Yesterday, I had a brand experience that rocked my world. First, I was driving to meet a friend in the morning. I called the company that he worked for to ask directions (Hertz was sold out of Neverlost). I was bummed after I called three times and no one could tell me how to get to the office from the Pacific Coast Highway. I had to stop at a retailer to ask and found that the office was only a couple of miles away.

That afternoon I drove up to do some work with Patagonia. I called in to ask directions and Patagonia's "Gatekeeper", Chipper "Bro" Bell, answered the phone while sitting at Mission Control. You see, instead of having an entry level receptionist answering the phone and interacting with customers, Patagonia has Chipper.

When I asked Chipper how to get there, Chipper started off by saying, "You've got it bro, " and then gave me detailed, simple instructions on how to get there. When I told Chipper thanks, he said "Believe it!" It was magical.

Soon after we talked, I realized I was going to be early so I called back looking for a friend to borrow a surfboard and get some exercise before my meeting. I called Chipper back and he paged my friend. Unfortunately, my buddy was in a meeting. When Chipper asked what I needed, I told him I wanted to borrow a surfboard. Chipper said, "No worries, come see me and I'll have a board ready for ya, bro!"

When I arrived, there was Chipper, stoked to see me with a board ready to ride.

I returned from a nice surf session and I sat out front watching Chipper spin his magic. He was treating everyone in a very human way, no matter what they needed, trying to solve everyone's problems. What really blew me away is that Chipper keeps this stoke that exudes the Patagonia brand 1800 times a day!

What would happen if your company had a brand gatekeeper instead of a receptionist? Would your customers be more stoked?

To learn more about Chipper, check out the fun article about him on the Patagonia web site.