Small Gestures. Big Stories

Last week, I met someone who had strong feelings about Ola—and not the good kind. She casually mentioned that seeing Ola’s stock price drop actually made her happy.

"Look, if a company doesn’t really care about its customers, it’s bound to catch up with them," she said. "They’ve been messing with people for too long, I tell you."

That got me thinking.

A strong service mindset isn’t just good business—it’s what keeps you in the game long-term. If you want to build something people love, customer obsession has to run deep. And nothing brings that home like great stories.

So today, I’m sharing three of them. 

Why? Because stories do what playbooks can’t. They shape behavior. They show what excellence looks like when no one’s watching.

At Cuemath, 30% of my team’s job was motivating women entrepreneurs to take the leap. How did we do it? Through stories.

So, lean back, take a breath… it’s story time 

Sidenote: I’ve used some character names and added some drama to make it worth your time. The characters and dialogues in some of the following stories are fictional but the story is not.

Story #1: The kids are hungry 😩

Suman was a receptionist at the beautiful Mahindra Holidays resort in Coorg. He loved welcoming guests and making sure they had a great time. But one day, he got an unusual call.

A father and his family were driving to the resort, but they were stuck in traffic. Lunch service was about to end, and the dad was worried. His kids hadn’t eaten all day!

“Can you please save some food for us?” the dad asked.

“Of course!” Suman promised. But just as he was passing the message to the restaurant, his colleague asked, “Hey, Did you check which route they are taking?”

When Suman told him, his colleague joked. “Oh no! Pack some tea and cake with the lunch, they will take a long time to reach. That road is blocked. The Chief Minister is coming to the flower show. It’ll take them forever to reach here!”

Suman’s eyes widened. The kids would be starving by the time they arrived!

Half an hour later, when his shift ended, he loaded four lunch boxes on his motorcycle and zipped through the tiny lanes. He kept calling the dad’s phone, tracking where they were stuck. Finally, after 1.2 kilometers of riding, he spotted their car!

Ravi stopped, knocked on the window, handed over the warm food, and said.

“Your children must be very hungry!” 😊

Lesson for builders

⭐ Go the extra mile—Sometimes, doing a little more than expected makes a BIG difference.

⭐ Customers remember kindness—That family would never forget what Ravi did → #1 recipe to earn loyal fans.

Story #2: I’ll pay the balance from my end 💰😮

One fine day when Rajesh was about to land in Mumbai, he slipped his hands into his bag to put his watch back on. He found something unusual about his watch. The glass cover was missing. Shocked, he rechecked all the parts and realized, the steel case was missing too. On top of that, the watch wasn’t working.

He immediately connected the dots and realized this was linked to his last visit to the authorized Titan Showroom for a battery replacement.

He took the trouble of going to the store again. (in a bad mood, of course)

At the store, he met Vivek, the manager. Vivek greeted Raj with a warm smile and listened patiently as Raj explained the problem. After examining the watch, Vivek said, "We'll need to order a new glass and steel case from the company. It might take about 15 days."

True to his word, Vivek called Rajesh after two weeks. "The parts have arrived," he said. "We've also managed to reduce the cost for you. Additionally, since this happened under my watch, I'll cover a part of the repair cost myself."​ 

Rajesh was shocked. An employee putting money from his pocket for an unhappy customer! So unusual.

When Raj went to pick up his watch, it was as good as new. He paid the complete billing amount, insisting Vivek that he contributed nothing to it.

Meanwhile, impressed by Vivek’s dedication, Rajesh’s wife bought a new Raga watch from the same store.

Lesson for builders

⭐ Listen to your customers—​Understanding their concerns can lead to better solutions.
⭐ Take responsibility—​Even if it's not directly your fault, helping out builds trust.
⭐ Go beyond expectations—​Small acts of kindness can turn customers into loyal supporters.​

Story #3: Isn’t it beautiful? 🐶

This story is about something unique that the US dog food subscription brand, Chewy does.

Max the golden retriever was more than just a pet. He was family. Every month, his food arrived from Chewy - right on time.  

But one day, something very sad happened. Max passed away. His owner was heartbroken.

Weeks later, when the doorbell rang, Max’s owner found a package on the doorstep. It was another bag of dog food. But Max was gone. 

With a heavy heart, the owner called Chewy. "I'm so sorry," they said, "I forgot to cancel the delivery."

But instead of just canceling the order, Chewy did something incredible.

💙 They refunded the money for the dog food, even though they didn’t have to.
💙 They told the owner, "Please donate the food to a shelter or someone in need."
 💙 And two days later, a knock at the door—flowers from Chewy. A note inside said: "We’re so sorry for your loss."

It was a small gesture, but it meant everything.

And here’s the thing: When the owner was ready for a new dog someday, where do you think they would buy food from? Chewy.

PS: Chewy does this for all such orders. ~ $25 spent. Lifelong customer earned.

Lesson for builders

⭐ Care about your customers—Chewy didn’t just sell food, they understood what pet owners go through.
⭐ Find patterns to wow customers —They noticed this was a recurring moment and found a way to help.
⭐ Small acts of kindness make customers for life—A $25 gesture created lifelong loyalty.

Like they say: A great business isn’t just about what you sell. It’s about how you make people feel. ❤️

Until next time! 👋

Saurabh