A few days ago, we pulled into Costco to “pick up a couple of things.” You know how that goes. Three hundred bucks, two shopping carts and a hernia later, we load up the car and head home.

The kid inside me was anxious to get there because we had picked up a treat—chocolate milk. I LOVED chocolate milk as a kid but as an adult, I rarely get the chance to indulge.

Imagine my disappointment, then, when I go home only to find an issue with the carton, one that left the contents undrinkable. I managed to survive the disappointment—I will live to drink chocolate milk another day.

The issue was not a big deal, likely just an error on the production line. As such, I thought it prudent to send off a note to the company, Laiterie de l’Outaouais, so they could look into it.

I expected that in about a week, I would get the usual response from the customer service department. “We take these issues very seriously. Here’s a coupon for some more chocolate milk. Have a nice day.”

Instead, what I received was note from the Director of Quality Assurance, Guetty Blaise, MSc, Génie Agroalimentaire, less than two hours later. In the note was a detailed explanation of the likely cause, assurance it would be reviewed and a request for my home address.

To mail me the coupon? No. So they could have someone deliver the products right to my door. I didn’t have to lift a finger to fix the problem. They did all the work—and quickly.

So, why am I writing about this? What does it have to do with writing or marketing?

Customer service is the most personal kind of marketing you can do. Get that right and other disappointments will be quickly forgiven. Even if you make a kid wait for his chocolate milk.