The truth is, customers often hold the key to getting better service, especially since a lot of companies haven’t taken the time to build a customer-centric culture across the organization. That’s why mastering the steps below can allow you to have a good experience, regardless of whether the person you’re dealing with has been trained to deliver good service or not.

1. Be a great customer. A good attitude is contagious. If you are pleasant and easy to work with, the person behind the counter is likely to follow your lead and provide a more welcoming experience. If you’re grumpy and demanding, you’ll likely walk away disappointed.

2. Practice the three C’s and be Calm, Cool and Collected. When the service you receive isn’t as good as expected, your initial response may be to become angry, or even threaten to get even. Instead, remember that the individual you’re dealing with often isn’t even the cause of your frustration in the first place.

3. Don’t be shy. Many people don’t take the time to complain about bad service and just accept it. If you want things to improve, you have to stand up. Let companies know when you’re unhappy and escalate when necessary and take part in various surveys to make your voice heard.

4. When a problem arises, be clear about the issue. In dealing with disputes, calmly explain the problem and let the company know what you expect in return. Don’t assign blame. Just state the facts and clearly lay out your case.

5. Be reasonable and willing to compromise. In requesting a resolution, be sure to ask for something realistic. If your cable goes out unexpectedly for a day or two, requesting a few days of free service to compensate is perfectly reasonable. But demanding a whole year for such a minor convenience is likely to fall on unwilling ears.

6. Watch your words. When responding, be mindful of what you say. For instance, if your problem isn’t resolved to your satisfaction, instead of barking out, “I demand to speak with your manager right now,” why not respond, “I appreciate that you’re doing the best you can. Could you please put me in touch with someone who might be in a position of authority to resolve this situation?”

7. Learn and use the other person’s name. When teaching employees how to deliver great service, I always remind them to address customers by name. A person’s name is magical to them! The next time you’re at the store, turn the tables by addressing the clerk by his or her name. You’ll notice his or her face will shine brighter and service levels will dramatically improve.

8. Join a loyalty program. Most companies today have some kind of loyalty program and members generally get better perks. Members of airline loyalty programs, for instance, often get better seats, extra free services and are more likely to quickly be rebooked when flights are cancelled or delayed.

9. Use social media – but only as a last resort. If you all else fails, you can take your case to Twitter or Facebook. Many companies monitor social media postings and try to handle issues quickly, to prevent them from spreading or becoming viral.

10. Deliver praise and follow up with thanks. Just as customers like to be acknowledged and rewarded for their business, companies and employees love to hear when they’ve done something right. If someone gives you good service, tell them. They’ll be sure to remember you and make your experience even more pleasant next time.

Your minimal expectation of any airline is that they get you from point A to point B safely and on time. Southwest does this, and has an excellent safety record, but it goes one better by interjecting a bit of fun into the in-flight experience. Pilots and flight attendants tell jokes, and while most airlines have stopped giving our complimentary food, Southwest still provides free peanuts and even hands out snack boxes on longer flights.

I’ve long been a member of the Southwest Rapid Rewards program. Unlike other frequent flyer plans, Southwest has no blackout dates, and they do something very unexpected: each year they send me a birthday card, with thanks for being a member.

Last year I decided to get a Southwest Airlines Visa card, largely because the sign-up offer was so enticing: enough points for roughly eight free roundtrip flights. That alone was a great deal. But this month, one day after getting a bill for the renewal in the mail, something unexpected arrived: a card from Southwest, offering me $50 off my next Business Select fare. On top of that, I was offered 3,000 bonus points for renewing.

All of these seem pretty minor on the surface, and don’t cost the airline much. Peanuts are pretty cheap, but a rarity on most airlines these days. The birthday card probably costs less than $1 to print and mail, and giving $50 off a Business Select fare (which is generally overpriced to begin with) still results in a profitable transaction for Southwest. Mostly importantly, all of these extras add up to help instill a feeling of loyalty, in this case for both the credit card and the airline in general.

Now it’s your turn. What are some small ways you can give your customers more than they expect? You’d be amazed at how unexpected surprises—even the tiniest ones—can really delight those who receive them.

First, you need to know that I’m a huge fan of bookstores, and often select hotels when traveling based on how close they are to a chain or nice independent bookseller.

Like many of you, I’ve been saddened to see so many bookstores go out of business in recent years. Borders is no longer with us, and Barnes & Noble has announced plans to close one-third of its locations over the next decade.

While Amazon, with its low prices and electronic editions, is a huge reason for this, I contend in the article that brick and mortar stores could learn a lot by emulating some of Amazon’s practices. After all, Amazon has mastered the art of good customer service. The site gives you a great deal, a seamless transaction, fast service and the ability to easily return anything you don’t like.

That’s why I suggested that bookstores use the following key traits to help turn customers into raving fans:

1. Create a welcoming experience for everyone who comes in the door. As much as I enjoy perusing bookstores, I honestly can’t remember the last time I was actually greeted by someone as I walked inside. Having employees simply say hello as customers arrive is not only polite, it will make them feel guilty about leaving without a purchase. If the customer is a regular, take the time to learn their name, and address them by it each time they stop by.

2. Hire right. Don’t just look for people who can ring up an order and swipe a credit card. Recruit employees who are as passionate about books as the people roaming the aisles the store, and encourage them to share this enthusiasm. When interviewing candidates, ask them to describe the last three books they read and why they liked them so much. If you don’t hear excitement in their voice, it’s probably best to consider someone else.

3. Learn to embrace technology. When someone buys a certain book, why not program your cash register to prompt the clerk to recommend other titles the customer might not have considered? If they show any interest, walk them to the book and pull it off the shelf. Chances are they’ll make an instant decision to buy.

4. Practice full spectrum marketing. At one time, marketing consisted primarily of pushing messages out to your audience, often through paid advertising. Now the tables have turned. You must engage in a two-way dialogue with your customers using the ever-increasing number of communications tools at your disposal. The good news is that most of these tools are cheap, if not free. If your store doesn’t already have a website, blog or Facebook page, get one today. Ask authors to contribute content and get readers to post reviews about your great service on review sites such as Yelp. You can even enlist loyal customers to help spread the word out about your store and upcoming events on their various social media sites.

The bottom line is that when you create an atmosphere that instills loyalty, and promote it effectively, customers do business with you because they want to, not because you’re the cheapest place around. In fact, research shows that completely satisfied customers almost never shop based on price alone, and they happily tell all of their friends about you as well.

My hope is that more stores will find innovative ways such as these to bring in throngs of dedicated customers like me who love the smell of fresh new books, enjoy flipping through pages by hand and prefer to buy items from a friendly human who truly values their business. Even though I’m big fan of Amazon, for me saving the remaining bookstores of the world is a matter of utmost importance. After all, if any more close, I’m going to have a really hard time finding a hotel for my next trip!

Another survey just out from Cornerstone OnDemand shows that the top three drivers of employee engagement are having a good manager, feeling appreciated and seeing an opportunity to in one’s career.