This week:
Have you ever given or received
outstanding -- really very amazing! -- service?

We could all go on an on about lousy service -- it happens all the time. But have you ever given someone absolutely great service? How did they respond? Have you ever received service like that? Tell us!

Work & Money survey questions change each Wednesday.

bpeabody: Good service is the silver lining in the cloud of consumer culture. I love to get really good service. My two favorites are LL Bean and Hobson's Choice Restaraunt - one national and one local. These two places offer outstanding service. The LL Bean story I love the best is their policy on footwear. If you buy shoes from them they will resole them for life. And Hobson's - I don't think I've even sat for more than 5 seconds with an empty beer. That's good service.

Walker: Today some of the Tripodians went to the next town and registered for a fly-fishing class. On the way home, we stopped by McDonald's for lunch (I know, I know, but we were in a hurry!). Got food, sat down. And were amazed to see that for several patrons -- a woman who walked with a cane, mothers carrying babies -- the McDonalds employees helped them carry their food to their tables. This is apparently a regular practice, at this particular McDonalds. It left us all feeling very differently about McDonald's in general.

CyberMom: Talk about service...My husband decided to stupid HTML tricks on my Tripod homepage. Since it is FREE and easy to use my husband thought it would be easy to "fix" a small problem I had. But Oh Nooooo!! He oblitereated the page! What a jerk! But the people at Tripod ( Tung Pham & associates) were kind enough to grant my begging and pleading E-mail to fix it and put it back on-line in less than 24 hours! They did not have to do that since Tripod is a FREE homepage server and not being paid to be at my beck and call over cyber-stupiditry. Now THATS SERVICE !!!!! Thanks again TRIPOD!!!!!

Tungces: It's already a cliche these days, but with American Express Membership does have its privleges. While travelling in Rome I had my wallet stolen. One of the first numbers I called was American Express. I even called collect. They naturally cancelled my account, and then tranferred me to the MasterCard center so I could take care of that card as well. All this on their phone bill. I had new AMEX card the next day, no problem. After that incident, I will always carry an American Express card.

VLew: I am a college student and, of course, am sometimes strapped for cash. Around Christmas time I was especially feeling the crunch and the need for money. I went to my mailbox one day and found an envelope containing a note of appreciation and forty dollars cash. To this day, I don't know who did it, but I am certainly grateful.

thrash: I second Walker's motion. To fully debate last week's 'Big Business' question I had to visit McDonald's again (2nd or 3rd time that week, I believe). Yes, I was in a real hurry. And the employee recognized that and served me as quickly as possible. He was extremely friendly, polite and professional. All this and working at McDonald's at 11:30 p.m. on a Friday. Most people I know tend to poke fun at 'burger flippers'. But I thought, hey, this guy seems to like what he's doing, is good at his job and relays this to the customer as good service. Even at McDonald's! Shouldn't he be paid more than that snot-nosed waiter (that gets 20%) that served us at the Ice House last week? The Point: If you have good service, let somebody know (esp. supervisors). I took about 15 sec. and filled out a comment card using the employee's name. We need more people like him, at all establishments.

Sooze: When stranded in Pennsylvania, unable to get home via the Turnpike because the local ATMs would not honour my cash card to pay for tolls, I stopped into a bank to try to get a cash advance on my credit card. When that didn't work, the teller actually gave me money out of her own pocket so I could get home. Incredible! What a "Good Samaritan" she was! (I seriously doubt it was standard operating procedure for the bank, so they shouldn't get credit for this employee's kind deed, but I just thought it was an amazing thing that I wanted to share...)

mags: I, and other Tripoders, get my insurance from USAA, a company which gives outstanding customer service. As an example, last year, the company did so well (due in part, no doubt, to their excellent customer service) that all members received a check (that's right, cash) so that everyone shared in the profits.

Glad: While set up to sell at a Sugarloaf Mountain Arts Festival in Maryland, I ran out of plants for my terrariums. I looked up a greenhouse in the yellow pages, and explained my problem. The owner herself drove out to the show, and delivered a box of plants. She Saved The Day!

LChernicoff: I thoroughly endorse your effort to recognize good/great service. You are absolutely correct in the observation that bad service is too often recognized, and good service is oft interred with the bones. The next step is to provide great service oneself, by making sure that the server's boss or colleagues hear the praise. That's one way to ensure that positive energy is rewarded, and spreads like ripples through our increasingly difficult world.