There are a few things that happen when stellar customer service goes viral. One of which is a social media opportunity that reaches millions in a matter of minutes without a dime of public relations or ad spend.

This is what happened for the DoubleTree by Hilton Cocoa Beach property just 2-weeks ago. A father made a reservation and the Cocoa Beach team asked what brought him to the area. He mentioned that his son, AJ, was turning 4 and they were taking a father son trip to the Kennedy Space Center and going surfing in the Atlantic Ocean.

The DoubleTree by Hilton Cocoa Beach team took it upon themselves to create a little surprise for the 4-year-old and the father that included a gift bag, boogie board, banner, cupcakes and birthday card.

Thanks to a positive experience from those at the property, the guest shared a photo on imgur.com that immediately started trending on Reddit.com. Reddit is a social website that allows users to post stories. Users can vote on which stories and discussions are important, which allows the best stories to rise to the top of the list. Reddit.com garners 1.6 million visitors per month. Getting to the top spot on the site is incredibly difficult - it’s where every single meme on the Internet starts. This guest story received more than 4 million views in 4 days and today has more than 4.5 million views.

This story shows how a little thing can make all the difference for a guest’s experience and create significant reach organically.

It’s customer service at its finest.

Not every company uses social media in its customer service outreach but every organization can learn how. You can find out about social media training for your company, here.

Do you have any predictions relative to the future of customer service and social media?