It’s The Little Things

My last posting talked about clarity of vision and purpose as being essential to a successful business strategy.  Today I am going to talk about customer satisfaction.

Brian Tracy says there are 5 levels of customer satisfaction:  Disappoint, meet, exceed, delight and amaze.   The differences can be subtle, but important because a bad experience can cost you twice.   To illustrate, I will share a recent customer service experience.

Our microwave’s front panel fell off and we decided it was time for a new one.   We went to the store we used previously because they had exceeded our expectations on delivery and installation.   We were glad to go back.

When we got there, the sales people immediately swarmed to us like bees to a clover patch.   We wanted to browse and told them so.   We walked around and decided that since the dishwasher was a bit leaky and the racks were broken that needed a new one too.   We also figured we could get a great deal.

It was time to find a sales associate.   This time, since we were labeled browsers, it was hard to do, but eventually we found someone, who was somewhat knowledgeable and provided us with adequate service.   (We were now “meets expectations”).   The price was good and we got a deal.   Then the sales guy promised us delivery in 4 days, just in time for Thanksgiving!!  WOW!! Now we were delighted.

Monday comes, and no calls about delivery.  Tuesday and we get a call from the warehouse:  they are delivering our microwave.   But what about my dishwasher?   Nope said the voice on the other end.  It isn’t here.  You need to call Ralph the sales guy, he must not have checked.

Call to Ralph.  Oops sorry, we ran out, but we can deliver it on Saturday.   Unfortunately, we were headed out of town.   That’s ok, said Ralph, “we will hold it till you return.   Just call us and we will bring it over in 2 days.”   Ok, not great, but OK.  (Meets).

We returned after attending a family funeral 3,000 miles away.   We unpacked, got the kids to school and called Ralph.   “Oh, yes, Mrs. Froelich.   Let me check.   Well, seems there is no dishwasher here.  Let me call you back.”  Noon – no call.   2 p.m. – No call.  4 p.m., well you get the picture.

Next morning we call.  “Oh sorry, says the voice, Ralphy is off today can Dan help? “   “Hi this is Dan can I help you?”

We explain the situation.   “Let me call Ralph and then call you back”.   Noon: no call  2 p.m.: No Call  4 p.m.: No Call.   Finally at 4:45 we call them.   “Oh sorry, says the voice on the other end, Dan is gone for the day”   WOW!!

The next day we get Ralph.   It appears they gave our washer to someone else and it will be 4 to 6 weeks for a new one.   Not acceptable.   “Let me call the warehouse”, says Ralph.   Here we go again, I say.

The next day, they found a washer and it will be installed on Friday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.   OK.   For anyone who has dealt with the cable company you know where this is going.   You guessed 4 p.m. they show up!!!!

Two young men show up, filthy feet, dirty uniforms and they begin to work like the Keystone Cops on speed.   Wham, slash, crash the old washer is out.   Thump thump, slam and shake the new one is going in.   By the time the delivery was done an hour had passed, my wife had to read them the instructions and they disappeared as quickly as they came, taking with them the two trim pieces for the washer leaving an 8 inch gap on the bottom and a mess a 3 year old toddler would be proud of.

Another call to the warehouse.   We ended up talking to no less than 4 people on 4 separate days.   Finally, a gentleman shows up with the parts.  His uniform is clean, he puts a cloth in the work area and covers his shoes with surgical booties.   The job is done in 5 mins and he takes the next 15 minutes to repair the bad installation from the Keystone Cops.

In three weeks we went from delighted customers to dissatisfied customers.   Why?  Did we get the dishwasher for the price we wanted, yes.   Was it installed?  yes.   By the way, the microwave installation was excellent.   Is the dishwasher an outstanding product… You bet.  Quiet as heck and works very well.  (Bosch)

Why, in a word.   Trust.   Promises were made and broken.  They said they’d call, they didn’t.  They said we have it by Thanksgiving, we didn’t.   They said they’d hold the dishwasher:  THEY GAVE IT AWAY, even though I had already paid!!!!  Excellent services was promised and they sent the Keystone Cops who couldn’t speak English.   And even though the last installer was outstanding, my whole experience is tainted and we will never return despite good prices.

