Rich Gubby is the Senior Web Developer over at Wapple in the U.K. Wapple is one of the leading developers of mobile Internet solutions, from websites to WordPress plug-ins and more. And if Rich Gubby is anything to go by, then Wapple are also leading the field at customer satisfaction.

I recently installed the Wapple WordPress plug-in as I wanted more options for mobile visitors to this blog. There are a host of functional plug-ins out there, but a lot come with ads and many are limited in features.

Looking around I found the Wapple site, and the ability to customize the mobile version of my blog to replicate much of the web-based one appealed. Plus the fact you can tailor search engine optimization, even though it’s a mobile app, and I was sold.

I installed the plug-in and it worked. Then it stopped, and all I got was a blank screen when accessing from my BlackBerry. So I deactivated Wapple and switched back to the previous one. Cue impressed-as-hell experience with Wapple.

I received a pleasant email from Rich mentioning he noticed I’d swapped back to another plug-in, and was there any particular reason and could he help in any way. I wrote back thanking him for taking the time to contact, and explained what had happened. Rich offered to style up the plug-in and also look to see what the issue was.

It turns out that it was a comment that had messed up the code a little, so Rich fixed it there and then. He also made sure I had the latest version and new dev key that would allow me to tailor the plug-in more to the styling of my blog.

And this just impressed the hell out of me and it left me thinking that Rich and the guys at Wapple could teach many businesses a thing or two. Here’s why:

• Monitoring your product. Rich knew that I had his plug-in but wasn’t using it. Instead of letting that slide, he contacted me to see if there was anything wrong with the product, and if he could help. This leads to the next point.
• Excellent customer service. Rich saw there was an issue and made sure that his customer had the best customer service experience around. He resolved the issue and followed up to make sure everything was okay.
• Brand loyalty. There are numerous WordPress plug-in developers, yet I’ve never been contacted before by one and offered an experience like the one I had with Rich and Wapple. That’s made me incredibly loyal to them and they’ll be the first I go to when I need mobile solutions.
• Consumer marketing. I’ve talked before about the power of consumer marketing and why it’s an untapped weapon for many businesses. Through Rich, Wapple’s service now has me blogging about it and sharing with you, and that’s all free marketing.

As budgets and belts tighten, the people and businesses that are succeeding are the ones separating themselves from the rest of the noise around them. Rich Gubby did that in spades and then some.

Something to learn from, yes?