In recent weeks, I've been on the receiving end of customer service that was so exceptional, a blog post was warranted.

In one case, it was a local restaurant that made an anniversary extremely memorable. In the other, it was a hotel/resort that redefined "above and beyond" in my book.

Both of these examples involved personalized notes.

I've been to countless restaurants and an abundance of hotels, and very few have been remarkable enough to be ... well, remarked on in writing. I expect good service and am disappointed when it fails to occur. I am quite pleased with excellent service. But it's time to think about providing remarkable service that is---to be perfectly tangible---blog-worthy.

For a customer to go home, and freely and happily take the time to publicly praise a person or a company's service, is an exceptional affirmation. It is also about the best marketing you'll ever get. It won't cost you advertising dollars. It'll cost you rigorous hiring practices, great training, and cultivation of an exceptional work climate.

What it will earn you is all kinds of repeat business and glowing recommendations. Worthy ROI, in my book.

Perhaps every service organization should sit down with employees and say, "We need to treat EVERY SINGLE GUEST as if they have an influential blog, and assume they're going to write up their experience tomorrow." Because the fact is, some of them do---and will.

Don't just pursue good customer service. Shoot for blog-worthy service. That's social media marketing at its strongest.