What would people do if every service issue at a company was handled in such a personal manner as Seth describes here. When is the last time one of your executes signed a personal apology letter or a note thanking someone for their business...or in this example the outer case of an xBox 360? As he said in his post, "humans like humans. They hate organizations." How can you make your company more human?

First, I'd recommend you read Danny Meyer's book about his career in the New York restaurant business called "Setting the Table" and think about how hospitality might apply to your business. My book is heavily dog-eared (a sign of a winner) and he writes a lot about the human dialogue and its impact on business success.

According to Danny, hospitality is at the foundation of his business philosophy. "Virtually nothing else is as importan as how one is made to feel in any business transaction. Hospitality exists when you believe the other person is on eyour side. The converse is just as true. Hospitality is present when something happens for you. It is absent when something happens to you. Those two simiple propositions - for and to - express it all."

And that is just on page 12. Trust me. You'll love this book and will hear me mention it again as it has influenced my thinking on many things about customer service, product development, and strategy execution.