The Kindness of Friendly Customer Service

"It is so much easier to be nice, to be respectful, to put yourself in your customers' shoes and try to understand how you might help them before they ask for help, than it is to try to mend a broken customer relationship."
~ Mark Cuban

I recently found myself on the phone trying to resolve several issues -- making appointments at a large medical center, trying to pay a bill when there was a fraud hold on a card, dealing with the bank...  And I was incredibly surprised to find not one, not two, but THREE very pleasant people on the other end of the phone.  Many times, when I need to make a call to deal with these kinds of issues, I take a deep breath, knowing that it will take me much longer than I have and hoping that the person on the other end of the phone will want to help me.  This time, I heard friendly voices thanking me for my patience and in each case, resolving my issues.  I was surprised and thrilled.