I don’t brag often enough about some of my clients. But Nick Sarillo at his two locations of Nick’s Family Restaurant did something in the area of customer service this week that blew me away. He gave everyone that visited his two restaurants (seating capacity of about 700) free dinners, drinks and takeout! On Tuesday, with the bill for each customer came a note from Nick that read how he knows the recession is tough on people and he wanted to help out.

In the note, he said that “Tonight, your meal is on us. Compliments of the entire team at Nick’s. No tax. Nothing.”

Customers were delighted! Imagine finishing your dinner (lunch too in this case) and the restaurant says that the meal is on us (and the food was good and the service outstanding.) Outrageous! Nick even got the staff to chip in and donate their time. They all worked for tips that night. (The team split all the tips evenly.)

Nick says he got the idea when he realized that it cost $60 to fill up his gas tank. So while others are charging a fuel surcharge, Nick’s is giving rebates! Even though his cost of flour has doubled in the past month, he shows he still cares about his customers. Now that’s crazy customer service. Nick is known for his generosity. He has been recognized by his peers as the Restaurant Neighbor Award in Illinois in 2007. All of this is very much in line with Nick’s purpose and values- He says that he serves “Pizza on Purpose”!

What outrageously generous things have companies you know been doing to help us doing these tough times?