So what’s the point.   The difference between excellent customer service and poor is not huge.  It’s the little things.   Keeping your promises to call.   Informing the customer ahead of time of issues.  Ensuring that the installer knows what he/she is doing.   Keeping the workplace neat and clean.

In today’s challenging economy customers are fickle.  They will move to save a buck for any reason.   You have got to delight them at every turn.  There are some small things you can do to make sure you have solid service:

Call logs – Make sure if someone speaks to someone it is in a database and someone follows up

Installation check lists – make sure that the installers have a check list of parts they need and what they need to do

Appearance – Make sure the delivery and installation person are clean and neat.   After all, they are the last impression someone gets of your store

Customer Satisfaction Surveys – believe it  or not.  No one followed up with us post installation.   Call.   Listen to the customer.  Apologize sincerely and maybe send the dishwasher person a box of soap, or the something….

Keep your promises - If you make a promise keep it.   Credibility and reputation are all you have.   If it is ruined no one will come back and they will most certainly not refer friends.

As I said in the beginning, bad service costs you twice even three times.  First, work and rework.   In a world of thin margins, you just killed your profit by sending two or three installers out.   Second, the customer will never return and you have lost business – the least expensive and most profitable type: repeat.  Finally, you lost your best sales person, as satisfied customer.   That dissatisfied person will NEVER refer anyone.   So, investing in good customer service is smart.

Clarity Not a One Trick Pony

Two quick stories will highlight what I mean but clarity is not a one trick pony.

My mother in law has been in the last stages of her life and has been slowly passing over the past month and a half.   When we realized what was happening and that we could not do everything we wanted for her or that she deserved, we turned to in home hospice care.

We engaged a wonderful company, Hospice of Arizona.   They came and assured us their focus was twofold:  the comfort and peace of the patient, and the comfort and peace of the family.   They discussed compassion, caring and understanding.   As we moved through the process, we learned that this is in everything they do.   The nurses, caregivers and Drs.  were wonderful.   They truly showed they cared.   Even when my mother in law passed, they came out at 3 in the morning and spent several hours counseling my wife and I.   Everything they said was genuine and seemed to be in their nature.

Was everything perfect?  No.   Several evenings and mornings they were late, but they always called.   On a number of occasions, issues arose.   But they were always dealt with promptly and with COMPASSION.   It was clear compassion was part of everything they did.

On the other hand, …  last night we went out to dinner at a local high end seafood and steak restaurant.   When we arrived the maitre d’ greeted us and seated us promptly.   We got a lovely table.   Within minutes the waitress came by to take our drink and appetizer orders.   So far, so good.   Drinks came relatively quickly and were refilled throughout the night with no charge.

When we ordered dinner, we were excited, to finally be able to eat a nice dinner.   The kids appetizers showed up quickly and we anticipated a meal would not be far behind.   10 min, 20 min, 25 min, finally over 35 mins later our dinners arrived.   The kids were now antsy.   As we ate, the restaurant filled and we found that instead of being only one of 5 families, we were now part of a crowd of 30 or more families/couples having dinner.

As the last to finish (thanks to a last minute bathroom inspection request from my 9 year old), I returned to find I was the only one left eating.   I finished and put my knife and fork on my plate.   10 min, 15 min, finally 20 mins later my plate was cleared.  No explanation.   Desert was offered, but now, with the experience of two big waits, I was dubious, but my sugar hungry children insisted.   We ordered 2 sorbets and a bowl of whipped cream.

10 mins, 15, again 20 mins later the deserts arrived.   I wondered if they had run to the store… anyway you get the idea, the rest of the evening went the same.   Delays and no explanation.

