Saturday night, my wife and I went to a Japanese restaurant. The food was good — I'm not a sushi fan, so it wasn't a place I would choose — but the service was outstanding.

Our server was attentive, but she didn't hover. She was willing and able to provide recommendations. She was friendly, even asking our names and promising to try to remember them the next time we dine there. And as we left, one of the owners thanked us for coming and wished my wife a happy Mother's Day.

I truly enjoy such experiences. In the face of so much bad customer service out there, examples of good treatment give me hope.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the bad customer service idea Circuit City tried, getting rid of its best, most-helpful salespeople because they supposedly cost too much money. I remain convinced that bad idea eventually led to the company's demise.

Since then, several of you have written in to comment on customer service, and I'd like to share some of your thoughts this week.

One unidentified reader, who posted a comment online, wrote that major stores should take heed of the Circuit City debacle.

"It is very frustrating to go into any store and ask for customer service help to locate or find out if they sell an item you need," the posted comment read. "This staff is the lifeblood of a store, and if they continue the trend to hire help that has no knowledge of store products, it does have a drastic effect on their bottom line.

"In the past year I have gone to several electronic stores and had a hard time to find any help with any knowledge of what I needed. It was a zero, and I left without making any purchase, disgusted at the stores. Experience and knowledge (are) very important when it comes to dealing with the public, especially for (do-it-yourself) customers. … Customers should be overwhelmed with knowledge and experience of sales and service staff; it'll keep them in business."

There's nothing worse than going into a store, asking for help from an employee and getting a blank stare in return. It's extremely frustrating, and it makes me think twice about visiting that store again.

Another reader, JoAnne, sent me examples of both bad and good customer service.

"First, I ordered a birthday gift for my 5-year-old granddaughter from Fat Brain Toys," JoAnne wrote. "I forgot, until after the order was placed, that I had an online discount. I e-mailed them and they applied it to my order. Sweet!"

Her experience with the company that made her robotic vacuum cleaner was less positive.