Customer Service

There is a service station near us which has introduced a simple but marvellous boost to its customer service.
They have a bowl on the counter next to the register filled with 5 and 10 cent pieces. A sign on the bowl states that these are for customer use if they are just over a round dollar amount for their petrol. For instance, if you put $50 dollars in and drift slightly over so the charge is $50.05, you can take one of these coins to make up the difference.
Think about this for a second, for the cost of a few dollars in coins, the store has enormously enhanced the customer experience. They remove the need for their operators to provide large amounts of change or to eat into the till float. They implicitly recognise that the amount is trivial and that they are willing to waive – except that they cannot do it through the register. It is a tip that the manager cares about the customer’s convenience.
I am sure that there are people who abuse the system, there always are. But the bowl is right next to the till and couldn’t have more than about a hundred coins anyway – about $5.
Personally I am never likely to use this facility – if I am short I will use the controls on the pump to limit what I put in the car. However, I will preferentially use this service station simply because they have thought of this idea.