As an individual, you’re or absolutely right – learn to provide great service to your customers, you can do a lot without extra time and expense. This will set you apart from everyone else.

As a business owner, it takes energy, expense, and effort to provide better support.

What I disagree with is the premise that it costs a lot of money to provide better customer experience. For example, in my kitchen remodeling scenario, our experience could have been definitively upgraded by a few phone calls. That wouldn’t have cost the company any more money.

And to think of it another way – how much money are you losing because you’re not “investing” in providing a quality experience?

I buy a lot of stuff from Nordstroms these days; but I didn’t 10 years ago. In fact, 10 years ago, I couldn’t imagine why anyone would shop there, it was so expensive; I could get the same thing for $30 cheaper somewhere else. 10 years ago, the experience wasn’t worth it to me, today it is.

Fortunately there are companies that DO go that extra mile to make the customer experience part of their overall business plan, and the results are huge. Look at Zappos, for example. The entire Zappos business is modeled around customer service, and business is booming for them.

Another part of the equation here is with the customer. Ask around, do your research before-hand, read reviews online, and get a grasp for customer service before you hire – when possible.