Client loyalty NYC case study Chase small business

Last summer, I wrote here on my blog about an incident which had happened earlier in the year. In brief, I was traveling down to Orlando to host a trivia event for a corporate group, and absentmindedly left my brand-new Microsoft Surface 2 tablet in my checked baggage. Of course, when I arrived and opened my suitcase, the tablet was gone; I went through all of the aggravation of filing claims, making police reports, and reporting the theft to anyone who would listen, but as you can probably imagine, the outcome was grim.

Actually, that’s putting it rather mildly. Nobody cared.

The airline, whom my suitcase and its contents were entrusted to, flatly denied any responsibility. In addition to coldly stating they were not responsible for any electronic equipment damaged or stolen from checked baggage, they conducted an “investigation” (ie: made me wait for two days) which concluded that they, shockingly, did nothing wrong, and that the TSA were likely to blame (though I think it can be safely assumed that a member of the airline’s baggage handling staff was the culprit. Guess they don’t mind employing thieves who rip off their customers).

Sorry…writing about this makes me mad.

Anyway. The TSA was no better. After completing an exhaustive claim report and waiting literally MONTHS for a response, I received notification that – you guessed it – the TSA was not responsible, and my case had been closed.

But then I contacted Chase, my small business banker and the company who’s Ink credit card I had used to purchase my airline tickets. They were not only sympathetic to my plight, but told me that I was actually covered by a special form of traveler’s insurance intended for just this sort of loss. I submitted my forms online, and within HOURS I was told I was getting a check in the mail to help defer the costs of my tablet. The check arrived later that week.

Good story, right? Not the whole getting my tablet stolen part, but how it ended – with my credit card company coming to the rescue. Well, guess what – it gets even better!

You see, hours after my blog post about this incident was published, I was actually contacted by Chase. You got that right – not only had a human being from the company read my blog post, but they had passed it around and had their local business relationship manger here in Brooklyn call me on the phone, to thank me for the post and let me know that he – and Chase – were there to assist whenever I needed them.

But it doesn’t end there, either!

Last week, the manager called me up and told me that the PRESIDENT of Chase business card wanted to meet with me personally during a listening tour with small business owners in Brooklyn. Not sure what exactly to expect, I showed up to my local branch and met with the president and her team, and was blown away to find that they had ALL read my blog post, and were absolutely thrilled to hear of my experience with Chase!

We chatted for about 20 minutes about everything you can imagine, including what it’s like being a small business entrepreneur in Brooklyn, what features/capabilities I take advantage of as a Chase customer, etc. But perhaps what most stands out in my mind from this meeting was how earnestly the president wanted to know what ELSE she and her team could be doing for customers like me, such as new and innovative services, ways to communicate with cardholders, and just all-around provide an even greater level of service to an already happy user.

Honored to meet today w/ @Chase Business Card president @lsmnyc & the @ChaseforBiz team in #Brooklyn! pic.twitter.com/IAh8aULDal

— TrivWorks (@TrivWorks) January 22, 2016

Think about it. In this day and age, how often does the chief executive of a major brand come to meet personally with end users, to not just thank them for their loyalty, but to try and identify ways to make their services even MORE useful and relevant to clients?

For my part, I was blown away. The nature of my business as a producer of NYC corporate event entertainment is exceedingly personal, and I strive to achieve this level of engagement and connection with my own business relationships – but I’m just a little guy. This is Chase, a HUGE corporation, and they are making the effort to show how much they value their loyal patrons.

Well, if they didn’t have me before (which they did), then they’ve certainly got me now. This is absolutely the type of company whom I want to do business with, to work with long-term. I trust them, feel safe in their hands, and know that they have my back.

Wouldn’t you want your clients to say the same thing about you? I know I sure do!