Friday, August 19, 2011

The Extraordinary Service of Chris’ Coffee

A few years ago, I had the extreme good fortune to stumble on a used La Spaziale espresso machine at a very good price, and so I bought this for our home. This is an Italian-made, dual boiler (meaning the coffee and steam water heat independently) machine that is suitable for use in a small commercial operation, and making my daily shots on this every day has been a joy and a privilege.

Until a month ago.

The problem began when the ground fault circuit the machine was plugged into began tripping whenever I turned it on. Like any stupid, willful male, I then used a cheater (which bypasses the ground) to make the machine work. This fix worked just fine until one day I touched a metal surface on the machine while it was on. The resulting ZAP! was painful, and even more painful was the second zap I experienced when I touched it again to make sure.

I was out of tricks at this point, so I called the service department at Chris’ Coffee in Albany, New York. For a machine like this (think complicated and Italian made), local service isn’t an option, and Chris and his team have always had a great reputation for their knowledge, service and parts inventory, so they were my first choice.


In a twenty-minute call, their technician helped me isolate the problem to the heating element in the steam boiler, and they sent me a replacement part. A photo of the old boiler element is shown at left, and if ever a part needed replacement, this was it. Look closely, and you’ll see that the tubing is split throughout its length, exposing the electrical element underneath.

To fast forward a bit here, that part came, I installed it, and then I ran into a succession of problems getting the machine back together and working. These adventures culminated the other day in the snapping off of a very small threaded fitting on a valve, leaving me with a vexing problem that I lacked the tools or knowhow to resolve. The machine is now on its way to Chris’ Coffee for repair of that problem and a general overhaul that will hopefully keep me problem-free for years to come.

My experience with Chris’ over the last two weeks has caused me to reflect on the rarity of great customer service in our world today – and what being good at this will do for Chris’ business, and being bad at it will do for others.

In the last three weeks, I have called the service department there ten times, as they graciously walked me through repairs to my machine. Every person I spoke with was polite, gracious and patient, and clearly the most important thing to each of them in those moments was helping me through my problem. Secondary in those calls was their other work, making commission, their text messages or their personal problems. I, their customer, came first.

In the course of these calls, they sold me three small parts. Not a lot of profit. But they reinforced their steadfast reputation as the provider of the best service in this industry. As a customer, I left these calls absolutely devoted to them, and I will never take my business anywhere else. When someone wants a recommendation as to where to buy an espresso machine or a grinder, that’s where I send them. And when I talk in casual conversation about great customer service, they are one of the two companies (along with Apple Computer), I will use as an example.

So for the owner, Chris Nachtrieb, fostering this commitment to service has the effect of selling more products and services to me (into perpetuity), and enlisting me as an ambassador to promote his business to others. And judging by the literally hundreds of posts in the online coffee forums that sing his praises, this commitment has been longstanding and consistent.

Let’s look at the flipside.

About three months ago, a friend of mine walked into a local bike shop to buy a small part. He knew the owner of the shop and the employee working behind the counter. When the part, which cost less than $10 was rung up on the register, my friend wondered why the price was so high, and why he hadn’t received his typical discount as a member of a local cycling club. The response was that this shop didn’t offer that discount anymore and that the price stuck. This was delivered with a dismissive attitude that said that this single customer wasn’t important and that helping to support the community by offering a very small discount to members of a non-profit trail advocacy organization wasn’t something they wanted to do anymore.

Since my friend’s experience, I’ve heard this incident mentioned by at least ten people, and its been discussed in conversations with large groups, so I know many more have heard the story. The reputation of this shop has plummeted, both in terms of individual customer service, and as a member of our community. They have lost sales and they have lost customers, and instead of having people go through the community raving about them (as I do Chris’ Coffee), the same people scorn them.

I don’t think it;s worth it. If we treat our customers with grace and respect, they’ll come back and they will spread the word. And if we don’t they won’t, and their business will go somewhere else.

Something to think about.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Affogato at The Royal Bean!


So just imagine . . . a cappucino cup, with a scoop of espresso chip gelato, then topped off with a double shot and served with a spoon. How fun is that? It actually has a name - the Affogato - and you can order yours today with the tasty Gelato Fiasco now available at The Royal Bean. Hurry.