Customer Service

 

 

 

"The customer may not have always been right, but the customer always felt like the customer..."

I have said for many a year now, if they need a definition for "customer service" in the dictionary, all they need do is put in a picture of the old Hi 10 Service Center crew. Oh yes, my family and I know them well - quite well. Our first house was in Coon Rapids, located very close to the station. Trips over there were frequent for gasoline and maintenance. It really was like a home away from home.

Over the years I traveled quite a bit for my job. I worked on the other side of town and my wife taught in a district north of where we lived. Like many of us, our cars were our lifelines. We needed good, reliable transportation. At that time, the station we went to was known as Hi 10 Union 76. We went there so often that trust and personal relationships developed. We knew each and everyone of the guys, and they knew us.

What always impressed me the most about the crew at Hi 10 was not only their professionalism, but also the care. They truly cared about their customers. To them, many were not only customers, but also friends.

I can't even begin to recount the number of times Mel, Scott or Roger rescued my wife and kids when I was out of town. They were a life line. My wife felt as comfortable with the guys at the station as she would with her own family. It was a kindness I never have forgotten.

One time about 30 years ago, my wife was having a wedding shower for her sister. It was in January, and the weather was bitter cold. The groom's mother drove down from ND to attend the event. By the time she arrived at the house, her gas tank was bone dry, it was on fumes. As luck would have it, the shower ended and temperature was well below zero. Plus it was getting dark. The car from ND with no gas would not start. I quickly drove over to Hi 10. Due to the weather, they were very busy and Roger was just finishing up for the day. When I explained the situation, Roger dropped everything and came over to the house and performed a minor miracle to get that car up and running. Many stations would have just said "Good luck - see you on Monday." Not Hi 10, not Roger - that was not the way they rolled.

This upcoming week an era will come to an end. Roger, who has been there for 45 years, doing everything from the routine to the impossible, is going to retire. Scott is having a huge reunion and retirement party for Roger. I suspect the place will be packed, as it is hard to run into anyone from this part of town who does not know, Mel, Scott or Roger.

So to Roger, I say thank you and may you have a great retirement. You have earned it. From the jungles of Viet Nam to providing service to thousands in the northern suburbs, Roger did it all. It does not matter that over the years Union 76 Hi 10 may have changed brands, or the even the name of the station - most know it to be a huge part of the history of Coon Rapids. It taught many of us the true value of service, trust and reliability. My wife and I will never forget the service we received, and neither will my children.