Great Service - Exhibit A

"No Problem, I'll Take Care of It"

If you're going to call out examples of especially poor or indifferent service (Sprint vs. Horizon), it seems only fair to recognize instances of superior service.

Which I've previously done on this blog (Catching Mistakes -- Or Not). (Note: it's especially nice when the person or people you cite work for your company!).

The most recent example of exemplary service I encountered was my experience with Kathy Niemczyk at Spartan Promotional Group.

I ordered a couple t-shirts online last week, only to discover after they were delivered that they were a size too small.

I called the phone number on the invoice, and Kathy picked up quickly, the first time.

No annoying phone tree ("press #1 if you are calling about 'x,' press #2 if you are calling about 'y'," etc.), no voicemail, no phone tag.

And no argument or red tape.

Just a very pleasant, "no problem, I'll take care of it." ("I'll take care of it" -- A-h-h-h, those 5 magic words. How often you do hear -- and really believe -- them these days?)

"I'll Take Care of It"

Kathy told me how to return the order, and said she'd check to see if they had the right size.

She called back 30 minutes later to say that they did, and that she would set them aside.

This Saturday, I mailed the original order back.

Tuesday, the replacement arrived (OK, it was local, but that still qualifies as lightning fast!).

Total charge (shipping and handling, re-stocking, etc.) for correcting what was arguably my mistake?

$0.

Hey, Kathy, can we put you in charge of health care reform??

Bold Mortgage Prediction!

Mortgage Prediction: More Red Tape

Clients know that I demur when asked where I think interest rates are headed.

If Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, doesn't know with a high degree of confidence -- what chance does anyone else have?

That said, here's one major development that's easy to predict: there will be more red tape.

That's so because government, by default, is going to be more and more involved in the lending process.

In fact, it's likely to be the loan originator, the underwriter, the appraiser, the insurer, the servicer, and the securitizer (did I forget anything?).

Since the full nationalization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac almost a year ago, it's already playing many -- if not all -- of those roles.

If the old focus was making money (through any and all means), the new focus is not losing it.

That mindset -- plus government "process" -- is not likely to breed expediency or economy.