You hear about so many customer service nightmares that it’s always nice to hear about a company going the extra mile. Emily B. wrote in to share the story of the  Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant who not only went out of their way to return her lost cell phone (including charging it, calling her cell provider to try to find her address and packing it with excellent care) but, when they finally got it back to her, went ahead and thanked HER… for dining with them.

Here’s Emily’s story:

My husband and I were in Kansas City, Missouri, for a wedding on September 21st. Coincidentally, the Kansas City Plaza Arts Fair was taking place in Country Club Plaza early that same day so a bunch of our friends wandered down there to explore the fair. Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant had a booth with free tastings and were giving out coupons for complimentary full tastings at their location on Broadway, a few blocks away. About ten of us went up, and it’s a beautiful restaurant. Their staff was accommodating of our large size, and we enjoyed great company and their nice staff. We bought a few bottles of wine and champagne to enjoy that night.

Unbeknownst to me, I left behind my work-issued Blackberry which details all the secrets of the Canadian government – given that I work at the Canadian Embassy in Washington DC. I did not discover that I had lost the Blackberry until we returned to Washington Sunday evening. At that point, I was convinced that the device was left in the hotel, but after a few days and repeated calls, nothing was found or turned in to the hotel. I assumed it was lost forever, and I did indeed get in a bit of trouble for this when I notified work.

On October 2nd, I got a call on my newly issued work-Blackberry. It was Megan Rohde, employee and superstar of Cooper’s Hawk. She found my Blackberry, and as she explained, she had to wait until she found a friend who had the proper charger to turn on the Blackberry to figure out who the owner was. She even called AT&T, our provider, to try to find the owner but AT&T can’t give out any information for government-issued phones. So she took a chance, and had the phone basically call itself to see if it went to my voice mail where she could get at least my name and maybe a location. Instead, we actually spoke, and I was able to give her my contact information and address. She was almost more excited than I was to have tracked me down!

On October 4th, I received the phone, not merely in an envelope, but delicately wrapped in tissue paper, in a box clearly meant for phones so that no damage was caused in transit, AND with a thank you note, to ME, for stopping by the restaurant with the hopes that I do so again some day.

returned phone

If I am EVER within a 3-state radius of Kansas City, Missouri, again I will be sure to stop by Cooper’s Hawk and personally thank Megan and other other staff who helped out. I sent her a package of Canadian goodies – candy, maple syrup, and other things with a card and my very deep appreciation!

Here’s a photo of Emily and her friends at the Winery:

Emily and friends at the winery

Emily and friends at the winery

For more on the story, Emily’s Twitter is private but you can harass her husband (who’s one of my best high school friends) here.