Customer Satisfaction- Playing in the Dirt

You know that rare and wonderful feeling you get when the truly unexpected actually happens? I just had one of those moments with 6 tons of dirt and decided to share an example of customer service that just blew me away. I don’t always expect the same level of customer service/satisfaction from every experience; I think that most people have an internal barometer of expectations that they can dial up/down accordingly.

I had just finished building four large raised vegetable beds and decided to buy some good quality bedding soil. About two weeks ago I visited a small rock supply yard a few miles away and ordered 6 tons (yes they are big beds) of dirt. The guy was really nice and delivered the stuff that afternoon. However, everything I put into the beds either died within a few days or just didn’t grow. On Monday I decided to go and talk to the ‘dirt guy’, he immediately took me into his office and called his supplier and explained what was going on. Later that afternoon a rep from the supplier came out to visit and looked at my problem veggie beds. Apparently the stuff I had used was not appropriate for use in raised beds and should have been mixed in with something else. She took a sample away to test and said she would tell me what I needed to do to fix the problem. Already I was amazed they had gone to all this trouble. The following day she came back with a huge sack of organic fertilizer and a few dozen tomato, onion and lettuce plants to replace the ones I had lost.

I honestly did not expect the guy at the rock yard to do much, but he took this seriously, and I certainly did not expect that level of service from the supplier. As a result I have recalibrated my expectations barometer for all things dirt related in the future. The important point is that if these guys can care so much for their product and brand, how come I am so often disappointed by other companies that should know better.

PS If you live in Texas and need dirt you should call these guys www.livingearth.net