Customer Loyalty Begins With A Smile It was a cold, dark January morning. The clock on my truck read 5:32am as I pulled out of my garage for a business meeting over to Portland. Two tons of steel was protecting me from the outside elements and I still shivered as the ice mist hit my windshield. My brain needed a jolt so I headed over to Dutch Brothers Coffee, pulled up to the window, and was greeted with a big smile - “Good morning, what can I make for you this beautiful morning?” I’m charmed by her positive, friendly outlook. The combination...

Last Tuesday, May 19th I wrote about a bad experience I had with American Express customer service that resulted in having my card cancelled after 27 years. If you missed it you can read it here. Last Friday, May 22th, 3 days after my post, I got a call from Ms. McGovern from the Executive Offices of American Express.  She explained to me that members of American Express’s Marketing Department monitor Blogs and other social media products for mentions of the “American Express” brand.  My blog entry caught their eye, so they forwarded my blog posting to the American...