Very Good Service: good customer service stories

Last night we were invited to see the private view of the Art for Youth London 2013 at the Royal College of Art. Whilst the preconception would be that art and customer service have little in common, this event was so well staged that we enjoyed an excellent evening.

Art for Youth London is an exhibition which is now in its 26th year  and provides art lovers with the opportunity to buy reasonably priced pieces by established contemporary artists as well as emerging talents. Buyers directly contribute to the development of thousands of people throughout the UK via programmes delivered by the charity, UK Youth.

Art was the focus point of the evening with many hundreds of pieces, including oils, sculpture, watercolours and ceramics. Entering the spirit in the evening, we bought a great piece by Ann Hawksley from her London Street collection.

For us though, it was impossible not to notice the excellent level of service throughout the event making it into a memorable occasion. As soon as entering the exhibition space, hospitality staff were waiting, coat hangers and quality cloakroom tickets in hand, smiling and disappearing in the background with your items whilst a new person would appear to serve the next guest. No dreadful counter wait here.  

Food by Harriet provided a high quality catering service. Food comprised a mix of cold and hot canapes, with spoons (proper – no plastic!), skewers and parcels with interesting ingredients and tastes. Champagne by Louis Roederer was available throughout the evening in generous quantity with waiting staff being very attentive to their customers’ needs and providing a service which was personalised yet very respectful and non-intrusive. 

The art buying experience was very good too, with staff prepared to provide a comprehensive service, taking the picture of the wall within minutes and wrapping them up if you wanted to take them home with you or the traditional red dot service for later delivery or collection. 

Finally, leaving the exhibition was very smooth too with the “cloakroom attendants” working their magic again whilst we were still able to enjoy a last look at the art and sip of champagne.

Well done to all involved, a very good service example indeed.

Service rating: +++++ (excellent)