A couple weeks ago my mom was in the hospital. She had a knee replacement, a procedure she was already familiar with. So, she knew what was in store and she was not looking forward to it.

One of her concerns was the level of service in the hospital. For good reason. When you’re undergoing major surgery and recovery, there’s a lot of room for mistakes. Even if the operation is fine medically, the after care can make all the difference in the world.

It’s only fair here to point out that my mom, wonderful as she is, happens to be one of the world’s most demanding customers. I should know because I am too. So, any hospital she chose for this surgery was going to have to be on their “A” game to win her approval.

(For those of you in the Twin Cities, she chose Fairview Southdale Hospital.)

To our surprise, she found one that passed with flying colors. They did almost everything right from start to finish. Throughout the whole situation, mom had nothing but good things to say about the hospital and staff.

Several things about this stand out.

One is the CEO/President of the hospital. He visited my mom three times while she was recovering from surgery. He even gave her his cell phone number in case she needed anything while she was there.

I almost fell down when she told me this.

She explained. Prior to her choosing a hospital, she had told her surgeon about her concerns regarding good care. Her surgeon felt Fairview Southdale Hospital was a good choice. So (apparently) he made a call.

I have no idea who he called or what he said. All we know is she got extremely good care and special attention from the CEO of the hospital.

The second thing that stands out is the staff there seemed to all be very caring and skilled at their work. Like I said, mom knows what good service is. And these people really impressed her. That’s not an easy thing to do.

The third thing that stands out is that the care she received matches the current advertising campaign being done by the Fairview system.

As my wife and I were driving home from the hospital the first night, we noticed a billboard for Fairview. It had picture of a friendly looking woman (a hospital employee). The copy on the sign read:

“I am the care I give.”

“I am Fairview”

(Or something like that.)

I hate most advertising because it’s not real. Most big corporate marketing campaigns are what the company wants to think but not what the reality is.

This seemed different. Finally, I thought, a company got their marketing right. They actually seem to be delivering the same level of service and care that their ad campaign suggests they are.

Consistency counts. So does accuracy and honesty.

Don’t bother telling people how great you are unless you can back it up. The best marketing is what happens after you thrill someone. Like having the CEO of a major hospital visit a patient.

That’s remarkable service. That’s memorable service. And that’s where great marketing begins.

Tell me what you think. Have you had remarkable service that you can’t stop talking about? (Use the comment form below to share your thoughts.)

Other articles you might like:

• The Smart Marketing Formula – Part 3
• Is your product made by your customers?
• Minnesota auto dealer makes a bad deal worse
• It’s Easy to Be Better Than Your Competition
• The Content IS the Marketing

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