When it comes to highlighting shocking customer care in Ireland and the myriad ways readers have been let down, this page is rarely found wanting.
But with it being the season of goodwill and all, we thought we might suspend our giving out for one day and instead celebrate all the soundness we’ve come across in recent times.
Here are just some of the stories people have shared with us across social media platforms and via email since the start of this month.
One thing that strikes us (and not for the first time) is how little it costs – in financial terms – to go above and beyond and how potentially great the returns are for businesses and people who do right by their customers.
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One reader, Elva, got in touch to sing the praises of All Seasons Flowers in Lucan Shopping Centre, Co Dublin.
“At the beginning of November I placed an online order for a fresh door wreath and a Christmas table arrangement, with collection scheduled for Saturday, December 6th,” she said.
“When I arrived, the team realised there had been a mix-up and they had prepared two wreaths instead of the wreath and the table arrangement.
“They apologised profusely and immediately refunded the cost of the table arrangement.”
She is undergoing cancer treatment and had been driven quite a distance to the shop by her partner as she had recently had surgery, which meant returning another day was not really an option.
“I accepted the refund without any issue. However, the following day, Sunday 7th, I received a genuinely thoughtful email from the owner Emily Gaynor, apologising for the oversight and explaining it fell short of the standard they aim for, especially for orders placed well in advance for Christmas.
“As a gesture of goodwill, she insisted on creating the table arrangement free of charge and arranging delivery to my home. It arrived today and it’s beautiful.
“For a small business to go to such lengths after having already refunded me speaks volumes about their integrity and commitment to their customers.
“In a time when good service can often feel rare, All Seasons Flowers in Lucan really stood out.”
Niamh contacted us to praise the Christmas-tree sellers outside the Tesco in Newbridge, Co Kildare.
“My 75-year-old mum couldn’t make the Christmas tree stand on her own, so they went up and put up the tree for her as well free of charge. I thought that was really sweet.”
[ ‘Regift the bejaysus out of it’: 21 tips for a cheaper Christmas, from readers and from us ]
Gina, meanwhile, had kind words for Clarkes Bakery in Cabra, Dublin, although it is more of a story of kindness on the double, really.
“My husband was recently in the Mater recovering after a heart bypass,” she says. “He heard one of the nurses was celebrating a big birthday, but had to work over the next few days and wasn’t going to get out to celebrate,” she said.
So Gina’s husband called Clarkes. “He ordered a large birthday cake and had planned for a taxi to collect it and deliver it to the hospital – on the phone with the bakery when everything was ordered they told him that they are a cash-only business.
“But they took the order and delivered the cake on the basis that when he was out he would call in and pay for it. Of course, he couldn’t drive for weeks and when I called in to pay it was ... no big fuss.
“Such a lovely kind thing and amazing customer service. They deserve a big shout-out.”
Fiona had two stories to share: one from times past and another from recent days.
When she was a student about 17 years ago she was getting the Bus Éireann service to Limerick from Galway to visit an aunt.
“I lost my ticket and needed to get on the bus. I was really flustered and nervous. I was too broke to get a new ticket and the bus driver saw me looking anxious. When he came over to me, my face was so flushed and I explained that I lost my ticket,” she said.
“He must have felt sorry for me and told me he saw me buying a ticket, which I doubted because he had just got off another bus. He said it was OK, took my bag, put it in the luggage area and told me to go on to the bus.
“I was so embarrassed and grateful that I welled up when I sat down. I couldn’t believe his kindness.”
Fast forward to 2025 and she has another transport story to share, this time involving Aer Lingus.
“I was on an Aer Lingus flight and the woman in front of me looked so stressed. She was flying on her own with a baby and a toddler. When the flight took off, the baby kept crying and mother looked increasingly flustered,” Fiona wrote.
“Later, she was trying to hold the crying baby with one hand and unzip her bag to get something for the toddler with the other hand.
“The air hostess came over with a broad smile and asked if she could take the baby for a while.
