• Survey of Rural Challenges
  • Small Town Speaker Becky McCray
  • Shop Local video
  • SaveYour.Town

Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource

A row of small town shops
  • Front Page
  • Latest stories
  • About
  • Guided Tour
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • RSS

Great customer service with lollipops

By Becky McCray

Handwritten note with lollipopsThe Mem Store shipped my order promptly and correctly. That’s the essential first step. Then Debbie hand wrote a thank you note on my packing slip, and used my name. That’s a bonus. Plus she threw in two lollipops! Now I’m delighted. And raving about it to you.

Remember these lessons of great customer service, courtesy of Debbie and The Mem Store.

  1. Do the basics well. Be on time, accurate, complete.
  2. Use customers’ names.
  3. Hand write a note.
  4. Give customers a bonus.

Anybody want a lollipop?

New to SmallBizSurvival.com? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Subscribe.

  • About the Author
  • Latest by this Author
Becky McCray

Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.

www.beckymccray.com
  • Should I ask competitors before I start a business in a small town?
  • Will trendy axe throwing and escape room businesses last? More experience-based retail: the Hat Bar
  • Create customer experiences online like Open the Shop With Me videos, and in person, like Silent Book Club

January 27, 2007 Filed Under: customer service

Wondering what is and is not allowed in the comments?
Or how to get a nifty photo beside your name?
Check our commenting policy.
Use your real name, not a business name.


Don't see the comment form?
Comments are automatically closed on older posts, but you can send me your comment via this contact form and I'll add it manually for you. Thanks!

Comments

  1. Owen says

    January 27, 2007 at 10:47 pm

    I think this is a GREAT idea. Something we were thinking of doing here at Oprius is making some cookies to send to people with our logo in it:
    http://blog.josephhall.com/2006/11/sugar-cookies.html

    These would go out to our product advisory board who have all volunteered to help make our software leaps and bounds ahead of our competition.

    Another thought is to get them something from here:
    http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/
    They help us with our software, and we send them something from 10K Villages which helps the 3rd world. Everybody wins!

    Thanks for the blog post which helps me get off my butt and actually do this! Now…. cookies or 10K Villages… hmmmmm

    Loading...
  2. Becky McCray says

    January 28, 2007 at 4:39 am

    Owen, you’re right, as usual. Add this to the list of lessons:
    actually DO it!

    Back in March, Chris Brogan gave some more ideas to empower your fans by giving them a bonus. And of course I promptly quoted him.

    Loading...
  3. Char says

    January 28, 2007 at 1:30 pm

    Food is always a great bonus. My kids always make sure I go to the bank branch with the best goodies.

    Loading...
  4. Becky McCray says

    January 28, 2007 at 8:05 pm

    Great example, Char. Amazing how we are influenced by these little things, once the basics are there.

    Loading...
  5. Douglas says

    January 31, 2007 at 9:35 pm

    Wow, I had a similar experience with them and also wrote about it.

    Check out my post on the subject:
    http://www.serviceuntitled.com/look-mom-i-got-a-lollipop/2007/01/30/

    Loading...
  6. Becky McCray says

    February 2, 2007 at 12:18 am

    Hi, Douglas! This is a great example of how going the extra step can create excitement in your customers.
    Thanks for sharing your experience, too.

    Loading...

Howdy!

Glad you dropped in to the rural and small town business blog, established in 2006.

We want you to feel at home, so please take our guided tour.

Meet our authors on the About page.

Have something to say? You can give us a holler on the contact form.

If you would like permission to re-use an article you've read here, please make a Reprint Request.

Want to search our past articles? Catch up with the latest stories? Browse through the categories? All the good stuff is on the Front Page.

Partners

We partner with campaigns and organizations that we think best benefit rural small businesses. Logo with "Shop Indie Local"Move Your Money, bank local, invest localMulticolor logo with text that says "Global Entrepreneurship Week"Save Your Town logotype

Best of Small Biz Survival

A few people shopping in an attractive retail store in refurbished downtown building.

TREND 2025: Retail’s Big Split: what small town retailers can do now

99% of the best things you can do for your town don’t require anyone’s permission

Three kids in a canoe

Get started as an outdoor outfitter without breaking the bank

A shopkeeper and a customer share a laugh in a small store packed full of interesting home wares.

How to get customers in the door of small town and rural retail stores

Rural Tourism Trend: electric vehicle chargers can drive visitors

Wide view of a prairie landscape with a walk-through gate in a fence

Tourism: Make the most of scant remains and “not much to see” sites with a look-through sign

More of the best of Small Biz Survival

Copyright © 2025 Becky McCray
Front Page · Log in
%d