The cheery barista's button read, "I love Thanksgiving." He wore it, he said, because he doesn't like the growing marginalization of this awesome festival of food and family sandwiched between Halloween and Christmas.

He shared this pleasant banter while maintaining good eye contact, getting our orders right and moving us along at an appropriate pace to accommodate the guy behind us, whom he also was keeping his eye on.

The cheery barista had no idea his skills were being dissected (and praised) by one of the Twin Cities' experts on a largely lost concept called customer service.

Remember customer service?

Jeannette Grace does. And she's making it her life's work to bring it back — to Mom-and-Pops, big box stores and everything in between, including your cubicle.

"We're surprised when people do their job, isn't that sad?" said Grace, a high-energy training and development consultant who teaches "The Art of Customer Service" for clients, including community colleges throughout the Twin Cities.

Mastering that art might mean a smile and a genuine welcome that doesn't sound like Siri. It's asking enough questions to learn what you need, then walking you to it. It's calling you by your name.

If a problem arises, it's saying, "I am sorry." Or, "I understand that our website can be confusing." Or, "Here's what we can do," because well-trained employees work for managers who give them latitude to own, and solve, the problems in front of them.

It's never saying, "That's not our policy."

To show me exactly what she means, Grace and I went shopping at a large mall somewhere in the Twin Cities.

"I hope we find some bad service," Grace joked.

Oh, boy.

We walked into a high-end accessories shop. The lovely sales associate looked up from the counter to greet us with a "Hey, ladies!" Then she walked away, into the backroom. She returned, never once asking us if we might be interested in buying one of her high-end accessories. Did I mention that we were the only two customers in the boutique? Grace's grade: F.

Next stop, a woman's dress shop. The saleswoman was warm and welcoming. She told us about a current sale, then left us alone. Sometimes, we want to be left alone, Grace noted, but it's always nice if they say, "I'll check back in a few minutes." She didn't. Grace's grade: B-minus.

Department store. Grace noticed that the floors were stained and the checkout counters chipped. (It's not just humans who give us the good or bad customer-service vibe). A father with a young child lost his temper trying to find someone to help him buy a coat. A flustered sales clerk from another department rushed over, and said she'd find someone for him. Grace's grade: Sigh.

Shoe store. A sales associate greeted us enthusiastically. Grace liked that she acknowledged me, even though I wasn't the "shopper." The salesperson managed multiple customers, but remained accessible. When Grace explained her challenge in finding size 5½ shoes, the young woman invited us up to her computer, so Grace could peruse pages of an online catalog with shoes to fit her feet. Before we left, she wrote down the store's website address on a Post-it note. She told us to have a good day. Grace's grade: A-plus.

That reminded Grace of another important point. If you experience outstanding customer service at a store, restaurant or when ordering a rental car online, please remember to report it to the person's supervisor. They'd really like to hear it.

Grace, of Minneapolis, took business courses and later taught at St. Cloud Technical & Community College. She earned a master's degree in communication from Bethel University. Three years ago, she founded Expressive! Communication Consulting and Training, to help businesses "set a standard."

At one metro-area community college, she was "almost in tears" with their praise for her class. "They told me, 'We get it. We don't get as many complaints anymore.' "

She knows, though, that good customer service training isn't one and done. "You're not going to come to a four-hour class and change your system. It's a process. A class is a shot in the arm, but if there's nothing to follow up with, you'll go back to your old habits."

Customer service hasn't gone away, she's quick to note. We all have businesses we frequent again and again because they remember our names, fix our stuff the first time, offer us herbal tea and cookies.

But such business beacons have decreased precipitously, she said, for a few reasons. First, when the recession hit, "profitability became the major focus." Sales staffs were cut. Dressing room? Go find it.

In addition, a younger generation comfortable with online shopping may not know how to demand, or even recognize, good customer service.

"Boomers might prefer face-to-face interactions. Millennials might prefer e-mail," she said. "Regardless, they all deserve speedy attention. It is OK to expect extraordinary service."

With the "crazy shopping season" upon us (after Thanksgiving, OK, everybody?), Grace reminds businesses that little gestures mean a lot to us consumers, and to the businesses' bottom line.

"I have 20 places to get my hair colored," Grace said, noting that few people choose solely on price. "If you create a great experience, even if they don't buy, someday they'll return to you."

gail.rosenblum@startribune.com

612-673-7350

Follow Gail on Twitter: @grosenblum