CEO’s Message – March 2023

Providing Great Customer Service

I have a great customer service story.

Several years ago, before coming to Arizona, I traveled to The Broadmoor Hotel. For those who haven’t been fortunate enough to stay at The Broadmoor, it’s a beautiful resort in Colorado Springs. I was there for a work conference, which included a round of golf. Since I lived in Colorado, I drove to the hotel with my clubs and luggage.

I had to leave very early the day I departed The Broadmoor to drive up to Denver International Airport and fly to Washington, D.C., for congressional visits. I arranged for my car to be brought to the front of the hotel with my golf clubs, which had been stored at the course, as is The Broadmoor’s custom. I hurriedly loaded the rest of my luggage and took off for DIA and my next business trip.

About halfway to the airport, I glanced in the back of my SUV and noted that my clubs weren’t there! I was naturally surprised, but actually a little shocked, as The Broadmoor prides itself in exquisite customer care. Mistakes like this simply don’t happen at The Broadmoor. I was a bit perturbed, but it didn’t really matter. I would be in D.C. for the upcoming work week, and I knew The Broadmoor would ship my clubs to my house for arrival by the weekend.

I called The Broadmoor when I got to DIA and explained the situation. The customer relations people I talked with were aghast. They asked for my home address and said they would have someone drive my clubs to the house that instant. Now I was really shocked! The Broadmoor is about 2 hours from where I lived. A Broadmoor employee’s assignment for that day was to drive my golf clubs to my house. I protested that it wasn’t necessary, but The Broadmoor insisted it was. My clubs were at the house before I got to D.C.

This story came to mind the other day when I again contacted The Broadmoor. You see, the resort is my wife’s favorite place in the world, and so we will be celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary there in August. I called to arrange some activities, but they’re not open for booking yet. Ninety-nine percent of the resorts in the world would say, “Call us back when reservations are available.” The Broadmoor said, “we’ll call you on the day they’re available and make arrangements.”

Like The Broadmoor, rural electric co-ops are also great customer service providers. We strive to ensure that our members enjoy safe, affordable, reliable and environmentally conscious electricity. For most co-op members, the lights stay on almost all of the time. On the rare occasion when a problem arises—predominantly caused by weather—Arizona’s co-ops work diligently and sometimes cooperatively to resolve the problem.

I want the Grand Canyon State Electric Cooperative Association team to think like The Broadmoor when it comes to our co-op members. We want to provide excellent member service and someday have someone tell a story about a great experience they’ve had with us.

Dave Lock
CEO