When was the Last Time You Experienced Truly GREAT Customer Service?
In a world where one major airline recently told me, “We don’t do customer service anymore,” finding someone who goes the extra mile (or in this case, 200 miles by train and bus) feels like spotting a unicorn.
Picture this: You’re on a dream vacation in Portugal, living your best life, when—bam!—you realize five minutes after arriving at the train station that your phone is still in the Uber. Panic sets in. Your friend tries to call it, but because you both have U.S. numbers, the call won’t go through. There’s no help desk, no open ticket office, and you can’t log into the Uber app… because it’s on the phone. You do what any rational traveler would do: get on the train anyway and hope you can sort it out at your next stop.
Enter the heroes of this story—two lovely fellow passengers from India. When they heard what happened, they sprang into action. They began repeatedly calling the phone until, miraculously, the Uber driver (who was from Pakistan and spoke very little Portuguese or English) was able to write down the number and call back. Thanks to our new friends translating, the driver agreed to take the phone back to the hotel where he’d picked us up and leave it with the concierge.
So far, so good, right?
Well… almost.
The Uber driver did, in fact, return to the hotel and handed over the phone—but not before attempting what can only be described as a tip shakedown. In Lisbon, Uber rides typically cost $5–7, and the average tip is maybe $0.75 to $1.50. I assured him that once I could log back into the app, I’d tip him well. That wasn’t enough. He asked the hotel concierge for €40. The concierge—who by now I was already starting to like—flatly told him, “All I’ve got is €20. Take it or leave it.” (He took it.)
But here’s where the story turns into something truly special.
That concierge’s name was Ismail, and he worked at the HF Fénix Music Hotel in Lisbon. After I called to let him know what had happened and to thank him, he told me not to worry—that he had me, and we’d figure this out together. (Note: this is when you know someone gets it.)
He offered to try to send the phone via the hotel’s internal courier to our new destination in Porto. Unfortunately, we missed the cutoff. That’s when he said, “I’m bringing it to you.” I thought he meant he’d call another courier. Nope. He meant he was hopping on a train, with my phone in hand, to deliver it personally.
And he did.
Ismail sent us updates—photos of the phone’s journey like it was some international Flat Stanley—and met us at the Porto train station, 2.5 hours away. There was no return train that evening, so he took the bus all the way back to Lisbon. All he asked was for reimbursement of his expenses.
I did far better than that. He earned it.
A quick Google search says a concierge in Lisbon makes somewhere around €16K–€20K per year. Let’s be honest: most people—especially those making that income—would’ve just said, “Sorry, it’s impossible.” And in Portuguese, they would have added an emphatic “Impossível!” for good measure.
But not Ismail.
Even when his boss told him nothing could be done, he looked for a solution. Even when it was inconvenient. Even when no one expected him to. That’s the kind of exceptional, human-centered service that sticks with you.
So here’s my question to you:
What “impossível” thing can you do today to make someone’s day? What would the world look like if we all acted a little more like Ismail?
Stories like this restore my faith in humanity—and remind me that service isn’t about rules and policies, it’s about people.
Have you had a moment of truly exceptional service? I’d love to hear your story. Drop it in the comments or send me a message. Let’s celebrate the Ismails of the world.
