It was November of 2009. For months I had been trying to persuade a friend to buy a Mac.  At the time Apple was promoting the "one to one" experience in which you could bring in your old computer and have them transfer everything over for you right there when you bought your new Mac.  My friend said he was ready to buy a Mac, but he wanted to have that "in store" experience.  

The problem was there was no Apple store in Bakersfield, California, where we both lived.  The nearest stores were about 100 miles away, at either Fresno or Northridge.  My friend had business in the LA area, so he asked if I would go with him Northridge.  I agreed.

On a whim, the night before we were to leave, I sent an e-mail to sjobs@apple.com.  His e-mail address was well-publicized, and I had heard he read a lot of messages from customers, so I figured what the heck.  I sent a polite note asking him to consider opening an Apple store in Bakersfield, because I was driving a friend 100 miles so he could have that store experience. I noted that I had already suggested to my friend that he buy his computer online, and that I would help him transfer his files, but he really wanted to have that store experience.  

Jobs did not reply -- not directly.  But the next morning I got a call from a nice lady who said she was an Apple vice president.  "Are you really driving all the way to Northridge today with your friend?" she asked.  I said yes, we were leaving that afternoon.  She said the manager and staff would be ready to assist  my friend.

They were practically waiting for us at the door when we got there, and we were both treated like royalty (I wasn't even there to buy anything).  So I asked:  Steve obviously read my e-mail, what did he say?  They said Jobs said, paraphrasing, "This guy is driving 100 miles for a Mac; let's take care of him."  

Needless to say, my friend was blown away by the experience. 

I do a lot of customer service training in my business, and I always say that companies that are obsessed with exceeding customer expectations always perform better than their competition.  With Jobs, it really started at the top.

Peter