Customer service counts

As an American consumer of more than 30 years' experience, I've seen the good and bad of customer service. I've found that no one does a worse job of communicating than the phone company. Go figure. I also was once threatened with a visit from police during a heated dispute over a malfunctioning lawn mower at Wal-Mart. But sometimes a company understands that just a small gesture can make all the difference in its relationship with its customers. Such was the case for me yesterday at Hollywood Theaters at Washington Crown Center. I went with the missus and a co-worker to see "Smart People," which had a start time of 12:55 p.m. The missus and I both arrived about 12:30, which was the posted time for the box office to open. There was no one in the box office, or anywhere to be seen inside the theater, but I wasn't overly concerned because we still had nearly a half hour until the movie was to start, and my co-worker, who shall remain nameless, is well known for being fashionably late (Yeah, it was Bess). But by 12:50 (Bess still not there), it became apparent that we and the other six or eight people waiting to buy tickets might have a problem on our hands. About 1 p.m. (as Bess was finally sauntering over), one of the theater owners showed up and explained that there had been a change in middle management at the theater that apparently had created a snafu in worker scheduling. A few minutes later, someone appeared with keys to open the place, and the owner told us that we would be getting in free, and that our movies would be started once everyone got into his or her seats. True to her word, we had been seated no more than five minutes before the previews started playing, and nobody minds getting something for free. It might have cost the theater a little money to let us in without charge, but it bought them a lot of goodwill. People will remember that theater management apologized to us and did something to make the situation right. It also provides a lesson for other companies that using a little common sense and treating your customers fairly keeps them happy, and coming back.