (John is the CSO for the 49ers – a sponsorship and sports marketing guru).
By the time we got out of the stadium, the busses were not to be found. We were out in the middle of nowhere with no idea how to get back to our hotel down by the Wharf and Pier 39. I walked up to a muni fellow and asked (like a tourist) “I guess we missed the last Express Shuttle back the L Line?” He laughed and said “only by 40 minutes or so. Where are you going?” I told him where we needed to go and that we were from Canada. He told us to wait. Next thing I knew he returned with a bus. Yes a bus! He said, this fellow (the driver) was finished his shift and he would take us down to our hotel area. And he did.
We had our own bus. Now that is unbelievable service. Talk about making someone feel special. It was astonishing. This was the municipal transit system. Not only were they friendly but they truly went beyond the call for service and expectations to ensure satisfaction. He drove us to within 3 blocks of our hotel (closer than where we originally caught the muni to head out to Candlestick Park). Now that was service. Boy did they make us feel special. They made us feel like we were important; they made us feel like we were the most important people in San Francisco at that point in time. They had given us, three folks from Canada, a private bus ride back to our hotel because we had missed the Express Shuttle. The next day as we were walking around I did notice that the “bus barn” was about a block from where the driver dropped us off. He was taking that bus back to the barn at the end of his shift anyway so he really did not go out of his way at all to provide such service to us. I never told my wife and daughter, no need to. The experience was amazing, why burst the bubble. Bus barn or not, the San Francisco “Muni” is my new gold standard for service.
Next time you follow up with a sponsor, deal with a fan or stakeholder, see how you can wow them with extraordinary service while you are doing your version of “driving the bus back to the bus barn”. It doesn’t take much to be exceptional for your sponsors or stakeholders, just figure out how to do it. Nicki and her team at the Western Sponsorship Congress™ sure did as well… and they hadn’t even heard the “muni story”.
These are just one person’s thoughts. Yours are welcomed as well, so comment below, and thank you for reading.