Jeff has a big sweaty hug to give FedEx after their customer service rep Leslie personaly intervened and saved his car-buying transaction from getting 1000% harder. Read his happy tale, and another addition to the “ABOVE AND BEYOND” files, inside…

Jeff writes:

Today I am writing to pay a serious compliment to one of your outstanding employees. I do not know her last name, but Leslie (the manager?) from your Emeryville, CA transfer center went above and beyond the call of duty today, and this outstanding effort on her part should be recognized.

Today I am purchasing a vehicle from a private seller. Due to some complications with the bank holding the title, it was not shipped from Georgia until yesterday evening, and arrived in California early this morning, with an expected delivery date of Monday. This was not good, as the seller was leaving the country (for good) later this afternoon, so we had to have the title by this morning. After the seller placed a few calls to fedex, they informed him that he would be unable to pick up the shipment because it was stuck in the Oakland airport. We were both disappointed, and tried to come up with a workaround. However, a few hours later, I checked the tracking information and saw that the package was now sitting in the Emeryville shipping center. Again, the seller tried to call but whoever he spoke to refused to transfer him to the Emeryville office!

At this point I called and spoke to a very polite and helpful customer service rep on the phone (whose name I cannot remember), who assured me that she would get a message to Emeryville and see what they could do. An hour later, Leslie called me to confirm the tracking number and asked me a few questions for verification, and promised to personally find the shipment and have it ready by noon. I was thrilled. When the seller walked in around 9:30, Leslie had already found the package.

Because of the singular effort on the part of Leslie, I will be able to purchase my new car today, something that would have gotten way more complicated once the seller left the country, even it even could have been completed at all. I have already told several people this story, and will continue to mention it in the future. This sort of exemplary action on the part of FedEx employees reinforces the brand image your company attempts to portray on Television and other advertising campaigns: If it absolutely has to be there, you can absolutely depend on us. Today Leslie has reminded me that FedEx is one company who actually takes their credo seriously.

Leslie, thank you so much,

Jeff G.

And that’s how the front lines can win you customer loyalty.(Photo: billy verdin)

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