Episode 80 - Remarkable Customer Service Causes People to Remark
Great customer service is remarkable. Last week we scheduled a repairman to work on our house. His company called the day before the appointment to reconfirm and then the repairman himself called as he was on his way to our house to get directions and to again confirm that he’d be there soon. My wife was surprised enough to tell me about it.
That’s what I call remarkable customer service. It so delighted the customer that she felt compelled to remark about it. How do you create delighted customers? Simple: do more than they expect. The good news is, it doesn’t have to be big I mean, the repairman didn’t promise to be there in 30 seconds but it has to be something more than expected. Some examples: return ALL calls with-in 90 minutes, routinely call or e-mail your customers to tell them the progress of the work youre doing for them, finish before the deadline, stop assuming and ask more questions to find out what a particular customer really wants and how she wants it done. Everyone wants love; the business equivalent of love is appreciation, so give a small gift of appreciation such as a flower, card, note, or phone call. Our daughter buys gasoline every Friday afternoon at a certain gas station because on Friday afternoons they give a carnation to each customer. Several times a year a man I do a lot of business with sends me articles and books he has recently read that he feels I might find interesting. Every year on my birthday my Jaguar salesman calls me to wish me well. Notice all of these things go above and beyond the service and products they sell. They build relationships. They are remarkable.
As a business person, it is smart for you to provide remarkable customer service. And I do mean the kind that gets them remarking about how terrific it is to do business with you!