Why I Will Be A Hatsuhana Customer For Life

I like fountain pens.

I like to write with them. I like the tactile aspect of making the letters in flowing ink.

As a result, I have a nice collection of pens. One of my favorites was a titanium ink fountain pen made by Montblanc. They didn't make many of them, preferring, I think, the large, bulky black ones. Not for me. But the sleek, narrow titanium pen was beautiful and elegant, with its gold nib.

Unfortunately, many years ago, when I was working in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, a guy stole my pen right out of breast pocket. He came roaring by on this moped, and in one fell swoop, lifted the pen from my shirt pocket and vanished.

Of course, I tried to buy a replacement, but the pen store that I had gotten it from years before said that they were not longer made. I could not find one anywhere.

Finally, in desperation, I wrote to the Chairman and CEO of Montblanc in Switzerland to see if perhaps they had one in some storeroom in the basement that I could buy.

The CEO wrote back to me, telling me that they not longer made the pen and didn’t have any, but he had one made for me from spare replacement parts and was enclosing it, gratis, as a gift.

Needless to say, this made me a Montblanc customer (and evangelist) for life.

THAT is customer relations.

Last week, Lisa and I ordered Japanese delivery from Hatsuhana, an excellent Japanese restaurant in our Midtown Manhattan neighborhood. We had, before the virus, frequented Hatsuhana often. Their reputation for excellence is well deserved.

We ordered online and got a confirmatory text message. The meal would be delivered at 6. When 6:30 rolled around, and no dinner had arrived, we texted Hatsuhana — no response. We called the number on their website, and got a recording. It was annoying.

The next day, I emailed the restaurant. What happened?

I got a response from Mr. Sato, the President of Hatsuhana USA. Personally. He was extremely apologetic. There had been a glitch in their software. This never should have happened. To make it up, he said, let me send you an Amex cash gift card (far in excess of our lost order — which was also refunded).

He stayed in touch several times to make sure we understood just how much he appreciated our service and how deeply sorry he was for this unfortunate error on their part.

Today, the gift card arrived.

As with Montblanc, Mr. Sato has made me now a Hatsuhana customer for life, as well as an ambassador for their excellent cuisine and service.

THAT is customer service.