Here is what I am getting at.  While there were issues with hospice, I never felt that they did not care.   There was always compassion and understanding when doing everything.   Forms, medicines, diaper changes, you name it compassion for all was top of the list.

In the restaurant, we were greeted quickly and seated immediately.  Drinks were delivered quickly, but after that we entered a time warp.   What had begun as a wonderful experience was tarnished by slow service the remainder of the night.

As a business owner, you have to know your customers see everything you do.   From the way they are greeted on the phone, to the lobby, to the actual service.   It extends all the way to your billing and when people leave.   It has to become in-grained into everything and everyone.

When you document and design the systems and processes for your business, make sure that what differentiates you permeates it all.   Ask yourself, would I as a customer see “compassion” in how we do forms.  Would I as a customer see “service” in every interaction I have with the entire staff of your restaurant.  And finally, but most importantly, can your employees see what makes you unique in everything they do.

Your employees are a direct reflection of you and who your business is.   Ensure they understand and are enabled at every point to deliver your differentiator.   Make sure that clarity is not “A One Trick Pony” in your business.

Relax! You’ve Got Clarity

It’s all about clarity.

It’s amazing how major events in your life can help bring clarity and purpose to what you do.   Like many families we are going through the passing of an elder parent.   And like many families were struggling.  Struggling with emotions, struggling with what to do, struggling with how much medicine is enough or too much.   We struggled until we reached clarity around who is this about and what is the ultimate goal.

After a lengthy discussion involving my wife, her sister, her husband and the caregivers, we all agreed on what the ultimate purpose is – to make my mother in law comfortable during her last days and to focus on how she would have wanted her passing to be.  We also agreed that the past is the past and we all need to move (but that is a topic for another day).

Once we achieved clarity of purpose we were able to relax and focus with an aligned purpose on what needed to be done.  We don’t argue about how much medicine.   We agree on the steps we will take when she passes.   We have also agreed on how to move forward once the funeral and interment is complete.   And although we are all anxious about the passing itself, we can rest a little easier knowing we are aligned.

It occurred to me that the same is true about many things in life.   As a golf fanatic, note I didn’t say skilled golfer, I am always striving to improve my game.   But knowing where to focus my practice requires a clarity around what kind of game I want to play and where can I optimize my return on investment.   I know it will take a long time before I am hitting 280 to 320 yard tee shots that are straight, but if I can keep it in play and get it 240 yards or even 220 yards, I know if I have a solid short game I am good.   So, where am I focused, you got it, chipping, pitching, sand and putting.

What has this done for me?   Well, it has shaven a few strokes off my game, but more importantly it has given me clarity.   The clarity has allowed me to relax when I step up to the tee, knowing all I need to do is get the ball in play and my short game will get me to the cup!

What does this mean to the business owner or entrepreneur?   Like Michael Gerber says, think of business as a game.   If you know the objective of the game you can quickly gain clarity around the structures, systems and processes you need to achieve success.  In other words, you create the rules of the game.  As anyone who has children knows, playing a game without rules or where rules change constantly at the whim of the child can be, well, frustrating.

Same is true of your customers and employees.   I know when I was leading an Inside Sales team, my team members were most productive and happiest when I was clear about what their goals were and how things needed to be done to achieve them.   Did I regulate every step, no.   But what we did do as a team, was create clarity around the expected outcomes and key measures of success so that one representative’s success could be replicated by another.  (I will talk about this in a later blog).

So, as you look at your business or life, I encourage you to get clarity around what it is you want to do and where you are going.   How do you you do that?  At FocalPoint we have a very systematic approach based on answering a couple of focused questions:

What business are you really in?
Where do you want to go with it and what is your vision for 5 years from now?
Who are your customers and what do THEY need?
What differentiates you?  or as Seth Godin says  “what’s your Purple Cow?”

Answering these few questions and creating a structured written to achieve these goals will give you the clarity and focus you need to achieve your dreams.  Once you have done this you will not believe how more relaxed and focused you become and most importantly the incredible results you achieve.