@Fedex Brand Humanization Case Study: Driver Delivers Holiday Smiles #customerservice

This year the majority of our Christmas shopping is happening online. Thanks to sites such as Amazon, it sure beats fighting the traffic and crowds. Thanks to an Amazon Prime membership, a good percentage of our Christmas gifts purchased arrive within a couple days, shipping free of charge.

As if that wasn't enough benefit this year to make a family happy, Fedex decided to add the icing on the Holiday cake.

I'm going to share a quick story (and case study) with you describing how Fedex made my day. The Fedex team reminded me that there are still good brands and good people in this world who want to do nice things for other human beings, just because. Not because they have to, but because they want to.

The Scenario:

Fedex arrived with a number of boxes we ordered from Amazon just a couple days prior.

I was in the shower and my oldest son answered the door.

The Fedex delivery driver told my son he needed to talk with a parent.

My son informed him I was in the shower and that he would need to wait a few minutes for me to get out and get to the door.

The Fedex driver answered “no problem” and decided to wait until mama elf could come outside to chat with him about a couple of boxes.

In the mean time he proceeded to have a heart to heart discussion with my teenage son about the dangers of peeking into presents before Christmas day. He shared with him a story of how he did it when he was younger and he still feels guilty to this day.

Finally, I made my way to the door. The Fedex delivery driver first explained that a couple of boxes had gotten ripped open at the bottom.

He and I both looked into the boxes and determined that nothing was damaged.

Then, he pulled me aside and told me he had something important to talk with me about. He had written the word “bike” on his hand. He pointed to his hand so I would know what was on the truck. He said, “I have a big box in the truck will be easily identified as a…” and he pointed to his hand and the word “bike” written on it. He continues explaining, “I want to make sure your son didn't see it in case it was for him.”  Even though my son had stepped inside by that time, he was careful not to say the word “bike” and kept pointing to his hand.

I couldn't believe my ears and eyes. This nice delivery man had taken time out of his uber busy day delivering a truck load of toys and other Holiday packages to make certain that he didn't spoil a surprise for one of my kids. I was pleasantly inspired by his amazing customer service immediately. He has been to our house before and he always seems to go the extra mile.

Luckily the bike was for my other son who was not at the house. The driver unloaded it and even helped us get it into the front door.

Moral of the Story… Humanize It! 

I did not care or even remember that two of the boxes were ripped open.

The Fedex delivery driver left a brand impression on both my son and myself that will never be forgotten. I will likely tell this story for years to come, when I  do keynote speaking, conduct training with clients to inspire other business leaders to provide such service and genuinely care about the needs of their clients.

As I always say, your brand is everything you say, tweet, post, pin, say and do. It's how you deliver packages, drive through neighborhoods and how you treat each and every person that comes into contact with your brand.

Your employees are the greatest representation of your brand. Fedex is a perfect example of this. I didn't access a Fedex owned website to make my purchase from Amazon or to select the delivery method.

The only brand touch Fedex had with me and my family in this scenario was the delivery driver. Bottom line, he rocked. He exuded to me loud and clear that Fedex cares about their customers in a real, fun and human way.

Thank You Fedex!

Thank you Fedex for making my day. Thank you to the delivery driver who humanized your brand and made an ever lasting impression.

Thank you also for the talk the driver had with my son. He will always remember the advice he received about not opening presents before Christmas and hopefully keep him out of them for years to come! ;)

Watch this Video To Hear the Full Story