Incredible!!!!!!! You have just been the witness of an exceptional event: a close encounter of the third kind with good customer service in Switzerland.  Thanks for sharing this.

To diverge slightly from the point, these posts set me thinking because I do enjoy a lot of good service – the café where I get my morning caffeine fix, the chiropodist, the hairdresser, the dry cleaners, not to mention medical professionals and many others.

And then I thought some more.  All these good folk who serve me so well are not native Swiss.  They may have the precious red passport now but their origins are diverse.

So I’m wondering if others share my experience  – that it’s the expats who’ve settled here who contribute the most to the maintenance of customer service in CH?

I would have to agree Ritchie...after spending 4 days in the Netherlands 2 weeks ago, I can say that the service there was superb - friendly without being OTT and having a genuine interest in what we were wanting.

thank heaven for the Portuguese

We went to Interlaken for the day. En route back to Wallis, we stopped off in Kandersteg, where, because it was a hot day, we asked for two Panaché. Sipping gently at the Bahnhof Buffet, the waitress brought us a plate of olives, and a mixture of smoked meat and cheese. Before starting, I checked with her was it free, to which she nodded vigorously. Never, ever, happened before in CH and we were thrilled as the cost of the two beers was only CHF7.-- Absolutely amazing - thank you Bahnhof Buffet Kandersteg!

I'm happy to hear that this strange unheard event has occurred somewhere else... I hope it becomes contagious!!

Let me make it clear that, to me, good customer service is not about freebies. I can settle for receiving a hot coffee which doesn't scald any of my body parts. Remember that McDonald's scandal in the US about drive-thru service?

I am just mucking about now. I love Happy Meals. 

If your first job allows you to deal with the public, you learn a lot. I always did my best to serve EVERYONE the way I was trained to.  Smiling,  suggestive-selling, and remaining polite ....even when my employer received thieving hobos. 

Hmm..., I don't view suggestive selling as good customer service I'm afraid. It's quite annoying 99% of the time. 

It depends.  Swisscom sold me an upgrade, for example,  which was not as expensive as I thought. Who is going to refuse an offer that simply makes sense?

But if a restaurant proposes dessert when you're stuffed, I agree it's annoying. 

If a restaurant proposes dessert when you are stuffed you can always refuse.  However, if the restaurant is willing to give you dessert for free to make up for some lack of service and to maintain customer satisfaction, then make it a doggy bag and eat it later!