I have come to expect that when I call a company for customer support, I am subjecting myself to frustratingly long hold times, mazes of prerecorded soundbites that have nothing to do with my problem, and customer support reps who speak from a script and can’t do anything to help me. I know I am not alone. But, our low expectations do provide companies with an opportunity: the opportunity to surprise and delight consumers with truly positive customer service experiences.
 
Earlier today I unboxed a brand new espresso machine: The Nespresso Citiz. The Citiz is a stunning espresso brewing champ. You can turn around a flawless shot of Ristretto with the push of one button. But first I had to prep the machine for its inaugural brew.

Step 1: Fail 
I turned on the machine and it quickly heated up. I was t-minus three minutes from the delicious union of South American and East African Arabicas. My plan was to down the coffee and then dash off to the gym. Unfortunately, I hit a snag. The Citiz did not work.

It turned on, but there was no water flow. I re-read the instructions and carefully checked the steps. I had followed the instructions perfectly. My frustration was beginning to brew. 

I called the Nespresso helpline and was prepared for pain.

Surprisingly a real person picked up the phone within 20 seconds. Carol introduced herself and quickly apologized. She explained that she thought that there was an air bubble in the system but that there was a manual workaround. The Citiz is designed so that the top of the system can be used like an old fashioned water pump. I needed to pump water through the Citiz to push out the air bubble.

 
I began pumping the Citiz but nothing happened. We tried five variations of pumping the water while holding down the espresso, lungo, and on/off switch. After 10 minutes it was becoming clear that I was not going to have any espresso today.

I had two options: Carol would overnight a replacement machine or I could unplug the machine, wait an hour, and push out the air bubble again. If the latter option failed I could call her back and she would overnight a replacement Citiz. There would be no need to recount my tale to another rep. I was delighted that they were willing to send a replacement so quickly and that I wouldn’t have to waste any more time. I picked the second option hoping that the Citiz would magically start working in the next 60 minutes.

I hung up the phone and tried the water pump action one final time before my 60 minute wait. Suddenly, steaming hot water was flying through the Citiz and I was ready to brew! A minute later and I was enjoying my Ristretto. It was even better than I remembered. I called Carol back and thanked her for her help.

My Takeaway
The Nespresso support process was wonderful. They treated me with respect by explaining why the problem was happening instead of just prescribing a solution, they gave me clear and concise options so that I felt like I had control of the situation, and it was clear that they were genuinely concerned that I was not going to enjoy a coffee that morning.

 By the end of the call, I would have been fine with a new Citiz arriving tomorrow because it was so clear they were willing to go the extra mile to make sure I was happy.  But the fact that Carol actually helped me solve the problem made the coffee taste that much better.

 There is no better way to create an evangelist than to surprise and delight someone during the support process. So get out there and help your customers to brew their first coffee.