On August 19, 2010 an online furniture retailer received an email from one of its customers:

"Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. It has been a crazy week of school for the kids and us too! First, let me say that your customer service is undeniably the best I have ever had. I felt that we were taken care of and never needed to worry about a thing. To me that is a huge deal considering we ordered a sofa on line never having seen or touched it. As far as the furniture we love it. It was so easy to put it together just as you said. I bribed a few women with coffee to help me get it upstairs and within 10 minutes we had the entire thing put together. The fabric is so soft and comfortable. I know you said that I was the 1st order for that fabric so now you can let others know it really is as good as you thought it would be.

So again, thank you so much for everything. In such a tight space I never thought it was possible to have a comfortable sofa and chair in the playroom. PS Thanks for the pillows!!! You guys are awesome. Sallie"

If you are a retailer, either with a storefront or online, do you get emails like this from your customers?

The online furniture company that received this email gets several similar ones every week. If they can get their customers to do their marketing for them, why can't you?

1. The first contact by the customer was an order for a free catalog from the company website on 6/16.

2. A few hours later the company sent out an email thanking the customer for requesting the catalog, asking whether she would also like to order some free fabric swatches, giving lots of detailed information about the company and informing her that the catalog would be mailed out that same day.

3. The customer requests 5 free fabric swatches.

4. She receives another (shorter) acknowledgement of her request and is told that the swatches will be mailed the same day.

5. Customer receives free catalog and fabric swatches and is surprised to see that instead of receiving 5 free fabric swatches the company has sent her 20.

6. Customer calls to discuss the various fabrics she has received. The phone is answered on the 2nd ring. She speaks to an executive of the company for 15 minutes and is given detailed information about the fabrics and other questions that come up.

7. All customer service calls are handled only by company executives and managers who are fully knowledgeable about the product and are authorized to make any deals or decisions that may come up. Customer calls take priority over all other operations at the company.

8. Customer sends email on 6/28. She wants to place an order before the end of the month to take advantage of the June Free Shipping Sale, but is concerned that she might not be ready in time.

9. The company assures the customer that whenever she is ready to place an order, she will receive the Free Shipping sale.

10. Customer places order on 7/12. Receives an immediate computerized acknowledgement of her order.

11. The next day the customer receives another acknowledgement, this time from a company executive. This acknowledgement personally thanks the customer for her order and spells out exactly what was ordered, estimated production time, estimated shipping time and other information.

12. The customer is emailed to tell her that her order is almost complete and will be shipping out shortly.

13. 2 days later the customer is emailed that her order has been shipped. This email includes the tracking number and phone number of the carrier. It also informs the customer that she will be called by the carrier in a few days to set up a delivery appointment time.

14. The carrier informs the company that delivery has been made. The customer discovers that, in addition to her order, she has received a free set of throw pillows.

15. The next day, the customer received an email which began, "Just checking to see if everything is OK with your new furniture. If there are any problems let's take care of them now."

16. The customer's email at the top of this article is received.

17. The customer receives an email thanking her for her compliments. She is then told that she has been awarded a $50 "virtual" gift certificate which enables the customer and any of her friends and family to a $50 discount on anything they wish to purchase over the next year. This "virtual" gift certificate is sent to all customers who have responded to the company's "after delivery" email.

Everything described above is true and accurate. It may seem crazy to retailers who are more concerned with high volume sales than customer satisfaction, but it is building a brand loyalty that is incredibly strong.

One result of this ultra-customer service approach is that the company's products are actually being marketed by their customers. Because the company has only one showroom and does not sell to retailers, dozens of enthusiastic customers have volunteered to show off the company's furniture in their own homes to prospective purchasers. Only a very few of these volunteer customers agreed to accept compensation for their efforts.

The example above shows how this customer-friendly approach works when everything goes right. The amazing thing is that it can work even better when things go wrong.

Some of the company's strongest supporters are customers who experienced problems that would normally be considered disastrous. That will be in another article.