Is Your Service to Your Customers Memorable?

Jonathan Fields' blog this week was titled “Hire Heart”. It’s ostensibly about hiring good people with 'heart'—and that’s really important if you’re hiring staff. But in it, by way of example, he talks about a bad customer service experience he had. (see the article here http://www.jonathanfields.com/blog/)

My point in this article is that customer service is what makes you memorable—either a good memory or a bad one! About a year ago, I told you about a great customer experience I had at a tire shop in this area called “Discount Tire.” In fact it was so good that today, the first time I’ve needed a tire place in a year, I went back. My new car has a light that comes on that tells me something’s wrong with tire pressure. Afraid I had a slow leak, I went back to Discount Tire!

Nope! All I had was low pressure in all the tires. Which they fixed–without any charge, reminded me to come back in 2500 more miles to get them rotated, and sent me on my way--remembering a really great experience.

I am impressed! That’s SERVICE in all caps! That’s memorable and remarkable and here I am telling you all about it, too. So if you have a Discount Tire in your neck of the woods, try them! You’ll be as impressed as I was. They will definitely continue to get my business even tho they’re a little further than other tire places.

Is there a lesson for you as a rural business owner? You Bet! Make your customers’ browsing, shopping and buying experience a remarkable, exceptional, amazing experience and go the extra mile with service. Surprise them with more than they expect! Make a good memory for them! It’s good marketing and it gets you positive word of mouth!

Dealing With The Disgruntled Customer

Gretchen Rubin wrote an article for Yahoo titled “21 phrases to use to help you FIGHT RIGHT with your sweetheart”. Now, I know, this blog and my interests are not generally considered relationship material. However, if you’ve been reading very long, you may have noticed I frequently mention that marketing is about PERSUASION and RELATIONSHIPS.

In the course of selling farm products and crafts, you might sometime have a disgruntled customer. In that case, you are in a very similar situation to a fight with your sweetheart. So I want to share some of the phrases Gretchen came up with because I think they’re excellent to defuse that disgruntled customer, too.

Oh, and if you DO have a fight with your sweetheart, they come in handy there, too!

Pick several of these that might apply in your business situation and write them on a 3 X 5 card—then practice once in a while. Practice will help you have them at the tip of your tongue where they will do you some good!

You don’t have to solve this—it helps me just to talk to you.
This is important to me. Please listen.
I overreacted, I’m sorry.
I see you’re in a tough position.
I can see my part in this.
I hadn’t thought of it that way before.
I could be wrong.
Let’s agree to disagree on that.
This isn’t just your problem, it’s our problem.
We’re getting off the subject.
You’ve convinced me.
Please keep talking to me.
I realize it's not your fault.
That came out all wrong.
I see how I contributed to the problem.
How can I make things better?
I’m sorry.

Remember, this general rule and its corollary:

The customer is always right… and your reputation will sometimes cost you something (in compromise or in money) but a bad reputation is VERY hard to repair! Happy customers are worth money in your pocket.