“She picked up the baby, kept her close to her chest, started rocking her and cooing her for about half an hour. The baby stopped crying and the mother looked so relieved and grateful.
“It was lovely witnessing an act of kindness that meant so much to someone in a state of stress and anxiety.
“I always find Aer Lingus have brilliant customer service and it’s not the first time I’ve witnessed an act of kindness from their staff.”
Margaret, meanwhile, recently had to email Spotlight Oral Care as her toothbrush of less than a year old gave up.
“I got an email requesting some details and short video of the toothbrush,” she writes. “I sent the requested info and the next email was to confirm replacement on way. It was so efficient and all within a matter of a few days. Excellent customer service.”
We are big fans of the Saw Doctors on this page, so were delighted when the band – or at least someone acting on their behalf – got a shout out.
“My wife and I recently brought our 14-year-old son to his first music gig – the Saw Doctors in the Olympia,” Shane wrote.
“Our son hadn’t been in the theatre before so when we got in, we brought him down to the front of the standing area so he could look up and back at all the levels and boxes and see how fantastic a venue it is.”
As it happens, there was a section cordoned off at the very front where they restrict numbers standing close to the stage.
“As we went to make our way back into the general standing area, the floor manager (we think) came over to us and gave us wristbands so we could stand in the priority area at the front, where it would be less crowded and more suitable for our son,” Shane says.
“As if that wasn’t enough, the floor manager then sought us out and came over to present our son with one of the handwritten set lists from the band to keep as a memento of his first gig.
“I believe his name was Tommy K (apparently a coincidence that it was one of the Saw Doctors songs on the night) – he certainly deserves a shout-out for going above and beyond unprompted on the night.”
Grainne from Galway recently needed some ties for her outdoor Christmas lights, so called to O’Higgins in Shantalla.
She told the sales assistance what she needed “and he could not have been nicer. He brought me out to a big stockroom at the back of the shop. He went through all the options and said, ‘While these may not be what you are looking for, they will work’. I decided on tile clips, which did the job.
“I just want to call out the time, the interest and how helpful this gentleman was. The sale came to €5, so it wasn’t as if I was a big customer with a large order, but he still gave me the time and showed interest.”
She also praises Blackthorn Candles and Blazer Candles, two Galway candle companies.
“I ordered candles from both above candlemakers in Galway to shop local. The candles from both places were really good quality and well made with a lovely scent. To my surprise both gentlemen arrived at my front door and delivered them personally.
“Great service, great candles, great to support local companies.”
Staying with fragrances, Paddy wrote in about “a small business called Handsome Scent on Stephen Street in Dublin. They do home-produced fragrances (with “inspiration-from”) some of the higher-priced shop ones.
“I bought a set of three fragrances and one of them had leaked in the post. I sent a message on Instagram and they posted a new one that day and I had it the next day.
“No messing, quibbles, just really good service.”
[ 100 Irish websites for all your Christmas presents, from Claddagh Guinness socks to cheese ]
Ciara Kelly – the one on the radio – also got in touch to highlight how a cold Christmas was once averted by the soundness of Ultima Oil in Kilpedder, Co Wicklow.
She ran out of home heating oil on Christmas Eve and tells us she “left a message on Ultima Oil’s answering machine (they were finished up for Christmas) asking if we could get a delivery as soon as they reopened.
“We went out for lunch and came home to a full tank they had delivered on Christmas Eve afternoon so we wouldn’t be cold. They said we could pay after Christmas. It was unbelievably kind,” Ciara said.
She actually has a second story of goodwill. “Another Christmas, it was a week to go and Greystones butcher Des Doyle rang me to say I hadn’t ordered a turkey and no problem if I’d ordered elsewhere, but just in case I’d forgotten he was checking as it was the last chance to get one. I hadn’t ordered elsewhere and Des Doyle saved Christmas.”
Last January reader PJ bought an air fryer from Harvey Norman in Rathfarnham, Dublin.
