Do you choose great customer service?

I’m on a newsletter list for The Simple Truths which is an online company that specializes in inspirational books and CDs for the workplace.  The owner, Mac Anderson, was previously the founder for Successories and has taken a similar approach with books and movies that was so successful with motivational prints.

They have a great article (part of a chapter from one of their books) that focuses on the intangibles that makes the difference between customer service and a fantastic customer experience!

You know the kind of experience you tell your friends about, the kind that generates fans, the kind that dramatically grows your business!

Here’s a link to the article/newsletter online:  Great Service Is a Choice (you should sign up to their newsletter as well – some of their stuff is a bit over the top, but a lot of it is really good.)

It’s a story about a cab driver that makes a significant positive impact on his customer – here’s part of the intro:

…He was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for Harvey. He handed my friend a laminated card and said:

“I’m Wally, your driver. While I’m loading your bags in the trunk I’d like you to read my mission statement.”

Taken aback, Harvey read the card. It said:

Wally’s Mission Statement:

To get my customers to their destination in the quickest,

safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment.

You should read the rest of the story, but suffice it to say, this isn’t your stereotypical cab driver.

He made a conscious choice to enjoy what he was doing.

Using feedback from his customers he gradually developed his service from typical run of the mill to an experience that was repeated to possibly dozens of people…by each customer.

Not only was the cab driver rewarded by a much more pleasant experience with his customers, he was substantially rewarded (in hard dollars) by customer loyalty, customer referrals and an opportunity to leverage his personal brand and change the business model.

In your business what could you do that would create that kind of ‘wow’ experience with your customers.  There’s this story about a truck stop that bought an old retired limousine and used it to pick up and drop their customers from their trucks across the parking lot.  It was a small thing, but it got them noticed, set the tone for the experience and was memorable enough for the Travel Channel to feature it.

You don’t have to wait for a master plan, start today with a small change and see how it goes over.  If it gets a positive reaction, build it into your process and try the next thing.  If it’s not so great – learn from it and try something else tomorrow.

Share any great customer experiences you might have had (or delivered here), I’d love to hear them.

Shawn Kinkade www.aspirekc.com