Clausen: Danielle from Best Buy saves the day
- Selfless act earns young part-time worker praise from a recently engaged couple and colleagues.
It was elaborate and included a blindfold, handwritten notes, friends and family from cities hours away, along with some exciting and anxious moments.
It also included lots of hugs, kisses and mystery right up until Adam Kessler of suburban Detroit got down on one knee and asked Brighton native Hannah Miller of Cleveland to marry him earlier this month at Mendon Ponds Park.
It would all be a memory by now if a complete stranger — a 21-year-old part-time worker at Best Buy in Henrietta — didn't step out of her job description to provide extra special customer service to a 20-something couple deeply in love.
Kessler went to Best Buy looking for a video camera, specifically a GoPro, to record the proposal. His plan was to have Miller blindfolded and driven to different locations in Rochester, where she would meet up with friends and family from Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago and Detroit.
Kessler would be at the final stop with the engagement ring. But the plan started to fall apart when he couldn't find a reasonably priced videographer, someone who could hold a steady camera to capture Miller's excitement.
Danielle Nazzaro sensed Kessler's anxiety when he came to Best Buy and shared his plans. "I fell in love with the whole idea of it," the Penfield resident explained. "So I said, 'You know what? I'll do it ... I'll do it for free.' "
Kessler didn't believe Nazzaro at first but gave her his email address anyway. She happened to be off on Jan. 2 and coordinated plans to spend about four hours recording all the happy moments, including Miller's exuberant response.
She said, "Yes!"
"It is amazing to watch it now and have it to show my children and my grandkids one day," Miller said. "For all my friends and family that weren't there, it really made them feel like they were there."
When I contacted Nazzaro, she humbly thanked Best Buy for giving her a job. "I'm not the top performer at my job, and I'm (OK) with that," she said. "I'd much rather take my time with each person than rush through and move quickly to the next person.
"You never know how much that can impact a person's life."
Shouldn't every customer experience be so patient, attentive, transparent and handled with an ability to deal with the unexpected? It's how Wegmans Food Markets runs its Twitter account. It's where people complain and make requests with someone responding on the other end. I'm sure not every customer is satisfied in the end, but the entire Wegmans' universe can see what the company is doing to try and make things better.
More and more these days everyone in a company is relied on to pick up on the critical task of customer service. When done correctly, it builds brand loyalty, leads to increased customer retention, rewards employees and more.
No pay raise or job promotion is in the works for Nazzaro, but Best Buy does plan to recognize and reward her at its Henrietta store, Carly Charlson, a company spokesman said.
Nazzaro said the experience has rekindled her love for photography. She is working on plans to go for a full-time position. Meanwhile, Miller and Kessler are trying to figure out plans for a wedding in the spring of 2016, along with a way to show their appreciation to Nazzaro. The video, meanwhile, has more than 35,000 views on Kessler's Facebook page.
And while the gesture raised goodwill among those involved, it also spurred a possible idea for the big blue box.
"If Best Buy had a registry, we would register at Best Buy," Kessler said.
Meet Todd
Todd Clausen is the Democrat and Chronicle's work life reporter covering workplace issues and trends.
A lifelong Rochester-area resident and award-winning journalist, Todd joined Gannett Co. Inc. in 2004 and has held a variety of roles with the organization. Find him on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram as @ToddJClausen and on Facebook at ToddJClausen1and TJCRoc. He can also be reached at (585) 258-9883.