Sometimes customers can be immune to service levels. They either expect it to be terrible and make no complaint or they say nothing when they receive excellent service far above what might be expected.

It is a delight then, to receive first class treatment that stands out from what might be expected. A butcher who understands the best cuts and knows where the animal was farmed; the girl in the café who turns down the music knowing you don’t want the distraction; the guy in the waste tip who helps sort your rubbish. These offer more than necessary just so they might achieve their own high standards.

Despite increasing internet use people still deal with companies by phone. Why are the public treated so shabbily when calling? How can being answered by a machine, forced to choose options and held in a queue be regarded as customer service?

Small business owners can choose between the extremes of employing someone to take their calls or answering the phone themselves. Neither is ideal as the first is costly and the second is inefficient. Both also allow engaged tones and missed calls.

The middle road is ideal: the manager hires a virtual office to take his calls. Not only will he pay considerably less than a member of staff but the team in the virtual office will ensure that every call is answered personally.

For a fraction of the cost, then, it is possible to have a complete reception service which will probably surprise and then impress every caller.