Customer delight is something every company aspires to deliver. A company that has employee empowerment instilled in its core ethos will consistently ‘wow’ the customer.
I recently came across a video posted by Jia Jiang, who is on an uncanny quest to overcome his fear of rejection. Jia Jiang is on a mission to make one crazy request per day for 100 days. He hopes to be rejected on these bizarre requests so that he may eventually condition himself to overcome rejection in its entirety. He, like many of us, fears rejection — be it rejection from admission to a group, a team, a relationship. Having been successfully rejected on his first 2 days, he was confident that his next request at Krispy Kreme would be a straightforward rejection as well. However, it was the complete opposite.
Jackie Braun, a shift leader at Krispy Kreme, in Austin, Texas, responded to his challenging request and went beyond the call of duty to make Jia a specialized doughnut that he requested.
Jia requested for a specialized doughnut in the shape of the Olympic rings with the glazing to be in the Olympic colors, and when asked when he needed it, he said in about fifteen minutes. Upon receiving Jia’s request, Jackie thought about it and fifteen minutes later, she emerged with a Krispy Kreme box with the glazed Olympic ring arrangement inside and, astonishingly, did not even charge Jiang for it!
“It’s only my third day and I have already failed,” Jia Jiang wrote on his 100 Days of Rejection Therapy blog. “But I did so with such amazement and happiness.” I started this Rejection Therapy project to toughen my mind, but Jackie at Krispy Kreme softened my soul. If everyone in the service industry is like Jackie, the world would be a much, much better place.”
Click on the wrapper below for the youtube link to the video:
This is a wonderful story of going the extra mile and providing excellent customer service. Kudos to the company too for empowering its team members. I might try a hand at this next time I see the red light on at Krispy Kreme here in Manila!