Finally, I have story that should set the standard for the Customer Service Text Book. This is what customer service is all about, and I would challenge all retailers in Australia to meet this standard.

Earlier in the year, we bought ourselves a brand new lounge suite from Dare Gallery here in Brisbane. It’s soft red leather, is a two and a half seater sofa with a chaise on the left side (as you look at it) and has a huge ottoman that’s about 1.5 metres long. The suite was delivered back in late May and in mid September we noticed that the leather was starting to crack.

We conditioned the chaise and started to use it a little less, but one Wednesday, one of my kids noticed that some of the stitching in the other seats was starting to come apart. I dragged out the receipt and rang Dare Gallery, expecting to encounter an argument over whose fault it was, or an accusation that we had done something to it.

I asked to speak to the manager and was put on to a man named Brendan. I calmly and politely informed him of the situation and told him that I was “quite angry” that we had spent so much money on this lounge which was now falling apart. He told me that the situation was “no good” and brought up the order details, describing the lounge.

He asked what had happened to the lounge and I told him. Again, all this was very polite – but stern. Brendan told me that he would arrange for one of the maintenance guys to call me and arrange to come and look at the lounge, but that from my description he thought they would probably replace the lounge. Once again, I expected things to drag out.

I received a call the next day (Thursday) from a guy called Charlie who asked if he cold drop by the next day and inspect the lounge between 1 and 3. I reckon the clock just hit 1:01 when he rang the doorbell. He came inside, spent about 5 minutes looking at the lounge and said he would recommend a replacement.

The weekend passed and I waited until Tuesday. I rang Dare Gallery who told me Brendan had a day off. This is where I expected everything to turn to poo. Andrea came on the line and I told her that I wanted to keep up the momentum on the issue. I explained what was going on and she brought up the order on her computer. “Oh,” she said. “We’ve already ordered you a new lounge.”

I was stunned to say the least. Andrea then told me that she would expect to receive the lounge at the store the following week and that we might get it delivered by that Friday. I was sceptical to say the least, but decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. She told me that she would ring when it arrived to arrange delivery.

Maybe I was pushing my luck, but I asked Andrea if the new lounge would be set up and the rubbish taken away, considering that this was a replacement. She said that it’s not normal practice to do that, but she would see what she could do.

The week went by without a call from Dare Gallery and we entered the next week, fast approaching Andrea’s deadline. The Friday came – and went – with no call, so I decided to call them on Monday to chase things up. Considering the original lounge took four weeks to make, I was surprised that we were promised a new one within only two weeks.

But I didn’t get a chance to wait until Monday. Charlie rang me on Saturday and asked if he could come by and deliver the new lounge on Tuesday between 10 and 12. I was stunned, but checked that my Fiance would be home to accept the delivery, and all was good. I asked Charlie if he was able to remove the rubbish and he said “Yep. You don’t need to worry about any of that. By the time I leave, you’ll just have a brand new lounge where the old one was”.

So today is Tuesday. At about 9:55, Charlie turned up with our new lounge. I got a text from my girl once he’d left stating that we had a new lounge and that Charlie had set it up and taken away the old lounge and all the rubbish. He even helped move the coffee table back into place.

So there it is. Exceptional customer service. Not only did Dare Gallery do everything that they said they would do, they did it when they said they would do it. And they obviously pushed our new lounge through as a priority construction. Neither the store nor Charlie could have been more helpful.

So thank you, Dare Gallery. Thank you for renewing my trust in Australian retail and actually looking after a customer. The message to the rest of you retailers out there is that now, not only have I told my work mates about the service Dare Gallery have provided, but I will shop there again myself AND I will recommend Dare Gallery to anyone that I speak to that is looking for furniture.

THAT is how you run a business. THAT is how you get repeat customers, and THAT is how you get NEW customers.

You can view their website here: daregallery.com.au Sure, they’re a bit pricey, but the quality of their wares is fantastic (despite our little problem) and they obviously know how to treat their customers.