“A couple of weeks ago it started to switch off halfway through the cycle. It was still under warranty, so they asked me to bring it in so they could have a look at it,” he says.
“The unit was taken away and five minutes later the sales assistant returned with a replacement. The paperwork was sorted in minutes and she put it on a trolley and followed me out to the car. That’s what I call customer service.”
Another reader, Richard, says: “There’s the best of small bookshops in Blackrock in Dublin called Raven Books. Louisa runs it and she’s an absolute gem. Helpful, knowledgeable, affable, dedicated, hard working. She’s just brilliant.
“But best of all, and although some time ago now, she delivered books on her bicycle to my three kids to the door during Covid, when things were closed. They were utterly delighted by it.
“I haven’t bought a book anywhere else since. She more than deserves a mention.”
We also heard from a reader called Doreen, who got in touch to praise Global Windows.
“The attention to detail, professionalism, courtesy and reliability is way beyond any other company/contractor who worked on our house refurbishment,” she says.
“Every single contact I had from the initial sales person to the guys actually fitting the windows were a pleasure to deal with.”
[ Beware the ghost of “Buy Now Pay Later” and have a savvy Christmas ]
Next up is Ciara, who says she had “some niggly adult-life stuff happen recently and it always really helps when a) people are sound and b) people do what they say they are going to do”.
Ciara has three good news stories to share.
“During the summer, a large and heavily filled plate drawer under the hob of our fitted kitchen (new house, only three years old) locked while pulled out and refused to close,” she says.
“I was away at the time and messaged the original kitchen fitter and supplier, Stuart Malcolm from Onovo. I got a quick text back from him and he confirmed he was out my way and could have a quick look.
“He not only fixed the drawer, he confirmed it wasn’t overloaded by weight/amount of plates/bowls etc and continued his way around all the units adjusting the bin drawer and larder press.
“Just good workmanship and he refused to take any payment. He was just sound.”
That was not the only issue she had with her three-year-old kitchen. Her oven died and she went to Worrells/Expert in Malahide, Co Dublin, where she got “loads of advice and patience from Paul while we considered reconfiguring our oven(s) set-up – amending cabinetry. We didn’t in the end.
“After admiring the workings of our brand new oven, I noticed the above fitted microwave door wasn’t closing properly and while he hadn’t moved it during the installation process the same guy came back to tweak the microwave for me free of charge.”
And finally she tells us about “an absolute head-the-ball teenager [who] came in the exit gate of my local Dart station on a e-scooter with a girlfriend on the back, dressed in black and with no lights doing at least 30/40kph.
“He screamed abuse so loud at me for bumping over his scooter, with such loud cursing that my husband left the platform and saw him leave the scene again, at speed on his scooter all at 7.30am in the dark while my car went into limp mode with sensors beeping and €1,300 worth of damage to the wheel arch, front bumper etc.”
The car was repaired by “the lovely lads at Trimtech Santry who said this was a regular occurrence (and interestingly, a lot of parents were paying cash for the damage done by their unlit, uninsured and unregistered e-scooting teenagers – that’s a whole other article).
“Picked up car, repaired and fully washed and fully internally valeted – so sound.”
To finish, we have some shorter stories shared by users of X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Meadbh had a “recent interaction with Virgin Media for TV and broadband. Admitted to the billing error straight up and rectified the situation straight away. People I spoke with were absolutely sound also.”
Julie says: “I think Tesco Mobile deserve the recognition for their excellent customer service. I’m with them several years and any issues I’ve ever had were sorted nearly immediately with the utmost professionalism. Their customer service is fantastic.”
David applied to renew his passport on a Thursday morning “and it arrived next morning”. You can’t beat that.
Denise had praise for Bloomfield Garage on Dublin’s South Circular Road.
“I rang them in a panic about warning light on the dashboard of an imported hybrid. My husband was just admitted to hospice, so I was already very emotional. The owner, Paul, said, ‘Right, come in and we’ll have a look’. It was only battery in key fob, but his kindness made my day.”
