While I do rent an office, I spend the majority of my working hours in my home office, which in recent months received an organizational makeover to best fit the needs of a growing company.
That is, until the lights went out.
If you aren’t in my “neck of the woods” then you haven’t been enjoying the crazy weather that has blowing into town (literally and figuratively). One minute I’m minding my own business and then next, I’m holed up in my pantry with my collection of crock pots and cats. The wind incident, as dubbed by the Weather Channel, took not only my electricity but my wi fi… as well as a portion of my sanity.
I won’t regale you with tails of my subsequent office hopping and the happy dance that ensued when the lights flickered back on, but I do want to tell a tale of customer service that taught me that the capacity to go above and beyond is the only path worth taking.
Those that know me, are probably aware that I am the unofficial president of the “I heart Relay Foods” fan club, despite the fact that I was never exactly asked to be it. 🙂 I stumbled upon Relay Foods, an online grocer that services both Charlottesville and Richmond, some time ago and it’s been a love affair ever since. There are days that I hardly have time to brush my hair so the idea of purchasing groceries online from all of my favorite stores and picking them up in one spot- welp, they had me at hello.
My husband and I had been away at my brother’s wedding when we put in our latest Relay order en route so we could pick it up the day after we returned (I know, right?). Naturally, my pick up time took place just two hours after I had lost power. I joked to the person at pick up that I was there to collect my groceries so they could go home and spoil. 🙂 She quickly took pity on me and let me take home basically their entire cooling system- the container, the ice packs and what I later dubbed their magical insulation.
It may not have seen like a big gesture to them, but it meant a great deal to me. Thanks to RelayFoods going above and beyond for little ole me, we not only kept our groceries, but saved everything else left from our fridge (their magical insulation was ten times better than any other cooler we had on hand). After a week of our power flickering off and on, I had my sanity- and all of my meats and dairy- intact.
I was also a retaught a lesson- outstanding customer service never goes out of style. Relay Foods has a lifelong customer in me and I don’t plan on turning in my Fan Club President card any time soon.
Meghan Ely is the owner of wedding marketing and wedding pr firm OFD Consulting. She is the exclusive wedding pr columnist to wedding marketing journal WedLock magazine and is a highly sought after speaker in the wedding industry. She loves ruffle table runners and Royal Wedding Tchotchkes. To learn how OFD Consulting can assist you with your wedding marketing and wedding pr, please contact us today.
