Leaving a Lasting Impression

My husband and I live in New York and one morning on his routine walk to work he spotted a wallet that belonged to a young girl from Nebraska. It was fully intact with IDs, cash, credit cards, gift cards and stuffed with a variety of personal mementos that included a cruise key card. White Pages would not produce a usable phone number and a Facebook search proved unsuccessful. A quick Google search revealed that she was a soccer star in high school and had entered college to major in advertising and marketing, but that was the end of the available information.

In our attempt to reunite this girl with her wallet, we began to reach out to the companies who were represented in plastic cards in the wallet. There was a bank debit card — surely the bank would want to assist their client. We suffered through the many automated features and finally reached an agent. We explained the circumstances and noting privacy and confidentiality, we simply asked them to dial their client and give her our information so the wallet could be returned. The agent followed the prescribed script and stated they did not make outgoing calls, but had taken care of the matter on their end and advised us to turn the wallet into the police department (i.e.  — the bank had canceled the debit card and was done with the matter.) They had no concern for the IDs and this client’s potential problems as a result.

We continued our search and moved on to the cruise key card that indicated the girl had traveled at the beginning of the month. Instantly the customer service experience was different. It was a quick path to an actual agent who immediately searched and found the information. We were so impressed that the cruise representative did not hesitate to attempt contacting the former passenger. Unable to contact the girl (the voicemail was full), she wrote an email directly to her explaining the found wallet and provided our contact information. We were amazed at the service they were providing and the extra mile they were taking to continually serve their client.

Two hours later, I received a call from a young girl stating, “I got an email from the cruise line saying you found my wallet….” The girl, now reunited with her wallet, was thankful and on her way to request a new debit card — from a new bank.

Exceptional customer service is the key! The bank lost both a current client and future business, while the cruise line has found potential future travelers. When working with our clients, remember to make the extra effort, go the extra mile and leave a lasting impression!

At HORNE, we strive to provide consistent, exceptional client service. This mindset moves us to take the extra step to solve problems and produce positive results. Sometimes this requires intense collaboration and sometimes it can be the simplest action that can make a lasting impression. This principle can apply from not only the client standpoint but even a personal position — one day reuniting a wallet with its owner, the next building client solutions.

What impression will you leave?

About the Author

Christine Waldron is a government services manager at HORNE in the New York area. When she’s not serving her clients with Community Development Block Grants assistance, she’s sharing her personality with her fellow HORNE team members one feedback conversation at a time.